If you are in removal (deportation) proceedings before an immigration judge, and you are abused by your USC or LPR spouse or parent or you have a child with the USC or LPR who is abused by the USC or LPR, it might be possible to apply for “VAWA cancellation of removal.”¹ If an application for cancellation of removal is granted, the removal process can be ended and you can receive legal permanent residence.² Because to be eligible to apply for VAWA cancellation of removal you have to be in removal proceedings, it is extremely important that you have an immigration attorney with experience in VAWA to advise you and represent you. To determine if you qualify for VAWA cancellation of removal or another form of immigration relief, you should consult with an immigration lawyer with experience in VAWA.

Our Immigration page lists national organizations working in the area of immigration law and our Finding a Lawyer page includes the contact information of legal organizations and lawyer referral services by state.

¹ INA § 240A(b)(2); 8 CFR § 1240.11(a)(1)
² INA § 240A(b)(2)(A)

If your application for cancellation of removal is granted, the removal process can be ended and you can receive lawful permanent residence.¹  Unlike a VAWA self-petition, you cannot include your children as derivatives in a VAWA cancellation application.

¹ INA § 240A(b)(2)(A)

Victims of any of the following crimes could qualify for a U visa if the crime took place in the U.S.:

rape; torture; trafficking; incest; domestic violence; sexual assault; abusive sexual contact; prostitution; sexual exploitation; stalking; female genital mutilation; being held hostage; peonage; involuntary servitude; slave trade; kidnapping; abduction; unlawful criminal restraint; false imprisonment; blackmail; extortion; manslaughter; murder; felonious assault; witness tampering; obstruction of justice; perjury; fraud in foreign labor contracting; or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any of the above-mentioned crimes.¹

However, just because you were the victim of one of these crimes does not mean that you will automatically qualify. You have to meet the other requirements, which are explained in What are the requirements that I must meet to get a U visa?

Note: It is very hard to get a U visa without help from an attorney with experience in U visas. WomensLaw.org strongly recommends that you consult with an immigration lawyer familiar with U visas before applying to see if you qualify for this or other routes to immigration status. Please see the national organizations listed on our National Organizations - Immigration page. For general legal services organizations, not immigration-specific, and referral services to private attorneys, go to our Finding a Lawyer page. Remember to ask the lawyer you hope to work with whether s/he has filed for U visas or has been trained on how to file for U visas, since this may be something immigration lawyers or other lawyers are not normally trained to do. For assistance, your attorney can contact ASISTA.

¹ INA § 101(a)(15)(U)(iii)

It will likely take several years for you to get a work permit after you apply for a U visa through the bona fide determination or waitlist processes.

If you ultimately get U visa status, you will immediately get a four-year work permit because the U visa lasts for four years.¹ In rare cases, the U visa status can be extended beyond four years, but only if additional time is necessary due to “exceptional circumstances” or if the certifying agency provides a new certification specifically stating that your presence in the U.S. is still required, beyond the four years, to assist in the investigation or prosecution of the crime.² Here is an example of an “exceptional circumstance” that could qualify you to extend your U visa beyond four years: If your derivative family members are outside of the U.S. when your U visa is approved, they will need to get permission from the U.S. embassy or consulate before coming to the U.S. This process (“consular processing”) can take a long time. If they cannot come to the U.S. before your U visa status expires, you may need to ask USCIS to extend your status because you must still have a valid U visa when your family members arrive.³

After three years in U visa status, you can apply for lawful permanent residence (your “green card”).

¹ INA § 214(p)(3)(B)
² INA § 214(p)(6)
³ See generally, AFM 39.1(g)(2)(A); USCIS PM-602-0032.2, “Extension of Status for T and U Nonimmigrants (Corrected and Reissued),” October 4, 2016

If you qualify for a U visa and you are thinking of applying for your child as a derivative, you may want to consult with an immigration lawyer first to see if there are any other immigration options for your child. Sometimes it makes sense for children to get status on their own instead of having their status based on your status. For example, some types of immigration cases are decided much faster than U visas, or your child could get a green card faster than s/he could through a U visa. Also, if your child has his/her own child, your child may be able to include your grandchild as a derivative in your child’s own petition. Below are some options that can be available to children for you to discuss with a lawyer.

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)

Children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by one or both of their parents may be able to get Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), which would allow them to file for lawful permanent residence (a “green card”). It is important to understand that a child can be considered to be “abandoned” if one parent is absent, even if the child has a good home with the non-absent parent. However, a child cannot file for status for either parent as part of this application. You can read more about the requirements for SIJS on the USCIS.gov website. Please talk to a lawyer who specializes in SIJS for help. There are special requirements for SIJS, including getting a decision from a state court judge, that are unique to SIJS.

VAWA self-petition

Children who are/were abused by a parent who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident may be able to file for their own VAWA self-petition. See our VAWA for Abuse Victims page for more information.

*Please note that reading this section is not enough to be sure you are filing everything you need. We strongly encourage you to find an attorney with experience working in U visas to help you.*

With an attorney’s help, you will fill out a “Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status,” which is called Form I-918. You must also include the Form I-918 Supplement B (the law enforcement certification). Depending on your situation, you may include the Form I-192 (the waiver for any grounds of inadmissibility) and the Form I-765 (for a work permit). You should consult with your attorney to see which forms to file in your case.

Along with the forms mentioned above, you must send USCIS a signed personal statement that describes how you were victimized.¹ The personal statement is very important. It is the only opportunity you have to tell your story and for USCIS to hear your “voice.” An attorney or a crime victim advocate can help you organize your story but it should be in your own words. You should also use your statement to explain how you meet the other requirements, especially if you don’t have a lot of other documents to support your case.

You will also want to send supporting evidence to show that you are eligible for a U visa.² If you are seeing a mental health therapist or counselor, a statement from that person could be supporting evidence. The therapist can describe the facts of the crime as you told them to him/her and how the crime affected you, which may be very helpful to show the “substantial harm” requirement. If it would re-traumatize you to explain the details of what you experienced and its effect in your personal statement, the counselor could do that for you as long as the counselor can describe everything in detail for you, based on what you told him/her. The goal of this law is to help crime victims, not re-traumatize them.

Other supporting evidence includes anything from medical, legal, or social service systems that supports your own story and helps to prove that you meet the requirements. USCIS likes evidence from other “systems” because people work in those systems are considered “experts.” USCIS will, however, look at evidence from other sources too, especially if you and your lawyer explain: (1) why you couldn’t get “systems” evidence; and (2) why this source of the supporting (corroborating) evidence is believable, trustworthy, and knowledgeable.

¹ 8 CFR § 214.14(c)(2)(iii)
² 8 CFR § 214.14(c)(2)(ii)

One of the requirements to get a U visa is that you must show you suffered substantial physical or mental harm as a result of the crime.¹ USCIS will consider several factors when deciding whether the harm was “substantial,” including any permanent or serious harm to your appearance, health, or physical or mental well-being.² You can show this through your personal statement and through supporting evidence, such as medical reports, declarations from mental health providers, and statements from professionals or friends or family who have helped you since the crime. For example, one thing your therapist can discuss in his/her declaration is the connection between the crime and the harm you are suffering, especially if it is too hard for you to provide details in your own declaration.

You should work with your attorney and with a crime victim advocate on how to best show that you suffered substantial harm.

