T-Visa Eligibility for Trafficking Survivors: A Colorado Attorney’s Guide

Aaron Elinoff Founder, Novo Legal Group Colorado Bar #46468 Immigration & Civil Rights

May 22, 2026 Updated May 22, 2026 30 min read

Silhouette of a person raising both arms toward a warm sunrise sky over distant mountains

The four-prong statutory test under INA § 101(a)(15)(T), how law-enforcement certification really works, who counts as a derivative, and the path to a green card — written for survivors in Colorado and the people who advocate for them.

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What this page is, and who it is for

If you survived a trafficking situation in Colorado — labor or sex trafficking, recent or years ago — you may already qualify for a form of immigration relief that most people have never heard of. It is called T nonimmigrant status, or simply the T-visa. Congress created it in 2000 because the federal government recognized something obvious to anyone who has lived it: survivors of trafficking cannot help investigators, cannot rebuild a life, and cannot safely exist in the country if they are also afraid of being deported.

This page is written for survivors, for the family members and friends who are looking for help on someone else’s behalf, and for the advocates who walk people through their options. It is informational. It explains how the statute works, what the four prongs of eligibility actually require, what the law-enforcement certification piece really involves, and what your options look like if you also have a prior removal order or a criminal record.

What this page does not do is promise you a visa. Every T-visa case turns on the specific facts. An attorney who can sit with your story — confidentially, without judgment — is the only person who can tell you whether a T-visa is the right path for you. When you are ready to have that conversation, you can reach Novo Legal Group’s bilingual intake team at (888) 746-5245. The first call is confidential.

You do not have to face this alone.

A T-visa application is a multi-form, evidence-heavy filing, and the decisions you make early — whether to seek a law-enforcement certification, whether to file a waiver, who counts as a derivative — shape everything that comes after. We work with survivors in Denver, Aurora, Greeley, Fort Collins, and across Colorado, in English and in Spanish.

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What is a T-visa? (T nonimmigrant status)

The T-visa is a nonimmigrant classification created by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and codified at INA § 101(a)(15)(T). Congress wrote it as a deliberate companion to — and distinct from — the U-visa for crime victims. See the USCIS T-visa landing page for the agency’s plain-language overview. Where the U-visa covers a broad list of qualifying crimes and requires “helpfulness” to law enforcement, the T-visa is narrower in what it covers (severe forms of trafficking) and structured differently in what it asks of the survivor.

Two things make T nonimmigrant status meaningful in practical terms:

It generally grants four years of lawful status with work authorization.
It opens a path to lawful permanent residence (a green card) after three years of continuous physical presence in T status — or earlier, if the investigation or prosecution of the trafficking is completed first.

The visa also brings derivative benefits for certain family members, which we cover below. And it brings statutory confidentiality protections — protections that matter enormously to a survivor weighing whether it is safe to come forward.

By statute, 5,000 principal T-visas may be issued each fiscal year (8 U.S.C. § 1184(o)(2)). That cap applies only to the principal applicant. Spouses, children, parents, and siblings who qualify as derivatives are not counted against the cap. As a practical matter the cap has not been a regular bottleneck on T-1 approvals, but it is the law on the books.

The four-prong eligibility test

The statute lays out four requirements. All four must be true. A T-visa case stands or falls on whether the application establishes each one with credible evidence.

Prong 1 — You are a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons

The statutory definition of “severe form of trafficking” lives at 22 U.S.C. § 7102. It covers two broad categories. The first is sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion — or in which the person performing the act was under 18, in which case no proof of force, fraud, or coercion is required. The second is labor trafficking: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

The definition is broader than most people assume. Trafficking does not require that the survivor was physically chained, smuggled across a border, or held in a single location. Coercion can be psychological — threats against family members in the home country, withholding of immigration documents, debt bondage tied to inflated transportation or housing charges. Force can be sexual violence used to control. Fraud can be the false job offer that lured someone into the situation in the first place.

It is also narrower than the everyday meaning of “exploited at work.” Not every wage-theft case, hostile-work-environment situation, or abusive employment relationship is statutory trafficking. The line is fact-specific, and it is one of the central questions an attorney evaluates in the first interview.

Prong 2 — You are physically present in the United States on account of trafficking

The applicant must be physically present in the United States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port of entry on account of the trafficking.

