T Nonimmigrant Status for Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons

Key changes

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to incorporate changes from the Classification for Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons; Eligibility for “T” Nonimmigrant Status Final Rule (T Final Rule), including updated citations, new definitions, and clarifications.
• Emphasizes a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach to adjudicating applications for T nonimmigrant status.
• Explains the bona fide determination process for applicants for T nonimmigrant status.
• Provides additional exceptions to the general rule that departures from the United States after trafficking render an applicant unable to establish physical presence on account of their trafficking.
• Informs and provides clarification on the “any credible evidence” provision to assist officers.
• Revises the definition of law enforcement agencies.
• Clarifies the requirement that an applicant must establish that a perpetrator engaged in a specific prohibited action “for the purpose of” inducing a commercial sex act or subjecting the applicant to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
• Explains that an applicant generally must report their trafficking to law enforcement authorities with jurisdiction to investigate their trafficking to satisfy the reporting requirement.