¹ 8 CFR § 214.14(b)(1)
² INA § 101(a)(15)(U)(i)(I)

The following officials and agencies may be able to provide the law enforcement certification (Form I-918, Supplement B) that is necessary for your U visa petition:

• federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies;
• prosecutors;
• judges; or
• other authorities that are responsible for the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity, such as Child Protective Services and federal and state agencies that do workplace investigations, such as Equal Employment Opportunity and Departments of Labor.¹

If you have already reported the crime to law enforcement, your attorney can request the certification from that law enforcement agency. Many law enforcement agencies know about U visas and have employees who are in charge of reviewing certification requests. Other agencies may not be familiar with U visas and may need your attorney or domestic violence advocate to explain the program to them and why they should sign the certification in your case.

The law enforcement agency can sign the certification no matter what the status of the criminal case may be. For example, even if the police never arrested a suspect in your case, they can still sign the certification based on your report. Also, even if the suspect was found not guilty at trial, law enforcement can still sign the certification for you.

¹ 8 CFR § 214.14(a)(2)

If you are undocumented and your U.S. citizen child was the victim of one of the qualifying U visa crimes, you (the undocumented parent) may be able to apply for a U visa as an “indirect victim.” When the crime victim is under 21 at the time the crime was committed, the victim’s parents and siblings under 18 may be indirect victims.¹ For the more information on indirect victims, go to How do I show that I am a “victim of a crime”? What is the difference between a direct and indirect victim?

¹ 8 CFR § 214.14(a)(14)(i)

If you already have a case in immigration court, or have one coming up because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained you, you can still apply for a U visa.¹ However, immigration judges do not have the power to give you a U visa since only USCIS has that authority. The only thing they might agree to do is to “continue” your case until USCIS decides whether to approve your U visa petition. Sometimes, the Immigration Judge may agree to dismiss your case. If you are already in immigration court, it is more important than ever that you file a good, complete case, with all the forms and documentation that meet all of the requirements. This is hard to do without help from an attorney with experience in U visa cases.

To avoid being deported, you will need an attorney who has experience in immigration court, not just experience with U visas. Your attorney may wish to contact ASISTA, a national non-profit organization, to get the latest strategies and arguments for U visa petitioners in immigration and federal court. ASISTA can also talk to your attorney about exploring the option of filing a case in federal court to stop your deportation.

Other national organizations can be found on our National Organizations - Immigration page.

¹ 8 CFR § 214.14(c)(1)(i), (c)(1)(ii)

It will likely take many years to get your U visa from the day that you apply for it. As of April 2024, the USCIS website reported that 80% of U visa petitions were processed for review for a bona fide determination or waitlist placement within about five years. As discussed below, the bona fide determination and waitlist placements are not final decisions in your case.

The wait for the final decision in a U visa case is much longer than five years. In March 2024, USCIS stated they were reviewing cases filed in or before November 2016. Therefore, any petition filed now would likely take as long as ten years to be reviewed for a final decision because thousands more petitions have been filed since 2016 and are already ahead of you in line waiting to be reviewed. One reason it takes so long is that Congress limited the number of U visas the government can give out to 10,000 per year,¹ but far more than 10,000 people apply for U visas each year, so the line of petitions waiting to get reviewed gets longer and longer every year.

Because it is taking so long for the government to review U visa petitions, USCIS may give you a work permit and deferred action while you wait for a final decision. Deferred action is not an immigration status, but it allows USCIS to give you a work permit so you can work legally while you wait for a decision on your U visa. Having deferred action also means that the government thinks you are a low priority for deportation, so it is less likely that you will be deported while you wait for your U visa.

There are two ways to get a work permit and deferred action: (1) through a bona fide determination;² or (2) through the waitlist.³ It’s important to understand, however, that either process will likely take several years from the day you submit your U visa petition.

Bona fide determination
For the bona fide determination, USCIS does a basic review of your petition to see if the U visa petition (Form I-918) and the law enforcement certification (Form I-918 Supplement B) were complete and properly filed. In addition, they will make sure that you provided a personal statement about the crime, and they will run a criminal background check on you. Based on your criminal background check and any other information in your file about your criminal and immigration record, USCIS will weigh the pros and cons of giving you a work permit and deferred action. If the pros outweigh the cons, USCIS will give you a work permit and deferred action for four years, which you can renew until your U visa is finally decided. USCIS will not give you a bona fide determination and work permit if any of the following are true:

• your Form I-918 or Form I-918 Supplement B are not complete and properly filed;
• you do not provide a personal statement;
• you do not complete your fingerprints (biometrics); or
• USCIS believes you are a threat to public safety or national security.

If you receive a bona fide determination and your derivative family members are in the United States, USCIS can also give them a work permit and deferred action. Your derivatives would need to show that their derivative petition form (Form I-918 Supplement A) was complete and properly filed and that they have a qualifying relationship to you; in other words, they must show evidence that they are your spouse, child under 21, or if you were under 21 when you filed your U visa, that they are your parent or unmarried sibling under 18. USCIS will also do a criminal background check on them and weigh the pros and cons before deciding whether to give them a four-year work permit and deferred action. USCIS will not give your family members a bona fide determination and work permit if any of the following are true:

• you (the primary petitioner) do not also receive a bona fide determination;
• their Form I-918 Supplement A is not complete and properly filed;
• they do not include evidence of their relationship to you;
• they do not complete their fingerprints (biometrics); or
• USCIS believes your family members are a threat to public safety or national security.

Waitlist
If after doing a basic review of your petition, USCIS decides not to give you a work permit through the bona fide determination, they will do a full review of your petition. If they think that they are likely to approve your U visa petition, but they have run out of visas to give out in the current year, they will put you on a waitlist and give you a work permit and deferred action for four years, which you can renew until a U visa is available for you. USCIS will also put your derivatives on the waitlist and give them deferred action and a work permit if they are in the United States and USCIS thinks it is likely to approve your derivatives’ petitions.

It may take USCIS several years to complete either a bona fide determination or waitlist review of your case because so many people have applied for U visas and their petitions are already waiting in line. While you are waiting for the bona fide determination or waitlist, you will not have a work permit or any legal status or protection from deportation.

Many attorneys are now seeking help from federal courts to get U visa petitioners their work permits faster and to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from deporting U visa petitioners who are waiting for the government to decide their cases. If your attorney is considering filing in federal court, please first ask your attorney to contact ASISTA, a national non-profit specializing in immigration law, for help with this.

¹ INA § 214(p)(2)
² USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 3, Part C, Chp. 5
³ 8 CFR § 214.14(d)(2); USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 3, Part C, Chp. 5(c)(5)

You can apply for lawful permanent residence after you have had your U visa for three years and before your U visa expires.¹ To get lawful permanent residence, all of the following must be true:

1. You have been physically in the U.S. for a “continuous period” of at least three years since the date you got U visa status. A “continuous period” means that you cannot leave the U.S. for 90 days in a row or for 180 days in total while in U visa status, unless the reason you left was related to the criminal investigation or prosecution.² (If your U visa was granted when you were outside of the U.S., the three years starts from the day that you come into the U.S. with a U visa.)
2. If law enforcement asked you for more help related to the criminal investigation or prosecution since you got your U visa, you did not unreasonably refuse to provide that help.³
3. Your continued presence in the US is “justified on humanitarian grounds, to ensure family unity, or it is in the public interest.”⁴ USCIS will weigh the pros and cons of your case in deciding whether to approve your green card. Generally, if you do not have any negative factors, such as criminal history or significant immigration violations, it will be considered “in the public interest” for you to continue to be in the U.S. and so USCIS will likely approve your green card application.⁵ If you do have negative factors in your case, USCIS will weigh them as “cons” in deciding your case.