USCIS has long read “on account of” to include people who were originally trafficked into the country, people who escaped trafficking and remained here, and people who left the trafficking situation but stayed in the United States for reasons connected to the trafficking — such as cooperating with an investigation, recovering from trauma, or being unable to safely return home. The 2024 final rule clarified and codified the continuing-presence framework.

The point we want survivors to take from this: time alone does not necessarily disqualify you. Survivors sometimes assume that because their trafficking happened five, ten, or even fifteen years ago, the door is closed. It often is not. An attorney can evaluate whether your continued presence still meets the statutory standard.

Prong 3 — Compliance with reasonable requests from law enforcement

This is the prong most commonly misunderstood, and the one where good legal counsel matters most. The statute requires that the applicant has complied with any reasonable request from a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of acts of trafficking — unless the applicant is under 18, or the applicant is unable to cooperate due to physical or psychological trauma.

A few things worth understanding clearly:

No request, no obligation. If law enforcement has never asked you for anything, you do not have a “non-cooperation” problem. The requirement is about responding to reasonable requests that were actually made.
The age exception is automatic. Survivors who were under 18 at the time of victimization do not have to show cooperation at all.
The trauma exception is real. The statute and the implementing regulations recognize that some survivors cannot reasonably cooperate because of what was done to them. That exception has to be documented — typically with mental-health evidence.
Cooperation does not mean testifying. The level of contact required varies. Reporting the trafficking, sitting for an interview, or providing identifying information about a trafficker can all qualify as cooperation. An attorney can advise on what counts.

We discuss the related question of the I-914 Supplement B law-enforcement declaration in its own section below — because the declaration is encouraged, but it is not always required, and survivors often think they cannot file without one when in fact they can.

Prong 4 — Extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm if removed

The fourth prong asks whether the applicant would suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm upon removal from the United States. This is not the ordinary “extreme hardship” standard from other immigration contexts — it is heightened, and Congress wrote it that way deliberately because trafficking survivors face categories of harm that ordinary deportees do not.

Factors that adjudicators consider include: the risk of re-trafficking; the inability of the home country to protect the survivor; the survivor’s need for medical or psychological care unavailable at home; the survivor’s role in an ongoing investigation; the trauma of removal itself; and the survivor’s family situation, including derivative beneficiaries already in the United States.

Evidence on this prong typically includes country-conditions documentation, a personal declaration, mental-health and medical records, and sometimes expert reports. It is the prong where a thoughtful legal narrative often makes the difference.

“Severe form of trafficking” — common misconceptions

A few patterns come up over and over in initial consultations. They are worth flagging because they cause survivors to second-guess whether they qualify when they actually might.

“I was paid, so it cannot be trafficking.” Payment does not preclude trafficking. Many trafficking victims received some money. The statutory test is about force, fraud, or coercion, not about whether wages changed hands.

“I came willingly, so it cannot be trafficking.” Trafficking is about what happened after arrival as much as how someone got here. A worker recruited under a false promise, then held in debt bondage or threatened to keep them in the situation, is a trafficking victim under § 7102 even if they crossed the border voluntarily.

“I was not held in one place, so it cannot be trafficking.” Movement is not required. The statute does not require kidnapping. It requires force, fraud, or coercion in connection with commercial sex (or someone under 18 in commercial sex) or compelled labor.

“It happened years ago, so it is too late.” As noted above, T-visa applications can be filed years after the underlying trafficking. The “physical presence on account of” prong is interpreted broadly enough to cover many survivors who have been here for years.

The bottom line: if you are reading this and any part of your situation sounds like the statute, talk to an attorney before deciding the answer is no.

The law-enforcement cooperation requirement, in practical terms

This section deserves its own treatment because the law-enforcement piece is where most survivors hesitate, and where bad assumptions cost real cases.

Form I-914, Supplement B — what it is

Form I-914, Supplement B is the Declaration of Law Enforcement Officer for Victim of Trafficking in Persons. It is sometimes called the “LEA declaration” or — informally — “the I-914B.” (USCIS calls it Supplement B, not I-914B, so we use that terminology here.) The form is signed by a law-enforcement officer or authorized agency representative and confirms that the applicant has been a victim of severe trafficking and has been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful in the investigation or prosecution.

Who can sign it

A wide range of federal, state, tribal, and local agencies can sign Supplement B. In Colorado that includes, but is not limited to:

Federal: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado
State: the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and its trafficking-focused units
Local: the Denver Police Department, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, the Aurora Police Department, and the district attorneys for the 2nd, 17th, and 18th Judicial Districts
Labor: the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (Denver district office), which has explicit T-visa certification authority under DOL policy

Whether a particular agency will actually sign a Supplement B in a particular case depends on the agency’s policies, the strength of the investigation, and the survivor’s relationship to the case. An attorney evaluates which agency to approach — and how to approach it — case by case.

