T Victim of Human Trafficking, T-1 through T-6
T nonimmigrant status protects victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons, whether sex trafficking or labour trafficking, who are present in the United States because they were trafficked. It gives four years of status, work authorisation, access to federal and state benefits, and a route to a green card. It is one of only two categories in this range that a person applies for themselves, with no employer and no petitioner.
- Duration
- Four years from the grant of T-1 status. Derivatives are granted for the same period, running from the date their own status is granted.
- Extensions
- T status can be extended in certain situations on Form I-539, including where a law enforcement official certifies that your presence is necessary for an ongoing investigation or prosecution. In practice most T nonimmigrants move to adjustment of status rather than extending.
- Work
- Yes. A T-1 principal receives an employment authorisation document automatically when Form I-914 is approved, with no separate Form I-765 needed. Family members granted derivative T status and living in the United States must file Form I-765 to get an EAD. Applicants with a pending bona fide application can get deferred action and an EAD by filing Form I-765 under category (c)(40).
- Dual intent
- limited - T status is humanitarian and carries a statutory adjustment route under INA 245(l), so pursuing permanent residence is expected rather than penalised. Foreign residence and departure intent are not part of the test.
- Dependents
- T-2 spouse, T-3 child, T-4 parent, T-5 unmarried sibling under 18 and T-6 child of a derivative. If you are under 21 you may apply for a spouse, unmarried children under 21, parents and unmarried siblings under 18. If you are 21 or over you may apply for a spouse and unmarried children under 21. Regardless of your age, you may apply for parents, unmarried siblings under 18 and children of derivatives where they face present danger of retaliation. All of this is done on Form I-914 Supplement A.
- Path to a green card
- Adjustment of status under INA 245(l) after three years of continuous physical presence in T status, or earlier if you maintained continuous physical presence throughout an investigation or prosecution that is now complete. Form I-485 is fee-exempt for T nonimmigrants, as is Form I-131 for travel documents.
- Processing time
- Very long and getting longer. the published national median for Form I-914 rose from 12.3 months in fiscal year 2023 to 14.9 in 2024, 20.8 in 2025 and 28.6 months for fiscal year 2026 through June 30, 2026. The queue explains it: 71,140 T-1 applications were pending at March 31, 2026 against 354 approvals in the first half of FY 2026. The bona fide determination process, available for applications filed on or after Aug. 28, 2024, is the mechanism that delivers deferred action and work authorisation while the main application waits, and it is the reason to file Form I-765 under (c)(40) at the outset. There is no T equivalent of the U programme updates page; operational notices sit on the T status page and the T question and answer page.
- Annual cap and waiting lines
- 5,000 T-1 principals per fiscal year. Qualifying family members in T-2 through T-6 do not count against the cap. The cap has historically not been reached
Who qualifies
- T-1: the principal victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons
- T-2: spouse of a T-1
- T-3: child of a T-1
- T-4: parent of a T-1, where the T-1 is under 21, or where the parent faces present danger of retaliation
- T-5: unmarried sibling under 18 of a T-1 under 21, or where the sibling faces present danger of retaliation
- T-6: adult or minor child of a derivative family member who has been granted T status
Requirements
- You are or were a victim of sex trafficking or labour trafficking as defined in federal law
- You are physically present in the United States, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands or at a port of entry because you were trafficked
- You complied with any reasonable law enforcement request for assistance, unless you were under 18 when at least one trafficking act occurred, or you cannot cooperate because of physical or psychological trauma
- You would suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm if removed
- You are admissible, or you seek a waiver on Form I-192
- Form I-914 with a personal statement describing the trafficking
- Evidence of law enforcement compliance, which may be Form I-914 Supplement B but can equally be police reports, court documents, correspondence, news articles, affidavits or other credible evidence
- Since March 30, 2026, T visa applicants abroad are subject to expanded online presence review
How to apply
- 1
Write a personal statement describing the trafficking, in your own words
- 2