After you file your application for permanent residence, you will need to wait for USCIS to make its decision, which could take as long as two years, sometimes longer. While you wait for the decision, USCIS will extend your U visa status, and you can apply for or renew your work permit.⁶

¹ INA § 245(m); 8 CFR § 245.24(b)
² INA § 245(m)(1)(A), (m)(2); 8 CFR § 245.24(b)(3). (e)
³ INA § 245(m)(1); 8 CFR § 245.24(b)(5)
⁴ INA § 245(m)(1)(B); 8 CFR § 245.24(b)(6)      
⁵ See Matter of Arai, 13 I&N Dec. 494 (BIA 1970) (“In the absence of adverse factors, adjustment will ordinarily be granted, still as a matter of discretion”)
⁶ INA § 214(p)(6); 8 CFR § 274a.12(c)(9)

Although it is usually better to file for U visas for your family members at the time that you file your own petition, if you didn’t do that, you may be able to include them when you file for lawful permanent residence, regardless of whether they are in the U.S. or abroad.¹

In other words, when you apply for your green card, you can file a form that would eventually allow your family members to apply for their own green cards, as well.

The process for your family members to get green cards through this process is very different than if you include them at the time that you file your own U visa petition in the following ways:

Forms: When you include your family members as derivatives at the time that you file your own U visa petition, you file Form I-918 Supplement A for each family member, along with any other forms they may need, such as the waiver of inadmissibility (Form I-192) and the application for employment authorization (Form I-765). However, if you are including your family members when you apply for permanent residence, you file Form I-929 for each family member. They would not need to file any more forms until the Form I-929 is approved.

Timing and Process: You can only file Form I-929 at the same time or after you have applied for permanent residence. In addition, you can file Form I-929 after USCIS has approved your permanent residence application. USCIS will not approve Form I-929 until after you have become a permanent resident. Once the Form I-929 is approved, your family members can immediately file their own application to become permanent residents, if they are in the United States. If they are outside the U.S. when the Form I-929 is approved, they will need to request permission from the U.S. consulate to enter the United States as lawful permanent residents.

In a Form I-929, you have to show the following:

• Qualifying relationship: First, you can only file Form I-929 for your spouse and children who are unmarried and under 21. If you are under 21, you can also file for your parents. Unlike when you file a U visa petition, you cannot include your siblings, even if you are under 21 and they are unmarried and under 18. Second, your children must remain under 21 and unmarried until USCIS has approved their applications for lawful permanent residence, unlike with a U visa where they have to be under 21 and unmarried at the time of the petition only. If your children are outside the U.S. when you file Form I-929, they must enter the U.S. with their visa before turning 21. Unfortunately, there is no way to know how long USCIS will take to review the applications, and the process can take years. Unfortunately, if they turn 21 before they complete the process, they will lose their eligibility to become a lawful permanent resident (get their green card) through the I-929 process.
• Extreme Hardship: You must also show that you or your family member will suffer “extreme hardship” if your family member is not permitted to enter or remain in the United States.² USCIS looks at many things to decide whether you have shown “extreme hardship,” such as:

• the type and degree of the physical or mental abuse suffered as a result of being a victim of crime;
• the effect on you or your family member of losing access to the U.S. courts or criminal justice system;
• the probability that the perpetrator’s family, friends, or others acting on behalf of the perpetrator in the home country would harm you or your children;
• the need for social, medical, mental health, or other supportive services for victims of crime that are not available or accessible in the home country;
• in domestic violence cases, whether there are laws and social practices in the home country that punish you or your children because you have been victims of domestic violence or have taken steps to leave an abusive home;
• the perpetrator’s ability to travel to the home country and the ability and willingness of authorities in the home country to protect you or your children; and
• your age at the time of entry into the U.S. and at the time you apply for lawful permanent residence. For example, if you are a child and are applying for your parent, you may be able to show that you would suffer extreme hardship if your parent is not allowed to remain in the U.S. with you due to your young age.³

If there are other reasons why you or your family members would suffer extreme hardship, you can each describe those in your personal statements and/or provide other documentation. As always, your and your family members’ personal statements will be crucial towards building your proof of extreme hardship.

¹ INA § 245(m)(3)
² INA § 245(m)(3); 8 CFR § 245.24(h)(1)(iv)
³ 8 CFR § 245.24(h)(1)(iv)(A)-(G)

It is never a good idea to go to a USCIS (Immigration) office on your own. Only two specific offices of USCIS called the Vermont Service Center and the Nebraska Service Center have the power to decide U visa cases and they do not do any in-person interviews, so there is no reason to go there in person. Most local USCIS officers have not been trained on U visas and may not give accurate information. If you go to a local USCIS office, or any other government office or agency to request a U visa, you may end up in deportation proceedings or in detention.

In all cases, you should consult with an immigration expert with experience in U visas. An attorney can help you figure out if you are likely to qualify for this or any other form of immigration relief, and if there is a risk of being put in removal proceedings (being deported). To find help, please go to the National Organizations - Immigration page. You can also find the contact information for general legal services organizations, not immigration-specific, and referral services to private attorneys on our Finding a Lawyer page.

Some victims of domestic violence are not eligible to apply for a VAWA self-petition because they are not married to the abuser. Other victims are not eligible for VAWA because the abuser is undocumented. For people in either of these situations, the U visa may be their only immigration option based on the domestic violence.

However, if the abuser is your spouse or parent who is a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident, you may qualify for both a U visa and a VAWA self-petition. This could also be true if the abuser is your U.S. citizen child who is at least 21 years old. Some people might choose to file an application for both, but most people would usually file for one or the other.

If you qualify for both, here are some reasons why you might choose to file a VAWA self-petition instead of a U visa:

• VAWA self-petitions are decided faster than U visa petitions, although it still takes several years to get a decision on either one.
• If the abuser is a U.S. citizen, VAWA self-petitioners can apply for lawful permanent residency at the same time they file their VAWA self-petition or immediately after the self-petition is approved. They do not have to wait three years as they do with a U visa. The same is true if the abuser is a lawful permanent resident and a green card is immediately available to the self-petitioner; which could happen if the annual quota of family-based green cards given out per year has not been met yet.
• Many VAWA self-petitioners can file an application for lawful permanent residence at the same time that they file the VAWA self-petition. Having a pending application for lawful permanent residence means that you can also get a work permit, even before your VAWA self-petition is decided.
• U visas require that you report the crime to the authorities and get law enforcement to confirm your helpfulness in a written certification. VAWA does not require either of those things.
• To qualify for a U visa, the crime committed against you must fall under a list of specific crimes, most of which involve physical or sexual violence. For VAWA, you must prove “battery or extreme cruelty,” which gives you more flexibility and could even take into account emotional and psychological abuse.