It is discretionary

This part matters: agencies are not required by federal law to sign Supplement B. The decision is discretionary at the agency level. Some agencies in Colorado certify regularly when the facts support it; others certify rarely. The fact that an agency declines does not mean a survivor is not a trafficking victim. It means the next strategic question is whether the application can proceed without a Supplement B by using other credible evidence — which it often can.

Age and trauma exceptions

Two statutory exceptions soften the cooperation prong:

Under 18 at the time of victimization — no cooperation required.
Inability to cooperate due to physical or psychological trauma — documented, usually with mental-health evidence. The 2024 final rule reinforced the trauma-informed approach that USCIS adjudicators are supposed to apply.

The takeaway for survivors: if you have been told by a non-attorney that you “have to” testify, “have to” go to court, or “have to” get a signed Supplement B before you can even start a T-visa application, that advice is incomplete. Talk to an attorney about what your actual obligations are.

Derivative beneficiaries — who can come with you (or join you)

The T-visa is one of the most family-protective forms of humanitarian immigration relief in the statute. Derivative status is available for certain family members of a principal T-1 applicant. The categories track the principal’s age:

Principal under 21 at the time of filing: spouse, children, parents, and unmarried siblings who were under 18 on the date the principal applied for T status.
Principal 21 or older at the time of filing: spouse and children.

Each derivative is filed on a separate Form I-914A, Application for Family Member of T-1 Recipient. Derivatives can be inside or outside the United States. Approved derivatives outside the United States can apply for consular processing to enter.

For survivors with family members still in the home country — especially in countries where the family may be at risk because the survivor came forward — derivative T status is often the central reason to file. It can be the difference between a survivor staying safe in the United States and a survivor being pulled back into a dangerous situation to protect family members.

If you have family-based immigration questions running alongside your T-visa eligibility, our family-based immigration guide for Denver and Seattle covers the broader framework.

The application packet

A T-visa filing is not a single form. It is a packet, and the packet is the case. The core components:

Form I-914 — Application for T Nonimmigrant Status. The principal application.
Form I-914A — One for each derivative family member.
Form I-914, Supplement B — Law-enforcement declaration, strongly encouraged when available but not always required.
Form I-192 — Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Nonimmigrant. Used as the T-visa inadmissibility waiver when grounds of inadmissibility apply (including most criminal grounds and most prior-removal grounds).
Personal statement. The survivor’s own narrative. This is the heart of the application. It is also the document USCIS reads most carefully on credibility.
Supporting evidence. Medical records, psychological evaluations, country-conditions documentation, declarations from corroborating witnesses, copies of any law-enforcement reports or filings, and any documentary evidence of the trafficking itself.

The 2024 USCIS final rule codified the “any credible evidence” standard that has long been applied informally — meaning T-visa adjudicators may consider any credible evidence to establish eligibility. This is significant. Trafficking situations rarely leave paper trails the way ordinary employment or romantic relationships do. The flexibility of the evidentiary standard is meaningful.

Close-up of a fountain pen poised above grid-lined paper, ready to write — Form I-914, Form I-914A, Form I-914 Supplement B, and Form I-192 together make up the core T-visa application packet — built carefully, document by document, with counsel.

The whole packet typically runs hundreds of pages by the time exhibits are included. Building it is not a do-it-yourself project for most survivors, particularly survivors still processing trauma. An attorney structures the narrative, identifies the strongest evidence, and frames the case for the adjudicator.

T-visa vs. U-visa — which one fits

The T-visa and the U-visa are statutory cousins. Congress created them in the same era for overlapping (but distinct) populations. Survivors and advocates often want a side-by-side comparison so the right path becomes clear.

Statutory basis

T-visa: INA § 101(a)(15)(T) / 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(T). Created by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

U-visa: INA § 101(a)(15)(U) / 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(U). Created by the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act / Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000.

Qualifying conduct

T-visa: The applicant is a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons as defined at 22 U.S.C. § 7102 — sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion (or a minor in commercial sex), or labor trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion.

U-visa: The applicant is a victim of one of a defined list of qualifying crimes — including domestic violence, sexual assault, felonious assault, kidnapping, and others — and has suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result. The U-visa list is broader; the T-visa is narrower but covers conduct that may not always cleanly fit the U-visa categories.

