At issue is the nonimmigrant "T visa," which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials say is an underutilized tool that can be used to help victims of human trafficking who have been brought into the country — using deception in many cases — and then used as sex slaves or forced into other types of involuntary servitude. There is a 5,000 yearly cap on the visa, which allows eligible victims and family members to stay in the country up to four years. But fewer than 5,000 have been approved in total since it was instated in 2002.
"We want them to know that we will protect them," Tony Bryson, the agency's Philadelphia district director, said of victims. "We don't want them to stand in the shadow anymore."
The special visa allows eligible victims to remain in the country for up to four years, and victims must show that they would suffer extreme hardship if they are removed. Federal officials visited Philadelphia this week to speak with law enforcement, community groups and others about the visa. The agency has conducted or plans similar awareness campaigns in Boston, Seattle, Dallas, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other areas.
"We are definitely seeing that visa underutilized," said Lynn Boudreau, assistant center director for the agency's Vermont service center, which processes all such applications. "This is a way for us to give these folks that are being trafficked a light at the end of the tunnel."
Immigration officials estimate that tens of thousands of people who enter the U.S. each year are victims of human trafficking, many of them unknowingly. Some are led to believe they are entering the country legally, only to be led into lives as sexual slaves or other forms of servitude.
Last year, immigration officials said, they met the 10,000 limit for a different type of nonimmigrant visa, called a "U visa," which applies to victims of many different types of crimes — including trafficking — who have provided certification that they have assisted or will assist in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity.
But the "T visa," which is specific to human trafficking victims, has been used far less often. With a cap of 5,000 a year, only 796 were issued in the 2010 fiscal year and only 890 had been issued through June this year. That's why immigration officials are trying to increase awareness that the visa is available to victims, said Rosemary Hartman, an adjudications officer with USCIS in Washington, D.C.
"We want people to know that it's OK to come forward," Hartman said.
Source: Daily Journal
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