There may also be some reasons why you might choose to file a U visa instead of a VAWA self-petition:

• Depending on which grounds of inadmissibility apply in your case, it may be easier to get a waiver with a U visa than with a VAWA self-petition. Almost all grounds of inadmissibility can be waived with a U visa, but the VAWA waivers of inadmissibility are less generous.
• U visa petitioners may be able to include more family members than a VAWA self-petition permits. If you file a VAWA self-petition based on abuse by your adult U.S. citizen son or daughter, you cannot include any family members at all. Spousal and child VAWA self-petitioners can include their unmarried children under 21 as derivatives, but they cannot include a spouse as is allowed in a U visa petition. In addition, a U visa petitioner who is under 21 can include his/her parents and unmarried siblings under 18.

If your abusive partner forced you to perform sex work or labor in the U.S., you could qualify for both a T visa, which helps victims of human trafficking, and a U visa. You don’t have to be part of a major sex or labor trafficking ring to be a human trafficking victim. If you qualify for both, here are some reasons why you might choose to file for a T visa instead of a U visa:

• It takes much less time to receive a T visa than a U visa. Since many less people apply for them, there are not long waiting lists within the government to grant them.
• With a U visa, the law enforcement certification is required. With a T visa, the law enforcement agency endorsement can be helpful, but is not required.
• Trafficking victims with approved T visas are eligible for the same public benefits as refugees. These benefits are typically more generous than what U visa holders can receive. In addition, the federal government has a special assistance program for trafficking victims called the Trafficking Victims Assistance Program (TVAP), which can provide financial and case management support for victims of trafficking even before you file a T visa application.
• If you are afraid that the trafficker could try to hurt your family members abroad because of your escape or cooperation with law enforcement, a T visa can protect more members of your family. The T visa allows you to include all of the same family members as you could with a U visa, plus, if there is a present risk of retaliation, your parents and unmarried siblings under 18, as well as any adult or minor children of your derivatives, such as grandchildren, no matter how old you are.¹

Before you file any papers with USCIS, you should discuss your options with an immigration lawyer with experience in U visas and T visas to determine what would be the best option in your case. To find help, please go the National Organizations - Immigration page or our Finding a Lawyer page. If your lawyer needs assistance, s/he can call ASISTA for help.

¹ 8 CFR § 214.11(a)

Receiving public benefits for yourself or on behalf of your children will not affect your U visa petition.¹ U visa petitioners are not required to show that they can financially support themselves, so it does not matter if you or your family members receive public benefits. However, you should only apply for public benefits that you or your family members are actually eligible for. If you lie in order to get public benefits, it could affect your U visa petition and you could be criminally charged.

¹ INA § 212(a)(4)(E)(ii)

If your T visa application is denied, it would be unusual for USCIS to put you into immigration court, known as “removal” or deportation proceedings. There is a law that says USCIS should not do this except if there are “serious aggravating circumstances,” like a very serious (“egregious”) criminal history, a threat to national security, or if you are actually committing human trafficking yourself.¹       

Under the Biden Administration, this is even rarer because there is a government policy not to detain or deport survivors of trafficking except in “exceptional circumstances,” which usually means the survivor poses a current threat to national security or a risk of death or violence to another person.² However, each president can change this policy at any time if they wish, and there was a time in 2019 when referrals to immigration court for denied T visas were more common. If this happens, and you are put into removal proceedings, your T visa application can still be decided by USCIS. It does not necessarily mean you will end up being deported or that your T visa will be denied.

To avoid having your T visa application denied and ending up in removal proceedings, it is important to file a good, complete T visa case to start with, including all of the forms and documentation that help to prove all four requirements. This is hard to do without help from an attorney with experience in trafficking cases. Use our Finding a Lawyer page to find a lawyer in your state. You can also ask one of the national immigration organizations listed on our National Organizations - Immigration page to help find you a lawyer.

¹ 8 CFR 214.204(b)(3)  
²ICE Directive 11005.3: Using a Victim-Centered Approach with Noncitizen Crime Victims

When deciding whether someone is a trafficking victim for purposes of a T visa, the government looks at whether the traffickers used or threatened to use force, coercion, or fraud to control the victim. Here are some examples of what this means:

• Force: Traffickers may physically take people and force them to provide sex in exchange for something of value, or labor they don’t want to do. “Force” includes abduction and using physical violence or restraint.
• Coercion: Traffickers may persuade people to provide sex in exchange for something, or labor they don’t want to do, because they threaten to harm or misuse the law against them or people they care about. “Coercion” includes direct and implied threats of harm or abuse of the legal system.

• Fraud: Traffickers may promise people freedom and legal work but in reality, they make victims provide sex to get that freedom or legal job, or they make them do unpaid work against their will “Fraud” includes deception and false promises.

Many traffickers keep their victims in their control by threatening to hurt or punish them. The threat could be made to the victim directly or actions can be taken against another trafficking victim as a warning of what could happen. For example, a trafficker may rape a fellow worker to show that “this is what will happen to you if you don’t do what I want.” Traffickers may also make threats to harm the victim’s family members and loved ones, such as threatening to send someone to the victim’s homeland to rape, kill, or harm his/her family. Traffickers often threaten to call the police or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to get victims who challenge them deported. Threats to report the victim to the police are known as “abuse of the legal process.”¹

For more information, you can read our section on Proving your case: T visa requirements, Requirement 1: You are or have been the victim of a “severe form of trafficking,” or go to the website of the government agency that decides T visas, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

¹ 22 U.S.C. § 7102(3)

Labor-based deferred action, also known as deferred action for labor enforcement or “DALE,” is a temporary immigration benefit that allows people to stay in the U.S. and have a work permit if they have worked in a place where they were the victim of, or may have witnessed, workplace abuse or violation of labor laws.¹ It is not the same as a T visa and does not involve a path to lawful permanent residency or citizenship. It is typically granted for two years at a time. DALE may be renewed as long as an investigation or enforcement action is open against an employer for a violation of labor laws.

Labor laws protect against things like sexual harassment, including sexual assault, and sex or gender discrimination in the workplace. They also include violations related to how much people get paid or how many hours they must work. Both sex and labor trafficking survivors who were trafficked in a workplace may also have been victims of violations that could qualify them for DALE. In fact, people who suffered violations that do not quite meet the definition of trafficking may find DALE to be a useful alternative.

If your workplace has violated your rights or the rights of other workers, you should speak to a labor law attorney or immigration attorney about reporting the violation to a labor law enforcement agency and then applying for DALE.  Currently, it takes only about two to six months for a DALE application and work permit request to be decided, so it is a great option for people who need a work permit sooner than they can get one through a T visa. You can apply for DALE and a T visa at the same time, without harming either application type.

¹ USCIS, DHS Support of the Enforcement of Labor and Employment Laws

If you receive a positive bona fide determination, it is a good sign for your application, but it is not the same thing as having your T visa approved.

If you receive a negative bona fide determination, it is sometimes still possible for your full T visa application to be approved – USCIS will take a second, closer look at what you filed and might request more evidence. You will eventually receive a final decision either approving or denying your T visa.¹

¹ 8 CFR 214.205(a)(3)

To prove you contacted law enforcement, ask them to give you or your lawyer a “law enforcement declaration,” which is also known as a “law enforcement endorsement” or “LEA declaration” on Form I-914 Supplement B. This is a statement from law enforcement saying that you have cooperated with their requests in investigating or prosecuting the case.

Getting the LEA declaration is not required, but it can be very helpful to strengthen your T visa application. However, having an LEA declaration does not guarantee that you will get T visa status. It’s possible that you can get T visa status if you show you tried to be helpful but still couldn’t get a declaration from law enforcement.¹

For more information on all four requirements that you will have to prove, go to What must I prove to be eligible for T visa status?