Law-enforcement role

T-visa: Compliance with reasonable LEA requests, with statutory exceptions for minors and for trauma-based inability to cooperate. The I-914 Supplement B declaration is encouraged but not always required.

U-visa: Helpfulness in the investigation or prosecution of the qualifying crime. The I-918 Supplement B law-enforcement certification is generally required — and unlike the T context, U-visa cases are far harder to advance without one.

Annual cap

T-visa: 5,000 principal approvals per fiscal year. Derivatives uncapped. (8 U.S.C. § 1184(o)(2).)

U-visa: 10,000 principal approvals per fiscal year. The U cap is a real, ongoing bottleneck — the backlog runs years long. The T cap, as a practical matter, has not been a recurring constraint.

Path to a green card

T-visa: Adjustment of status under INA § 245(l) after three years of continuous physical presence in T status — or upon completion of the investigation or prosecution, whichever is earlier — subject to continued cooperation and good moral character.

U-visa: Adjustment of status under INA § 245(m) after three years of continuous physical presence in U status.

Derivative scope

T-visa: Principal under 21 — spouse, children, parents, unmarried siblings under 18. Principal 21 or older — spouse and children.

U-visa: Principal under 21 — spouse, children, parents, unmarried siblings under 18. Principal 21 or older — spouse and children. The categories largely track. (One advantage of T derivative status is that the family-protection rationale is built directly into the statute’s purpose, which can support derivative case-building.)

When T is the cleaner path

Generally, when the underlying conduct meets the severe-form-of-trafficking definition cleanly, T is the better fit. The trafficking framework is designed for these facts; the U-visa qualifying-crime list does not always describe trafficking as cleanly.

When U is the cleaner path

Generally, when the survivor is the victim of a qualifying crime that does not clearly meet the trafficking definition — domestic violence, sexual assault outside a trafficking context, kidnapping, felonious assault — the U-visa is the cleaner statutory fit. Our U-visa explainer for Denver and Seattle walks through the U-visa framework in detail.

Filing both — case-specific only

It is sometimes possible, depending on the facts, to file both — but this is a strategic decision that depends on the strength of each case, the law-enforcement posture, and the survivor’s situation. There is no blanket advice. An attorney evaluates whether parallel filings make sense.

Other paths worth knowing about

T-visa and U-visa are not the only humanitarian options. VAWA self-petitions under the Violence Against Women Act, asylum for survivors fleeing trafficking-related harm in the home country, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status for certain minors, and continued presence as an investigative tool all overlap in certain factual scenarios. This article does not advocate for any one path. The right path is the one the facts of a specific case actually support — which is why the first conversation with counsel matters.

Path to a green card after three years

T nonimmigrant status is a path, not a destination. The statute provides for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence under INA § 245(l).

The core requirements:

Three years of continuous physical presence in T status — or completion of the investigation or prosecution of the trafficking, whichever is earlier.
Continued cooperation with any reasonable LEA requests during that period (with the same statutory exceptions for age and trauma).
Good moral character throughout.
Admissibility at adjustment — with the I-192 waiver available for many otherwise-disqualifying grounds.

Derivatives in T status can adjust along with the principal under § 245(l), subject to their own continued-presence and admissibility analysis.

Three years is the statutory floor, not a ceiling. In practice the adjustment filing is part of the long-arc T-visa strategy: an attorney plans for it from the beginning, builds the record contemporaneously, and submits the I-485 packet when the survivor becomes eligible.

Confidentiality and safety protections

For many survivors, the question is not “do I qualify” but “is it safe to ask.” The federal statute takes that question seriously.

8 U.S.C. § 1367 — sometimes called “§ 384 confidentiality” — restricts DOJ, DHS, and DOS officials from making adverse determinations based solely on information furnished by a perpetrator, and restricts disclosure of information relating to T-visa, U-visa, VAWA, and certain other humanitarian applications.

In plain terms, § 1367 means that information you share with USCIS in connection with a T-visa application is generally not used by ICE or CBP to find or remove you. It also means that information from your trafficker is generally not the basis for adverse action against you. The statute carries penalties for officials who violate its disclosure rules.

A few caveats worth understanding:

The protections are real but not unlimited. There are statutory exceptions for, among other things, certain national-security matters and certain authorized disclosures. An attorney can explain how those exceptions actually operate.
The protections cover information in the immigration adjudication context. They do not change the underlying immigration status of someone who is already in proceedings — they regulate how the government can use the information you provide.
The protections do not create immunity from arrest in unrelated contexts. They are about how trafficking-related information is handled.

