Client Alert!
USCIS is revising the guidance in their Policy Manual to align with the Classification for Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons; Eligibility for “T” Nonimmigrant Status Final Rule. This rule was published in the Federal Register on April 30, 2024.
USCIS’ updated policy guidance (PDF, 232.24 KB) is effective immediately and applies generally to applications pending or filed on or after August 28, 2024, except for the bona fide determination process, which generally only applies to applications filed on or after August 28, 2024. However, regarding pending applications, no provision of the rule applies to an applicant who filed before August 28, 2024, if it would make an applicant who was eligible under the previous regulations, ineligible.
The updated policy guidance:
- Emphasizes and expands on the “any credible evidence” provision and its applicability to applications for T nonimmigrant status;
- Emphasizes a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach to adjudicating applications for T nonimmigrant status;
- Explains the bona fide determination process for applicants for T nonimmigrant status;
- Provides additional exceptions to the general rule that departures from the United States after trafficking render an applicant unable to establish physical presence on account of their trafficking;
- Revises the definition of “law enforcement agency”;
- Clarifies the requirement that an applicant must establish that a perpetrator engaged in a specific prohibited action “for the purpose of” inducing a commercial sex act or subjecting the applicant to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery; and
- Explains that an applicant generally must report their trafficking to law enforcement authorities with jurisdiction to investigate their trafficking to satisfy the reporting requirement.
Click the link for more information.