¹ 8 C.F.R. § 214.204(e)

To get a T visa, all of the following must be true:

• You are a victim of one of the two “severe forms of human trafficking” – either sex trafficking or labor trafficking.
• You tried to be helpful to law enforcement officials investigating or prosecuting human trafficking crimes, such as the FBI, state or local police, district attorneys, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations. However, trafficking victims who were under 18 at the time of at least one act of trafficking or too traumatized to cooperate with law enforcement may be excused from showing they helped in an investigation.
• You are currently present in the United States, a U.S. territory, American Samoa, or at a port of entry to the United States, a U.S. territory, or American Samoa because of human trafficking that either occurred here or on route here.
• You would suffer “extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm” if you were removed (deported) or forced to leave.¹

Note: These above requirements are defined and explained in more detail in the next section, Proving your case: T visa requirements.

¹ 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(T)(i); 8 C.F.R. § 214.202

If you were forced to perform sex work or labor in the U.S., and you have a specific familial relationship to your trafficker who is or was a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR), you could qualify for both a T visa, which helps victims of human trafficking, and a VAWA self-petition, which often provides a direct path to a green card and citizenship. The qualifying relationships for a VAWA self petition are:

1. if you are or were recently married to your trafficker, who is a U.S. citizen or LPR;
2. your trafficker was your parent, who is a U.S. citizen or LPR; or
3. your trafficker was your adult U.S. citizen son or daughter. You don’t have to be the victim of a major sex or labor trafficking ring to be a human trafficking victim.

Here are some reasons why you may want to apply for a VAWA self-petition instead of a T visa:

• USCIS takes about three to five years to get a green card through a VAWA self-petition, but it can take anywhere from four-and-a-half to eight-and-a-half years to get a green card through a T visa.
• Unless you get “continued presence,” you cannot get a work permit through the T visa until your application is approved. If you file an application for lawful permanent residence with your VAWA self-petition, you can get a work permit while the self-petition is pending. However, not all VAWA self-petitioners can file a lawful permanent residency application at the same time as their self-petition.
• T visas require that you go along with any reasonable requests for assistance from law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting the crime, unless you were under 18 when you were trafficked or are too traumatized to help law enforcement. VAWA does not require that.
• T visas require you to not leave the U.S. while you wait for a decision. And, even after getting approved for a T visa, international travel can be very risky. VAWA does not necessarily involve the same risks with travel.
• To qualify for a T visa, you must be a victim of trafficking. For VAWA, you must prove “battery or extreme cruelty,” which is a much broader term that includes many more types of abuse.
• Unless you can get a letter from the Department of Justice to show that the investigation into your trafficking is closed, you must wait three years after your T visa is approved to file for lawful permanent residence. VAWA self-petitioners may be eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence immediately when their self-petition is approved.

On the other hand, here are some reasons why you may want to apply for a T visa instead of a VAWA self-petition:

• If you were abused by your U.S. citizen adult child, you cannot include any derivatives in your VAWA self-petition. If you were abused by your spouse or parent, you can only include your unmarried children under 21 in your VAWA self-petition. The T visa could allow you to include more family members as derivatives.
• Trafficking victims with approved T visas are eligible for the same public benefits as refugees. These benefits are typically more generous than what VAWA self-petitioners can receive. In addition, the federal government has a special assistance program for trafficking victims called the Trafficking Victims Assistance Program (TVAP), which can provide financial and case management support even before you file a T visa application.
• Even though a VAWA self-petition is often a faster route to a green card, it might be a slower route to a work permit. You would only get a work permit through VAWA after your VAWA self-petition was approved, which could take close to three years. If you apply for a T visa, it currently takes less than one and a half years to receive a work permit based on the T visa, and the timeframe will likely be even shorter if you receive a positive bona fide determination. 
• Depending on which grounds of inadmissibility apply in your case, it may be easier to get a waiver and, for this reason, succeed with a T visa than with a VAWA self-petition. Almost all grounds of inadmissibility can be waived with a T visa, but the VAWA waivers of inadmissibility are less generous. This means more people may be ineligible for VAWA than for T Visas.

Before you file any papers with USCIS, you should discuss your options with an immigration lawyer with experience in VAWA and T visas to determine what would be the best option in your case. To find help, please go the National Organizations - Immigration page or our Finding a Lawyer page. If your lawyer needs assistance, s/he can call ASISTA for help.

In the question called What must I prove to be eligible for a T visa? we list four requirements that you have to meet. In this section, we explain the first requirement in detail.

Human traffickers recruit, transport, hold, or kidnap their victims and force or trick them into providing sex or labor, known as sex trafficking and labor trafficking. These are the two “severe forms” of trafficking recognized by the government.

Sex trafficking involves the exchange of a sex act for anything of value. If the person providing the sex act is under 18 years old, this will be a severe form of human trafficking by itself. If the person is 18 or older, it becomes a severe form of trafficking only when the trafficker uses force, fraud, or coercion. Examples of severe forms of sex trafficking include forcing people to participate in creating pornography, selling or buying women as mail-order brides, or forcing a person to be a prostitute by providing sex in exchange for money or other valuable things. This can take place in many locations, including brothels, massage parlors, workplaces, and family homes; for instance, a trafficker may force his spouse to prostitute herself to his friends.

A sexual assault or any form of forced sex by itself is a serious crime, but it is not necessarily sex trafficking. It only amounts to sex trafficking if the assault or event also includes a promise, offer, or exchange of something of value. If you are undocumented and are sexually assaulted but there is no promise, offer, or exchange of something of value, you may still be eligible for a different visa, related to the T visa, called a U visa.

Labor trafficking means more than working in bad or even unlawful conditions. It involves unpaid work that amounts to slavery, work that is forced upon the person by physical means or threats (involuntary servitude), or debt bondage, which is when you are forced to work to “repay” a debt to the trafficker. However, you are never actually able to repay the debt because the trafficker says you “owe too much” or keeps adding on new “expenses.” For instance, traffickers typically “charge” victims for their transportation to the United States and for their food and lodging once they are here. The traffickers make sure they charge so much that their victims will never be able to repay them. As long as you owe this debt, the trafficker will not let you go, which often means there is no end in sight to being forced to do work you do not want to do.

It also must be the case that there is someone keeping you in these conditions and you cannot leave. If you believe that if you left, it would be hard to find a different job, that may not count. Your employer must be doing something to hold this difficulty against you or make you otherwise unable to leave the job.² 

Labor trafficking can be seen in many kinds of “workplaces.” For instance, domestic workers may be victims of trafficking if they are forced to work in someone’s home, as a maid, nanny, etc., when they do not want to. Labor trafficking may take place in many industries, including agriculture, processing plants, factories, janitorial and food services, nail salons, and more. Traffickers may even force trafficking victims to beg on the streets.¹

Labor and sex trafficking often involve what is called “debt bondage,” which is when you are forced to work to “repay” a debt to the trafficker. However, you are never actually able to repay the debt because the trafficker says you “owe too much” or keeps adding on new “expenses.”² For instance, traffickers typically “charge” victims for their transportation to the United States and for their food and lodging once they are here. The traffickers make sure they charge so much that their victims will never be able to repay them. As long as you owe this debt, the trafficker will not let you go, which often means there is no end in sight to being forced to do work you do not want to do.

