T nonimmigrant status, commonly referred to as a T visa, is a nonimmigrant status allowing certain victims of human trafficking (which includes both labor trafficking and sex trafficking) and immediate family members to remain and work temporarily in the United States, typically if they report the crime to law enforcement, and agree to help them in the investigation and/or prosecution of the crime(s) committed against them. It also allows close family members of the victims to come to the United States legally. Despite being colloquially referred to as a visa, T status is not technically a visa, because it is issued to individuals who are already inside the United States.

Background

The United States government estimated in 2002 that each year up to 50,000 people are trafficked illegally into the United States, mostly women and children, and are trapped in slavery-like situations. As a response, it enacted the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), which, among other things, allows such people to apply for three-year temporary visas that lead to permanent resident status. In 2006, Congress modified 8 CFR 214.11(p) to now have the T-visa to be for four years. Although 5,000 are available per year, only 2,000 had been issued as of January, 2009. In 2017, there were 8524 cases of human trafficking being reported to National Human Trafficking Hotline. And up to 2018, the allowed stay period for people who are granted a T visa is still four years.

Eligibility

Related visas include:

Statistics

Number of visas issued by year

The first T visas were issued in Fiscal Year 2003. In the table below, the years are Fiscal Years, so for instance the year 2009 refers to the period from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009. Note that this only counts T visas issued at embassies and consulates outside the United States, and does not include people who changed nonimmigrant status to T status within the United States. The T-1 status is the one most likely to be achieved through change of status within the United States, and therefore T-1 visas are not usually issued.