Immigration

It is extremely important that you talk to an immigration lawyer with experience in T visas before traveling. Here are some problems with traveling:

1. Even if USCIS approved your T visa application, you cannot leave and come back into the US unless you first apply for a benefit called “advance parole.” Advance parole is like permission to leave and return for a specific humanitarian purpose, on a specific timeframe.¹ Trying to get advance parole can be a long and difficult so it is strongly recommended to have the help of process an immigration lawyer. Note: Some derivative T visa family members may receive a T visa that allows them to travel without advance parole, but that is not the case for the principal T visa holder.²
2. If you come back into the U.S. with a different kind of visa, such as a visitor’s visa, after being granted T visa status, or if you come in without permission, USCIS may take away your T visa status.¹
3. There is a “continuous physical presence” requirement for you to get a green card based on your T visa.³ Being outside the U.S. for more than 90 days at a time, or more than 180 days in combined trips, may keep you from being able to meet that requirement.  Even if you do not plan to be out of the country for so long, an emergency may arise, or you may face delays beyond your control trying to return. See Now that I have T visa status, can I apply for permanent resident status? For more information.
4. If you leave the U.S., you may create new immigration law barriers for yourself (“grounds of inadmissibility”) that only apply if someone leaves the country.⁴ If you leave the U.S., you should have your lawyer’s contact information in case you can’t get back into the U.S. without filing new forms. Your attorney could contact a national organization that is familiar with T visas, such as ASISTA, for help getting these forms approved, but you may be stuck outside of the U.S. for a significant period of time.
5. If you have T visa status, including if you have T derivative status as a family member, and you have already submitted an application for a green card that is still pending, then you will need to request advance parole before leaving the United States. If you do not request advance parole before leaving the U.S., USCIS will think you don’t want to go through with your green card application and deny it.⁵ This is true even for derivatives who have a T visa that otherwise allows them to travel internationally and return.

For all of these reasons, it is extremely important that you talk to an immigration lawyer with experience in T visas before traveling. An immigration attorney with experience in T visas should be able to determine if any of these risks apply to you. To find an immigration lawyer, visit our National Organizations – Immigration page or our Finding a Lawyer page.

¹ 8 C.F.R. § 214.204(p); see also the Visas for Victims of Human Trafficking page from the U.S. Dept. of State
² 8 CFR 214.211(i)(4)
³ 8 C.F.R. § 245.23(a)(4); See USCIS website, Instructions for I-485
⁴ INA § 212(a)(9)(A), (B) & (C)
⁵ See 8 C.F.R. § 245.23(j); see Form I-131 and Instructions