To understand how the government decides if you are, in fact, a victim of a severe form of human trafficking, go to How does USCIS determine if I am a victim of a “severe form of human trafficking?”

¹ National Human Trafficking Resource Center Fact Sheet
² 22 U.S.C. § 7102(7), (8)

In the question called What must I prove to be eligible for a T visa?, we list all of the requirements that you have to meet to be eligible to apply for a T visa. In this section, we explain the third requirement in detail.

You must prove that you are in the U.S. because of labor or sex trafficking that involved force, coercion, or fraud. You do not necessarily need to have been trafficked into the country, although that is one scenario that would qualify. If you came to the U.S. on your own and then sometime later you were forced or tricked into labor or prostitution, you may still meet this eligibility requirement.¹ 

As long as you are here because you were trafficked into or within the U.S., its territories, or American Samoa, you may be able to get T visa status even if you are no longer being forced to work or provide sex acts. This is especially true if you recently escaped or were released from the trafficking situation. If you escaped the trafficking a long time ago, you must show you are still in the United States because of the severe trafficking you experienced. For example, if you are frightened to leave the U.S. because the traffickers are threatening to hurt you in your homeland, you may be able to get T visa status even though you are no longer under their physical control. Similarly, if you experienced serious trauma or other harm because of the trafficking situation and have not been able to access victim services to recover yet, but are planning to start, you may also be able to get a T visa as someone still in the US because of the effects of trafficking. 

A key to meeting this requirement is that, in general, you must avoid leaving the United States for any reason after exiting the trafficking. Even if the reason you leave the country is that you are deported against your will, you will be unable to meet the requirement to be “currently present because of trafficking.” This is why it is extremely important to try to defend yourself against deportation if you are placed in removal proceedings, or to at least ask the judge to allow extra time for your T visa application to be decided. Otherwise, if you physically leave the U.S., the only way your T visa can still be approved is if you are either:

1. further victimized by your trafficker(s) in a way that requires you to reenter the U.S.;
2. brought back to the U.S. by law enforcement to participate in a case against your trafficker(s); or
3. the victim of a new incident of trafficking.²

The requirement to be in the U.S. because of trafficking can be hard to prove without a lawyer’s help, unless you recently escaped the trafficking or were freed from it by law enforcement. In general, to avoid USCIS denying your case and possibly putting you or your family members into immigration court proceedings, it is safer for you and your family to work with an attorney with experience in T visa cases. See our Finding a Lawyer page for free and paid legal services.

¹ 8 C.F.R. § 214.207
² 8 C.F.R. § 214.11(g)(2)

**Please note that reading this section is not enough to be sure you are filing everything you need. We strongly encourage you to find an attorney with experience working with trafficking victims to help you.***

The first step is to get a lawyer, if possible, with experience doing T visas. Next, you will fill out, with the attorney’s help, an “Application for T Nonimmigrant Status,” which is called Form I-914. You can find the necessary forms, including the I-914 and I-914 Supplement B, at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

Along with the completed Form I-914, you must send USCIS a personal statement describing how you were a victim of trafficking. You must also send any ​supporting evidence (“corroboration”) you have to show that you meet the eligibility requirements.¹

You are also encouraged to submit a “Law Enforcement Declaration,” which is Form I-914 Supplement B. This form is also known as a law enforcement agency (LEA) endorsement. However, this form is optional. So, you could instead include something else to prove your cooperation with law enforcement or to prove that you are excused (exempt) from this requirement.

In addition, there are other forms and T visa requirements that require an expert in immigration law to do correctly.

¹ 8 CFR 214.204(c)

Although it is not required, you are encouraged to submit a “Law Enforcement Declaration,” which is Form I-914 Supplement B. This form is also known as a law enforcement agency (LEA) endorsement. A federal, state, or local law enforcement authority can fill it out. A completed Form I-914 Supplement B acts as evidence that you:

• are a victim of a severe form of trafficking; and
• have complied with reasonable requests for assistance in the investigation or prosecution.¹

If you were previously granted “continued presence status” as a survivor of human trafficking, you should include the documents you have that show that.²

Law enforcement may decide not to investigate a significant number of trafficking victims’ reports for a variety of reasons. If you can’t get a law enforcement declaration, you must explain in your personal statement the details of your attempts to help law enforcement. Also you should submit any medical, legal, or social systems evidence of your attempts to cooperate.³ For example, you could submit things like trial transcripts, court documents, and police reports.⁴ This is another situation where an experienced attorney would be necessary. The attorney can help you contact law enforcement to offer your assistance, prepare you to talk to law enforcement, and help “create a record” that you tried to be helpful. The attorney might also have to pester law enforcement for a response. The attorney would document all of this in writing and share the appropriate information with USCIS.

¹ 8 CFR § 214.204(e); see also Instructions for Form I-914, “Application for T Nonimmigrant Status”
² 8 C.F.R. § 214.204(i)
³ 8 C.F.R. § 214.206(a)(3)(ii)
⁴ 8 C.F.R. § 214.206(a)(3)(ii)

The basic application forms for victims of trafficking, which are called Form I-914, and Form I-914 Supplements A or B, are free. In the past, there were some significant fees for both trafficking victims and their family members applying as derivatives, such as fees to file for a waiver of a ground of inadmissibility, and to apply for family members to get work permits.  However, under a law that took effect April 1, 2024, there are now no fees for any of the forms involved with seeking a T visa for yourself or your family, all the way through the end of your application(s) for green cards.¹

¹ 89 Fed. Reg. 6194, 6213 (Jan 31, 2024)

You can download the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services application forms from the USCIS website. However, we strongly encourage you to contact an immigration attorney to assist you in completing and submitting an application for a T visa to the USCIS.

It is very important that you work with an attorney, or initially with an advocate, who is familiar with T visas. The forms and laws are confusing and you may make a mistake or leave something out that results in USCIS denying your application.

It is important to know that at certain times in the past, USCIS has sometimes put T visa applicants whose cases were denied into immigration court for deportation (“removal proceedings”). Under a new law and the policy of the Biden Administration, this is no longer happening except in very unusual cases.¹ Still, the policy could change in the future, so it is safest to contact an immigration attorney before filing an application. To find an immigration attorney, see our Immigration listings under National Organizations and / or our Finding a Lawyer page for a lawyer near you.

¹ 8 CFR 214.204(b)(3)

If the government gives you T visa status, you are automatically granted employment authorization, which is the ability to work legally. You do not actually need an employment authorization document (EAD), also called a “work permit,” because you can use your T visa approval notice to prove you can work, and to get a Social Security card. That said, life can be easier if you have a work permit, and the good news is that you do not need to fill out separate paperwork to request one; your T visa application acts as an application for a work permit¹

If you are asking for T visa status for your family members (“derivatives”) to also get T visa status, work authorization does not come automatically with their derivative T visa status. They will have to ask for work authorization and must have a work permit to work legally. ² 

In 2024, a new process was created for some people to get a work permit even before their T visa is granted. It can be granted once they have submitted a T visa application and USCIS confirms it is “bona fide,” which is a Latin term that means “in good faith.” It is possible for certain family member derivatives to receive a work permit in this way too.

