T Visas: A โLifeline for Trafficking Survivors Sees Surge in โคApplications Amidst Delays & Deportation Fears
Washington D.C. – A critical,โ yet often overlooked, pathway to safety for victims of human trafficking – the T visa – is experiencing a dramatic increase in applications. This surge comes despite escalating processing โtimes โขand ongoing concerns about potential deportation, highlighting a desperate need โคfor supportโ and efficient processing of these vital cases.
What is a T Visa?
The T visa,officially knownโฃ as T nonimmigrant status,offers a temporary reprieve โค- up to four years – to individuals who have survived severe forms of โฃhuman trafficking and are willing to assist law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. Approved applicants gain theโค right to work in the โU.S., access certain state โคand federal benefits, โฃand, crucially, can apply for a green card after threeโฃ years on the visa, or even sooner โif โthe related criminal case concludes.
Why the Sudden Increase?
Several factors are driving the rise in T visa applications,according to experts.
Growing โฃAwareness: Increased public and legal awareness of the visa’s existence is leading more survivors to seek protection. Expanding Definitionsโข of Trafficking: Courtsโ are broadening their understanding of whatโฃ constitutes human trafficking, perhaps making more individuals eligible.
Limited Alternatives: with increasing barriers to other forms of immigration relief – like asylum andโฃ special immigrant juvenile status – the T visa is becoming a more attractive, and sometimes โthe onyl, viable option.
“Many [applicants] are eligible for the U visaโฃ as well, but they’reโข taking nowโ over 20 years for an individualโค to get accessโฆ so I think that has influenced lawyers and survivors, if they are eligible for the โTโ visaโฆ to go ahead and also file T โvisa applications,”โข explains Julie Dahlstrom, founder and director of theโค Human Trafficking Clinic โat boston University.She notes the Trump governance’s policies further restricted access to other pathways, exacerbating โthe trend.
Recent USCIS Updates Offer Hope,But Challenges Remain
In augustโ 2024,U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented aโ new “bona fide determination” process. This allows survivors to access benefits while their application is pending, and provides deferred action, effectively lowering their priority for deportation proceedings.
Erikaโค Gonzalez, training and technical assistance managing โขattorney from the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, explains this change โฃwas long overdue. “They have updated the [bona fide determination] process to now haveโข a formal process to engage with, and it does parallel with the sharp increases in filing.” while the statute allowing early benefit access existed previously, itโฃ wasn’t โactively โฃimplemented due to faster processingโค times. That is no longer the case.
Approvals Rise, But Backlogs Grow
Last year saw a record-breaking number of T visa approvals – exceeding 3,000 for the first time.โ However, this number still โคfalls short of โthe annual 5,000 visa cap. โขโ
The increased demand is also taking a toll on processingโค times. The median wait time has ballooned from 5.9 months in 2014 to โขnearly 20 months* in the current fiscal year. This delay can leave survivors in a precarious legal situation,vulnerable to deportation while awaiting a decision.
The Bigger Picture
The T visa, created in 2000 as part of the Victims ofโ Trafficking โคand Violence Protection Act, was designed toโ concurrently aid law enforcement and protect those exploited by traffickers. โค It exists alongside the U visa, which offers similar protections to victims of other serious crimes.The recent surge โฃin T โvisa applications underscores the ongoing prevalence of human trafficking and the critical need for continued support for survivors.Addressing the growing backlog and ensuring timely processing of these applications is paramount โขto fulfilling the promise of this vital program.
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