For survivors in active removal proceedings, the safest course is to work with counsel who can coordinate the T-visa filing with whatever is happening in immigration court. That coordination is one of the things an immigration attorney does.

Colorado context

A few features of the Colorado landscape are worth knowing as you think through your options.

The numbers

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Colorado identified 185 trafficking cases involving 318 victims in 2024, with 465 signals received that year. Since 2007, the hotline has identified 3,460 victims and 1,718 cases in the state. The 2024 case breakdown was 105 sex-trafficking cases, 30 labor-trafficking cases, and 22 combined sex-and-labor cases. Trafficking in Colorado is not rare. Trafficking survivors are not statistical outliers. They are neighbors.

Denver-area law-enforcement certifiers

We listed the realistic certifier set earlier — HSI Denver, FBI Denver, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Colorado AG, Denver PD, county sheriffs, district attorneys, and DOL Wage and Hour. Practices vary by agency and over time. An attorney who works in this space can identify the most promising agency for the specific facts of a case and tailor the certification ask accordingly.

Community resources

A T-visa case rarely stands alone. Survivors often need shelter, counseling, medical care, and economic stabilization at the same time. Colorado has a network of survivor-services organizations that do this work day in and day out — including the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) and the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (COVA), among others. An attorney working on a T-visa case can usually point a survivor toward the right wrap-around resources in addition to the legal work.

Active removal proceedings — the Denver Immigration Court

For survivors who are already in removal proceedings, the Denver Immigration Court sits at 1961 Stout Street, Denver, Colorado. T-visa filings interact with removal proceedings in specific procedural ways — including the possibility of administrative closure, continuances, or motions to terminate depending on the posture of the case. Survivors in active proceedings should not navigate this on their own.

Edge cases — common questions about who can still qualify

If you have a prior removal or deportation order

A prior removal order does not, by itself, disqualify someone from a T-visa. Many T-visa applicants have prior orders. The interaction is handled procedurally through filings that an attorney coordinates — and through the I-192 waiver process for any inadmissibility grounds that result from the prior immigration history. The honest read on this is that it is more complicated, not impossible.

If you have a criminal record

Many trafficking survivors have criminal histories — sometimes for conduct that was directly part of being trafficked (prostitution-related charges, immigration-document offenses, controlled-substance involvement coerced by the trafficker). The statute and the implementing regulations recognize this, and the Form I-192 waiver is available for most grounds of inadmissibility that result from a criminal record.

Two practical points:

The waiver process is fact-intensive. Every conviction has to be analyzed for its categorical immigration effect under the modified categorical and categorical approach frameworks.
The intersection of criminal records and humanitarian immigration relief is the subject of a wider body of practice we call crimmigration. The deeper read on how criminal cases shape immigration consequences is a substantial topic in its own right.

The takeaway: a criminal record makes the case more complicated. It does not automatically close the door.

If your trafficking happened years ago

As covered earlier, the “physical presence on account of trafficking” prong is read broadly enough to cover many survivors whose trafficking ended years before they file. Time is not, by itself, a disqualifier.

If you are afraid that asking for help will expose you to immigration enforcement

8 U.S.C. § 1367 confidentiality protections exist precisely because Congress understood this fear. The attorney-client privilege adds another layer: communications with an immigration attorney are confidential by professional rule, separate from any statutory protection. Whatever you tell an attorney in an initial consultation stays with that attorney unless you authorize disclosure.

What to do if you think you might qualify

The first move is the cheapest and the safest: have a conversation with an immigration attorney about your facts. A T-visa consultation should cover, at minimum:

A walk-through of the four prongs against your specific situation
A read on whether a Supplement B is realistically available, and from which agency
Identification of any inadmissibility grounds that would require an I-192 waiver
Discussion of derivative beneficiaries — who is in your family, where they are, and what status they have
An honest assessment of timing and strategy if you are in active removal proceedings
Confidentiality basics — what § 1367 covers, what attorney-client privilege covers, what you do not have to disclose to non-attorneys

What to bring

You do not need to walk in with a binder. A consultation can productively happen with nothing more than your memory. If you have access to them, useful items include: any law-enforcement reports filed in connection with the trafficking, any prior immigration paperwork (NTAs, EOIR notices, prior application receipts), medical or mental-health records related to the experience, identification documents, and contact information for any family members who may qualify as derivatives. If you do not have these things, do not let that stop you from making the call.