¹ 8 C.F.R. § 214.204(o)(3)
² 8 C.F.R. § 214.211(i)(3)

Someone granted T visa status may apply for permanent residence (a “green card”) if s/he has:

1. been in the United States for whichever amount of time is shorter:
   
   • a continuous period of at least three years after getting T visa status; or
   • a continuous period during the investigation or prosecution of your trafficking report, and the investigation or prosecution is complete;
2. been a person of “good moral character” since first being granted T visa status;
3. complied with law enforcement’s reasonable requests since first being granted T visa status or received an exception (exemption) from compliance or reporting based on age or trauma, or would suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm if s/he were removed from the United States; and
4. not committed acts that trigger immigration law barriers to status (“grounds of inadmissibility.”) If you have done something that makes you inadmissible, you may still apply for a green card if you already got the act waived when applying for your T visa, or if you submit a new application to waive the inadmissibility ground now.¹ It is extremely important to talk to a lawyer if this may apply to you, so you can see if you can argue it does not apply, or you can submit a strong waiver application.

To apply for permanent residence, which is known as “adjusting your status,” you must file Form I-485.

Note: “Good moral character” is defined by a list of certain behaviors. The law spells out acts and crimes that, if committed, could prevent you from getting many kinds of lawful status, including a green card based on your T visa status or naturalizing to become a U.S. citizen. The most common barriers to showing good moral character are based on criminal behavior.² A lawyer may be able to rely on prior decisions (known as “case law”) by the immigration and federal courts to overcome these barriers. This is, again, an area that requires attention from an experienced immigration lawyer. To find an immigration lawyer, visit our National Organizations - Immigration page and/or our Finding a Lawyer page.

¹ 8 C.F.R. § 245.23; INA § 245(l)
² INA § 101(f)

If you are a victim of human trafficking who is at least 18 years old you can get “certified” by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to be eligible for certain federally-funded benefits.¹

“Certification” is available to victims of human trafficking who are willing to assist law enforcement in the prosecution of trafficking crimes and either:

1. have completed a bona fide application for a T visa; or
2. have received continued presence status from the Department of Homeland Security.² See What does it mean to have “continued presence”? Is it the same as having T visa status? for more information.

Child victims are automatically eligible for benefits once the HHS receives proof that the child is a victim of human trafficking; they do not have to prove either of the two requirements above. HHS will then provide the child victim or the child victim’s representative with a “letter of eligibility,” which can be used to prove to social service providers that the child is eligible for benefits.³

If you have not yet been certified by the HHS but you have reported the trafficking crime, you may still be eligible for certain federally funded services and benefits including crisis counseling and short-term shelter or housing assistance. To locate service providers for uncertified victims of human trafficking, contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center’s Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or you can send a text to 233733, which corresponds with the letters BeFree on your phone.

¹ 22 U.S.C. § 7105(b)(1)
² U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Trafficking in Persons, Certification Letters
³ 22 U.S.C. § 7105(b)(1)(C)(ii)(l); Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Victim Assistance Fact Sheet

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services website provides information, instructions, and forms for T visa applicants. Here you can view the USCIS T visa page. The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) also has many resources to help you or your representative or advocate understand T visas.

Asylum is an immigration status for people who are afraid to return to their home countries. It is similar to refugee status, except that you must apply from inside the U.S., as opposed to filing from another country or a refugee camp. It is not an easy or fast process, and it is not something you should do without help from a lawyer who knows how to do asylum cases. If you fear going to your home country because of domestic violence or sexual assault that you experienced there, make sure your attorney has experience applying for asylum for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors; not all immigration attorneys do. Note: The Center for Gender and Refugee Studies is a good resource for lawyers, domestic and sexual violence advocates, and asylum-seekers who have questions regarding asylum based on domestic or sexual violence.

The biggest challenge to getting asylum status for those who experienced domestic or sexual violence in other countries is that the asylum law was created before violence against women, or gender-based violence, was generally recognized as a reason that people flee their countries. Although the U.S. government has granted asylum on the basis of domestic or sexual violence that was committed in another country, it can be difficult to win this type of asylum claim.

Because asylum is complicated and the rules change a lot, this section will not tell you how you can win an asylum case; it will only outline some of the main things the government says you must show.

Proving that you did or likely will suffer from persecution is a key element in proving asylum. However, the laws do not specifically define the term “persecution.” In past asylum court cases, it has been defined as causing (inflicting) suffering or harm upon those who differ in race, nationality, religion, political opinion, or particular social group, in a way regarded as offensive.¹

Another requirement of proving your asylum claim is showing that the source of the persecution is the government, a quasi-official group, or a person or group that the government is unwilling or unable to control.²

If you are claiming asylum based on domestic or sexual violence, in order to explain that your home country’s government is unable or unwilling to protect you, here are some points that you should discuss with your attorney and your domestic or sexual violence advocate:

• Did you report the domestic or sexual violence to the authorities in your home country?
  • If you did report the abuse, what happened? What did the authorities do?
    • If you reported the domestic or sexual violence, and the authorities did try to help you but the abuser still threatened or harmed you, then this could be an example of your government being “unable” to protect you.
    • If you reported the domestic or sexual violence, and the authorities did not even try to help you, then this could be an example of your government being “unwilling” to help you.
  • If you didn’t report the abuse to the authorities, why not?
    • Sometimes it’s pointless or dangerous to report to authorities. If it’s well-known that they will do nothing for domestic or sexual violence survivors, for example, then the argument can be made that it’s pointless to report it and you should not have to do it.
    • Sometimes reporting abuse to authorities is not just pointless, it’s dangerous. For example, if it’s well-known that the authorities will tell abusers and rapists about the people who report them, it’s dangerous. Especially if the person who abused you is a powerful person in your community or works for the authorities, it may be very dangerous to report the domestic or sexual violence.
• If it was pointless or dangerous to report abuse to your local authorities, you can work with your attorney and advocate to show that this is because your government can’t or won’t protect you against the person who abused you.

¹ See e.g., Guo v. Sessions, 897 F.3d 1208 (9th Cir. 2018)
² See e.g., Avetova-Elisseva v. I.N.S., 213 F.3d 1192 (9th Cir. 2000)

In order to ensure that people fleeing persecution who arrive at the U.S. border are not immediately turned away, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers are supposed to ask people without a valid visa or immigration status if they fear persecution in their homeland. If you say “yes,” you should get what is called a credible fear interview. During the credible fear interview, you will be asked a series of questions about what fear you have related to returning to your homeland. If you “pass” the credible fear interview, which means that the officer finds that there is a “significant possibility” of winning on a claim for asylum, then you should receive a Notice to Appear (NTA) in immigration court and will be placed in removal proceedings before a judge where you can ask the immigration judge for asylum and try to prove your case.

However, the government frequently makes changes to this system, and the processes that you must go through to ask for asylum. Do not assume that anyone in our immigration system will ever ask you if you fear going back to your home country. Instead, be ready to say it for yourself, more than once if necessary, and say why you fear being sent back to your home country. Ideally, you should speak to a lawyer who is knowledgeable about the current policies at the border before you arrive.

Information about current credible fear processes should be available on the USCIS website. You can read more information about how to pass a credible fear interview on the Immigration Equality website.

If you are not in immigration detention or involved in an immigration court proceeding, you can file your application with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This is known as the affirmative asylum process. There is no fee for applying for asylum, and USCIS must keep the content of your application confidential, meaning that no one may ask USCIS to see your application for asylum.¹ If you follow this process, you will eventually be scheduled to appear for an interview about your application.

