Doraville T-Visa Lawyer

Many people come to the United States in search of a better life, often choosing to risk their own safety to create opportunities for themselves and their families. Unfortunately, some arrive under far different circumstances—as victims of human trafficking, such as for sex work or other forced labor.

Fortunately, a seasoned immigration attorney could help. Nonimmigrant T status is a type of immigration status that allows trafficking victims to remain in the country after complying with law enforcement. With the help of a Doraville T-visa lawyer, you can adjust your status to T status and stay in the United States.

What Is a T-Visa?

An immigrant can acquire T status and a T-visa by changing their status with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Getting a T-visa allows a trafficking victim to remain in the United States for four years.

T status can allow a person to gain employment authorization as well as some state and federal benefits, such as food and income assistance, health insurance, and other services. In the long term, T status holders can apply for permanent residency, also known as a green card.

In some circumstances, a T-visa can also allow a person’s family members to remain in the United States, but it is still a temporary status. Applying for a T-visa can be complicated; therefore, it is important to seek the support of a knowledgeable Doraville attorney throughout the process.

Applying for a T-Visa with the Help of a Lawyer

The requirements for receiving a T-visa include documentation and filings with USCIS to show that an applicant is eligible. An immigration attorney could provide crucial guidance and knowledge in order to complete the T-visa application and have a good chance of success.

Applicants must first fill out the base application for T status, Form I-914, and Form I-914 Supplement B, which include descriptions of the applicant’s personal trafficking experiences. Articulating what happened can be incredibly difficult for an applicant, which is why your lawyer can sensitively talk through the events and help you put them on paper.

Applicants may also need to file an inadmissibility waiver, Form I-192, and provide other proof of eligibility. If someone wants to also extend status to family members, they must show that their family is in danger of retaliation as a result of them leaving the trafficking organization, whether by escape or through law enforcement cooperation. Which family members can gain status will depend on different factors, including the applicant’s age and their relationship with the family members.

At a mechanical level, the applicant will need to designate a safe address for USCIS to contact them about their application and pay certain fees to apply. At the same time, applicants can apply for a work permit through Form I-765, though USCIS may issue a work permit based on the T-visa application.

A dedicated T-visa lawyer in Doraville could assist with navigating USCIS’s rules for applications, especially when it comes to gathering the necessary information and documentation and submitting each form. Your attorney could also interface with USCIS, field requests for additional information, and represent your interests to the agency.

Location Requirements

Human trafficking is an international crime, and victims could be located throughout the world on their way to or from the United States. Furthermore, traffickers could use promises that the victim will go to the United States as part of a fraudulent scheme to induce victims to come to them. However, the promise that a victim will go to the United States is not enough to qualify them for a T-visa.

Instead, the victims have to either be in the United States or at a port of entry to qualify—includes territories and freely associated states such as:

Guam
Puerto Rico
American Samoa
Republic of Palau
U.S. Virgin Islands
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

A lawyer in Doraville could help an applicant navigate the complex T-visa application process, ensuring they meet the eligibility requirements and present the necessary documentation.

Participating in Criminal Investigations or Prosecutions

Another requirement of the T-visa is that the victim help law enforcement in their investigations. They do not have to participate to the same extent as applicants for the U-visa, but if law enforcement makes a reasonable request for assistance, the victim must comply. However, the law recognizes that this is dangerous and provides exemptions to this requirement.

From a practical perspective, the requirement is more that a victim must show that they are willing to assist in investigating or prosecuting their traffickers. That can include participating in police interviews, providing information to law enforcement, or testifying at trials. Law enforcement requests must be reasonable. Asking a trafficking victim to go undercover or take other risks would not be a reasonable request, such as asking them to participate in an interview.

Finally, the law creates an automatic exception for minors. It also has an exception for victims who have suffered severe trauma, and participation would increase their emotional or psychological harm. Many sex trafficking victims can qualify for this exemption, as a Doraville T-visa attorney could explain in more detail.

Hardship

The final requirement of the T-visa is that the applicant would suffer hardship if forced to return to their native country. The requirement is actually extreme hardship or danger. Many trafficking victims are induced to leave their countries because the conditions there are dire. However, some are not, and returning to their native country would not result in hardship.

Being involved in the sex trade could place those victims in danger. For example, many countries have rigid purity expectations for women. Women who are victimized in the sex trade could be subject to violence if they went back to that country. They could also be exposed to the risk of retaliation by people in the trafficking network. The risk may be even higher for LGBTQ+ trafficking victims. An attorney could help Doraville victims explore how to prove a hardship for a T-visa application.

Discuss Adjusting Your Status with a Doraville T-Visa Attorney

Surviving a trafficking experience takes so much from victims and leaves them in a new country without a support system. Gaining T status is one way to temporarily stay in place as you rebuild your life and provide for your family.