Gather evidence of compliance with reasonable law enforcement requests, or evidence you qualify for the age or trauma exception
- 3
File Form I-914 with USCIS with no fee, and include a safe address in the mailing address field if you do not feel safe receiving post at home
- 4
File Form I-765 under category (c)(40) at the same time, so a bona fide determination can bring deferred action and an EAD sooner
- 5
File Form I-192 if you need a waiver of inadmissibility; it is free for T applicants
- 6
File Form I-914 Supplement A for each eligible family member, at the same time or later
- 7
Family members abroad complete Form DS-160 and apply for a T visa at a consular post
- 8
After three years, or earlier if the investigation is complete, file Form I-485 to adjust status
Fees and forms
| Form I-914, application for T nonimmigrant status | $0 |
| Form I-914 Supplement A, for a family member | $0 |
| Form I-914 Supplement B, law enforcement declaration | $0 |
| Form I-192, waiver of inadmissibility | $0 for T applicants; applicants for T status and T nonimmigrants are fee exempt on all forms through adjustment of status |
| Form I-765 for a derivative or a bona fide determination EAD | $0 |
| Form I-485 adjustment of status as a T nonimmigrant | $0 |
| Form I-131 travel document for an approved T applicant | $0 |
| Form I-539 to extend T status | $0 for T nonimmigrants |
| MRV nonimmigrant visa application fee for a family member applying abroad | $185, the non-petition-based tier |
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- April 30, 2024, effective Aug. 28, 2024: the T visa final rule, 89 FR 34864, moved the T rules to new 8 CFR 214.200 to 214.216 and rewrote much of the category. It created the streamlined bona fide determination process with EAD category (c)(40); removed the inadmissibility determination and the appears-fraudulent screen from bona fide review; accepted that a single law enforcement contact may suffice; widened the definition of law enforcement agency to include further agencies and tribal authorities; struck the language weighing the presence of an attorney; required a qualified interpreter; and fixed the age exemption to age at the time of victimisation rather than at application. It also relaxed physical presence, allowing it to be met where law enforcement was involved at any point before the application, permitting applicants who departed and re-entered to qualify, and recognising trafficking abroad with a US nexus. Crucially it removed the requirement to file Form I-765 concurrently with Form I-914, and codified a policy against issuing notices to appear to applicants with pending T applications absent serious aggravating circumstances.
- Aug. 28, 2024: the bona fide determination process applies to T applications filed on or after that date. To get deferred action and employment authorisation you must file Form I-765 under 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(40). If you filed a bona fide Form I-914 without an accompanying Form I-765, USCIS notifies you and invites you to file one. Pending Forms I-765 filed under (a)(16) or (c)(25) may be converted to (c)(40). USCIS implemented this in the Policy Manual by an alert of Oct. 23, 2024.
- Jan. 14, 2025: a correcting amendment, 90 FR 2921, restored regulatory language unintentionally removed by an earlier correction. It is the only change to the T regulatory text in 2025 or 2026.
- Dec. 22, 2025: USCIS policy alert PA-2025-34 rewrote the 8 U.S.C. 1367 confidentiality guidance and expressly covers T applicants. It permits DHS to consider information from a statutory prohibited source, meaning the trafficker, in defined circumstances. USCIS framed it as a fraud response, citing a 1,044 percent rise in T applications between FY 2020 and FY 2024.
- Nov. 3, 2025: DHS proposed a rule on the collection and use of biometrics, 90 FR 49062, which would change how T applicants demonstrate good moral character. Proposed only as of September 2026.
- June 5, 2026: the proposed rule on discretionary employment authorisation, 91 FR 34352, states that its (c)(14) changes do not reach (c)(40) T bona fide determination EADs, but that the proposed criminal-history and biometrics provisions do apply to employment authorisation based on a grant of a bona fide T application. Proposed only as of September 2026.
- The 5,000 cap has never been reached, but the queue has exploded and outcomes have inverted. On USCIS quarterly data, T-1 receipts went from 3,070 in FY 2022 to 15,332 in FY 2024 and 37,177 in FY 2025. Approvals peaked at 3,786 in FY 2024 then fell to 1,398 in FY 2025, a year in which denials of 2,362 exceeded approvals. Through the first half of FY 2026 there were 354 approvals against 375 denials. As at March 31, 2026 there were 71,140 T-1 applications pending and 35,817 family member applications, 106,957 in total.