If you are in an immigration court proceeding, you can ask the immigration judge for asylum as a defense against removal from the U.S. This is known as a defensive asylum process.² If you follow this process, you will submit your asylum form to the court, along with documents that support your story, and you will eventually testify about your application in court.

Either way, you must apply for asylum within one year of the date of your last arrival in the U.S. However, there can be an exception to the one-year filing deadline if you can show that:

1. there are:
   • “changed” circumstances that materially affect your eligibility for asylum; or
   • “extraordinary” circumstances relating to the delay in filing; and
2. you filed within a reasonable amount of time given those circumstances.³

In order to know what circumstances can be considered “changed” or “extraordinary,” it’s important to work with an asylum lawyer who is up-to-date on the latest policies and court cases. To find a list of legal resources in your area, please see Finding a Lawyer and select your state or see our National Organizations Immigration page.

If you are in removal proceedings before an immigration judge, you may also ask them for withholding of removal or relief under Article III of the Convention Against Torture. Withholding of removal is similar to asylum, but it has a higher burden of proof and fewer benefits. A claim under the Convention Against Torture also has a higher burden of proof and fewer benefits, as well as a different set of eligibility requirements. You may be able to qualify for relief under the Convention Against Torture even if you are unable to qualify for asylum or withholding of removal. Both allow you to remain in the United States indefinitely, but do not make you eligible to apply for a green card. If you become eligible for a green card in another way, you will need to go back to immigration court to ask the judge to allow you to apply for it.  For more information about withholding of removal and the Convention Against Torture, please see the Immigration Equality website.

In order to make sure that you make all of the claims that are possible for you in removal proceedings, it’s important to work with a lawyer who is up-to-date on the latest policies and court cases. To find a list of legal resources in your area, please see Finding a Lawyer and select your state or see our National Organizations Immigration page.

¹ 8 CFR §§ 208.6; 1208.6
² USCIS website
³ 8 CFR § 208.4(a)(2); INA § 208(a)(2)(B), (a)(2)(D); 8 USC § 1158(a)(2)(B), (a)(2)(D)

It is very important to have a knowledgeable immigration lawyer help you throughout the asylum application and court process. There are ways to see a lawyer even if you cannot afford one, and you should always try to contact a lawyer before applying. Your conversation with the attorney will be confidential, and s/he cannot report you to immigration authorities without your consent.

If you cannot afford to pay an attorney, you may qualify for free or low-cost legal aid. You will see a list of legal services offices on the Finding a Lawyer page for your state. In addition, please go to our National Organizations Immigration page. In many states, Catholic Charities may be able to provide you with legal assistance relating to immigration. Go to the Catholic Charities website and search for the contact information in your state. You do not have to be Catholic to receive their assistance.

If you apply for asylum with USCIS and they do not grant your application, if you do not have any other immigration status, such as a student or visitor visa for which your stay has not expired, they will issue you a Notice to Appear in removal proceedings and you will have to appear in immigration court. At that time, you can ask again for asylum from the immigration judge.

If you ask for asylum as part of your defense in removal proceedings, and the immigration judge says that you do not qualify and you don’t have other applications for immigration status pending, you will be issued an order of removal from the United States. You can appeal that decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which is the highest court in our immigration court system. If the BIA denies your request, your order of removal will become final. You can still appeal to a federal court and ask that your final order of removal be put on hold while you appeal the decision. If you are still denied asylum by federal court, or if you do not file an appeal when the immigration judge denies your case, you could be deported if the immigration authorities decide to enforce your removal order. It is almost impossible to do any of this successfully without an attorney with experience in asylum.

It’s important to know that even if you lose your asylum case and are issued a final removal order, you may still be able to apply for survivor-based immigration relief in the form of a U visa, T visa, or VAWA self-petition. It’s important to speak to a lawyer if you have any questions about applying for one of these options, especially if you have a removal order.

To find a list of legal resources in your area, please see Finding a Lawyer and select your state or see our National Organizations - Immigration page.

If your asylum application is approved, you will be allowed to live and work legally in the U.S.¹ You will be able to apply for lawful permanent residence (a “green card”) after you have been in asylum status in the U.S. for one year.² In addition, you will be eligible for the same public benefits as refugees. Once you have been a lawful permanent resident for five years, you may apply to become a U.S. citizen.

As a person with asylum, you may travel internationally and return to the U.S., but you should not use a passport from your country of origin. Instead, you can apply for a refugee travel document, which works like a passport. You should not travel back to your country of origin while you are still in asylum status or a lawful permanent resident, because this could make the government think you are no longer afraid to return there, and cause them to try to revoke your status. However, you may travel to other countries with the refugee travel document.

Note: When you apply for permanent residence (a green card), your spouse and children are also eligible to apply for a green card if they were admitted to the United States as asylees following your grant of asylum, or if they were already in the U.S. with you and were included in your grant of asylum.³

For a more complete list of benefits, you can go to the USCIS website’s “Benefits and Responsibilities of Asylees” page.

¹ USCIS website
² INA § 209(b); 8 USC § 1159(b); 8 CFR § 209.2(a)(1)(ii)
³ USCIS website

If you have asylum status, you may apply for lawful permanent residence one year after being granted asylum. You will have to show that:

• you been in the U.S. for at least one year; and
• you are not prevented from becoming a lawful permanent resident based on certain ”grounds of inadmissibility.”¹ Note: If grounds of inadmissibility do apply to you, you can ask the government to “waive” them for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or if it’s in “the public interest.”² In other words, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will consider the pros and cons of your application to decide whether you should get lawful permanent residence despite the fact that one or more of the grounds of inadmissibility apply to you.

You must work with an immigration attorney to figure out whether the special “inadmissibility ground” barriers apply to you. Some of the inadmissibility rules do not apply to asylum applicants at all,² but the rules are very complicated and your lawyer will need to know what the immigration and federal courts have said about them to answer the government’s questions correctly. Plus, it is easy to file the wrong forms, fill them out wrong, or forget to include something you must include. To find a list of legal resources in your area, please see Finding a Lawyer and select your state or see our National Organizations - Immigration page.

¹ INA § 209(b)(5); 8 USC § 1159(b)(5)
² INA § 209(c); 8 USC § 1159(c)

You have to apply for refugee status before coming to the U.S. If you are already in the U.S. and you fear going back to your home country, you would apply for asylum instead. Go to our Asylum page for more information.

When you ask for refugee status, you can ask that some of your immediate family members also get refugee status as “derivatives” of your application.¹ You must do this within the first two years of being granted refugee status.² You can include your spouse and children who are unmarried and who were under 21 when you filed your application. Included in the definition of “children” are step-children and adopted children, but the rules are complicated as to who may be included and how to apply.​³

Your family members must show that the special barriers to status known as the grounds of inadmissibility do not apply to them, or you must ask that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services excuse (waive) any barriers that do apply to them.⁴

In addition, when you file for lawful permanent residence after being in the U.S. as a refugee for one year, you can also apply for your family members to get lawful permanent residence.⁵

¹ INA § 207(c)(2); 8 USC § 1157(c)(2)
² See USCIS website; 8 CFR 208.21(c), (d)
³ INA § 101(b)(1)(E); 8 USC § 1101(b)
⁴ INA § 207(c)(3); 8 USC § 1157(c)(3)
⁵ See USCIS website