The T visa provides immigration protection to victims of severe forms of human trafficking. It allows victims to remain in the United States for up to 4 years, receive work authorization, access federal benefits, and eventually apply for a green card.
Key Facts
Annual cap: 5,000 T visas. Provides work authorization, access to federal benefits, and a path to permanent residence after 3 years (or after the trafficking investigation concludes). Family members can receive derivative T visas.
What Is the T Visa?
The T visa provides immigration relief to victims of severe forms of human trafficking. It allows trafficking victims to remain in the United States for up to 4 years and provides a pathway to permanent residence (a green card). The T visa was created by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) to encourage victims to assist law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking crimes, while providing them with protection and stability.
Who Qualifies for a T Visa?
To qualify, you must be or have been a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons (sex trafficking or labor trafficking), be physically present in the United States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a U.S. port of entry due to the trafficking, comply with any reasonable request from law enforcement for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of the trafficking (or be under 18 years old, which exempts you from this requirement), and demonstrate that you would suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm if removed from the United States.
What Counts as "Severe Trafficking"?
Sex trafficking: A commercial sex act induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person is under 18. Labor trafficking: Recruitment, harboring, transportation, or obtaining a person for labor or services through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. Common trafficking situations include domestic servitude, agricultural labor exploitation, factory sweatshops, restaurant and hospitality exploitation, construction labor trafficking, and forced commercial sex work.
How to Apply
File Form I-914 (Application for T Nonimmigrant Status) with USCIS. There is no filing fee. Include your personal declaration describing the trafficking experience in detail, Form I-914 Supplement B (signed by a law enforcement agency confirming your cooperation, or evidence of why you could not cooperate), evidence of trafficking (any available documentation), evidence of physical presence in the U.S. due to trafficking, and evidence of extreme hardship if removed. USCIS has a dedicated unit — the Vermont Service Center — that handles all T visa cases with specialized officers trained in trafficking cases.
Annual Cap
Congress limits T visas to 5,000 per fiscal year for principal applicants. This cap has never been reached — the number of T visa applications has historically been well below the cap, reflecting the difficulty trafficking victims face in coming forward and navigating the application process. Derivative family members (spouses, children, parents, siblings) do not count against the cap.
Benefits of T Visa Status
T visa holders receive authorization to work in the United States (EAD), eligibility for certain federal benefits (including refugee-equivalent benefits through the Office of Refugee Resettlement), protection from removal, the ability to bring qualifying family members to the U.S. (spouse, children, parents if the victim is under 21, and siblings under 18 if the victim is under 21), and a clear path to permanent residence after 3 years (or upon completion of the trafficking investigation, whichever is earlier).
T Visa to Green Card
T visa holders can apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence after being in T status for at least 3 years (or if the investigation is completed before 3 years), demonstrating continuous physical presence in the U.S. since receiving T status, demonstrating good moral character, complying with law enforcement requests, and showing that you would suffer extreme hardship if removed. The filing fee for adjustment is waived for T visa holders.
T Visa vs U Visa
Both T and U visas protect crime victims, but they cover different crimes. The T visa is specifically for trafficking victims. The U visa covers victims of a broader range of qualifying crimes (domestic violence, assault, sexual abuse, etc.) who cooperate with law enforcement. T visas have a 5,000 annual cap; U visas have a 10,000 cap. T visa holders can adjust status after 3 years; U visa holders after 3 years. Both are free to file.
Confidentiality
T visa applications are strictly confidential. USCIS cannot share information about your case with the trafficker or anyone connected to them. If you fear retaliation, USCIS can take additional protective measures.
If you are a trafficking victim: You do not need immigration status to access help. Call the National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888 (24/7, confidential, multilingual). You can also text "HELP" to 233733. Legal aid organizations can help with your T visa application at no cost.
Last verified: April 2026 · Reviewed by USImmigrationLaw.Today editorial team.