Humanitarian Visa Lawyer Explains U and T Visa Eligibility

INA § 101(a)(15)(U) covers victims of specified criminal activity, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and felonious assault. An applicant must possess information about the crime, meet the helpfulness requirement, and show substantial physical or mental abuse caused by it. The activity must occur within U.S. .urisdiction or violate a qualifying U.S. .aw. USCIS considers the cumulative effects of repeated harm. Neither criminal charges nor a conviction are required under federal immigration law.

Under INA § 101(a)(15)(T), labor trafficking generally involves force, fraud, or coercion used to subject someone to involuntary servitude, debt bondage, peonage, or slavery. Unpaid wages alone may not establish trafficking. Sex trafficking involves a commercial sex act induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or a commercial sex act involving a person under 18. Travel across a border is unnecessary. A T applicant must also show qualifying presence on account of trafficking, reasonable cooperation or an exception, and extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm upon removal.

A principal U petition must include Form I-918 Supplement B signed by an authorized official within the six months immediately before filing. Police, prosecutors, judges, and other authorized agencies may certify the victim's past, present, or likely helpfulness. Federal law does not require an agency to sign. USCIS independently decides eligibility. For victims under 16 when the qualifying activity began, or those who are incapacitated, a parent, guardian, or next friend may provide the required information or assistance.

Form I-914 Supplement B is useful but not mandatory. Under 8 CFR § 214.208, T applicants generally must report trafficking to an agency with jurisdiction and comply with reasonable assistance requests. A documented report may suffice if investigators make no further reasonable request. A victim under 18 during at least one trafficking act may be exempt from cooperation. Physical or psychological trauma preventing cooperation may also justify an exception. Applicants who establish either exception need not demonstrate agency contact. USCIS may evaluate other credible evidence even without an arrest or prosecution.

Useful records include:

• Agency reports and correspondence showing crime reporting or assistance.
• Medical or counseling records supporting the nature and extent of injury.
• Messages, witness accounts, and threats showing criminal conduct or coercion.
• Contracts, pay records, debt demands, and withheld documents showing exploitation.

Both applications require a signed personal statement. U petitioners should connect substantial abuse to the qualifying crime. T applicants should explain the trafficking, related presence, and hardship upon removal. Missing records or reporting delays should be addressed accurately.

Past immigration violations may require Form I-192 to request an available waiver of inadmissibility. Applicants facing immigration proceedings should coordinate their petitions with removal defense. Filing either petition does not automatically stop a final removal order. For a T application, however, a favorable USCIS bona fide determination automatically stays execution of that order under 8 CFR § 214.205. A pending U petition has no equivalent automatic effect.

VAWA self-petitioning may apply to certain survivors abused by a qualifying U.S. .itizen or lawful permanent resident family member. It requires its own relationship and abuse evidence, but not a U law enforcement certification. A survivor may have facts supporting both VAWA and U status, although the petitions have different legal requirements.

Asylum requires past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution linked to a protected ground. Crime victimization alone is insufficient. Humanitarian parole is discretionary temporary permission based on urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. It does not itself grant U or T nonimmigrant status.