A note on confidentiality at the attorney level

Attorney-client privilege attaches to communications with an attorney in the context of seeking legal advice — even if you do not ultimately hire the attorney. That protection is separate from, and stronger in some respects than, the § 1367 protections that attach to filings at USCIS. It is one of the reasons we recommend that survivors who are weighing their options have the conversation with counsel before they make any disclosures to government agencies they are not legally required to make.

When you are ready to have that conversation with us, you can reach Novo Legal Group at (888) 746-5245 or through our contact page. We work in English and in Spanish. The first call is confidential.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a T-visa if I have a criminal record?

In many cases, yes. The Form I-192 waiver is available for most grounds of inadmissibility resulting from criminal history — including grounds that arose from conduct directly tied to the trafficking itself. Every conviction has to be analyzed under the categorical approach for its immigration effect, and the waiver narrative has to be built. An attorney evaluates which convictions are waivable and how to frame the I-192. A criminal record is a factor; it is rarely, by itself, a stop.

Can I get a T-visa if I have a prior removal or deportation order?

Yes, in many cases. A prior order does not automatically disqualify a T-visa applicant. There are procedural pieces that have to be coordinated — and the I-192 waiver may need to address inadmissibility grounds resulting from the prior immigration history — but many T-visa applicants have prior orders. Talk to an attorney about your specific posture before assuming the answer is no.

What if my trafficking happened years ago?

Time alone is not a disqualifier. The “physical presence on account of trafficking” prong is read broadly enough to cover many survivors who have remained in the United States for years after the trafficking ended. Whether your specific facts meet the standard is something an attorney evaluates case by case.

Will applying for a T-visa expose me to immigration enforcement?

Federal law specifically protects T-visa applicants from many forms of information-sharing with enforcement agencies under 8 U.S.C. § 1367. Those protections are real but not unlimited. An attorney can walk you through what is protected and what is not, and can coordinate any filings in a way that maintains those protections.

Do I have to testify in court?

Not necessarily. The statute requires compliance with reasonable law-enforcement requests — which can include reporting, sitting for an interview, or providing identifying information. It does not categorically require courtroom testimony. Some cases never go to court. Some do. An attorney can tell you what cooperation is actually being asked of you in your case.

How long does the T-visa process take?

USCIS processing times for Form I-914 have run in the range of approximately two years in recent reporting periods. Times change. The current published estimate is on the USCIS website. An attorney can give you a realistic timeline for your specific case based on current data.

What if law enforcement refuses to sign the I-914 Supplement B?

A Supplement B is encouraged but not always required. The statute and the implementing regulations permit T-visa cases to proceed on other credible evidence. An attorney evaluates whether the case can move forward without certification, whether a different agency can be approached, and how to build the evidentiary record to compensate for the absence of a Supplement B.

Can my children or family members outside the United States join me?

Yes, in many cases. Derivative T status (Form I-914A) is available for spouses, children, and — if the principal is under 21 — parents and unmarried minor siblings. Approved derivatives outside the United States can apply for consular processing to enter. For survivors with family members at risk in the home country, derivative status is often the central reason to file.

Why Novo Legal

Novo Legal Group is a Denver-based immigration and civil-rights firm. We serve clients across Colorado and the Pacific Northwest, in English and in Spanish, with offices in Denver, Kent (Seattle area), and Walla Walla. The firm has been building a community-facing humanitarian-visa practice since 2018 — including a body of work on the T-visa’s statutory cousin, the U-visa, with seven community-facing posts that walk crime survivors through eligibility, process, and benefits in the same straightforward voice you have been reading on this page.

We work with trafficking survivors the way Congress intended the T-visa to work: as a path out, not a transaction. We coordinate with community organizations, mental-health providers, and law-enforcement contacts when that is the right move for your case. We file the application that fits your facts — not the application someone else’s case needed. And we are clear with you, throughout, about what is realistic.

Aaron Elinoff, the firm’s Managing Partner and the author of this page, has practiced immigration and civil-rights law in Colorado for years. His bio is available at novo-legal.com/en/about/aaron-elinoff.

Aaron Elinoff, Managing Partner at Novo Legal Group, Denver immigration attorney and author of this article — Aaron Elinoff is Managing Partner at Novo Legal Group. He authors this guide and represents trafficking survivors and other humanitarian-visa clients across Colorado.