- March 30, 2026: State expanded online presence review, announced March 25, 2026, to A-3, C-3 domestic workers, G-5, H-3, H-4 dependants of H-3, K-1, K-2, K-3, Q, R-1, R-2, S, T and U applicants. This sits on top of the June 18, 2025 requirement for F, M and J applicants and the Dec. 15, 2025 extension to H-1B and H-4. Everyone in scope is told to set all social media profiles to public or open. T is named in the March 2026 expansion, so T visa applicants abroad must set social media profiles to public.
- Oct. 1, 2025: the interview waiver rollback announced Sept. 18, 2025 took effect and superseded the July 25, 2025 guidance. Almost every nonimmigrant applicant now needs an in-person interview. The standing carve-outs are A-1, A-2, C-3 other than personal staff, G-1 through G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-6, TECRO E-1, diplomatic and official visas, and 12-month renewals of B-1/B-2, Mexican border crossing cards and H-2A. Waiver-eligible applicants must also apply in their country of nationality or residence, must never have been refused a visa unless overcome or waived, and must have no apparent ineligibility. The old under-14 and over-79 age exemptions were abolished. No further update has issued as of September 2026.
- July 15, 2026: State told nonimmigrant applicants to interview in their country of nationality or residence, or at the designated processing post if their country has no routine operations. Applying elsewhere is allowed but harder to qualify, the MRV fee is non-refundable and non-transferable, and waits are much longer. A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO and diplomatic applicants are exempt.
- Jan. 1, 2026: Presidential Proclamation 10998, signed Dec. 16, 2025, took effect at 12:01 a.m. EST and replaced Proclamation 10949 (signed June 4, 2025, effective June 9, 2025). It fully suspends visa issuance to nationals of 19 countries - Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - plus holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents, across every nonimmigrant and immigrant category. It only reaches people who were outside the United States and held no valid visa at 12:01 a.m. EST on Jan. 1, 2026; no earlier-issued visa was revoked under it. The full suspension reaches all nonimmigrant categories, which affects derivative family members abroad rather than the principal already in the United States.
- July 4, 2025: Public Law 119-21 added non-waivable immigration surcharges on top of normal filing fees. The ones that touch nonimmigrants are the Form I-94 fee, held at $24 for FY 2026, the parole fee, adjusted to $1,020 for FY 2026, parolee EAD surcharges of $560 initial and $280 renewal, and a statutory visa integrity fee of at least $250 on nonimmigrant visa issuance. The $250 visa integrity fee is enacted but unverified as collected: it appears nowhere on the State Department fee schedule as of September 2026 and no implementing rule has published. T nonimmigrants remain fee exempt on all forms through adjustment of status.
- Current USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055 edition 05/29/26: Forms I-914, I-914 Supplement A and I-914 Supplement B are all $0, Form I-485 is $0 for a T nonimmigrant adjusting under INA 245(l), and Form I-131 is $0 for someone with an approved Form I-914.
Where it goes wrong
- Assuming you need Form I-914 Supplement B from law enforcement. You do not; other credible evidence is expressly permitted, and since the 2024 final rule a single law enforcement contact may suffice.
- Relying on the older confidentiality position. The Dec. 22, 2025 policy alert permits USCIS to consider information from the trafficker in defined circumstances.
- Not filing Form I-765 under (c)(40) with the application, which is the only way to get the bona fide determination EAD and delays work authorisation by months.
- Derivative family members not receiving deferred action or an EAD until the principal does.
- Filing Form I-765 while living outside the United States, which is not permitted for derivatives abroad.
- Using a home address where post is not safe, when USCIS expressly allows a safe address.
- Missing that continuous physical presence for adjustment can be satisfied by the completed-investigation route rather than waiting three years.
- Confusing T with U. T is for trafficking and gives four years and a 5,000 cap; U is for a wider list of crimes, gives four years and a 10,000 cap with a long waiting list.
- Not realising that the confidentiality protections bar DHS from denying the application on evidence supplied solely by the trafficker.
Not sure this is the one? Describe your situation and the finder will name the options worth exploring. None of this is legal advice; eligibility turns on facts a page cannot see.