Approved, Denied, or on Backlog: Issuance Rates, Trends, and Status of T and U Non-immigrant Visas in the United States

Alexa Bejinariu ()
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Alexa Bejinariu: University of Nevada Las Vegas

Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2025, vol. 26, issue 2, No 7, 853 pages

Abstract: Abstract With the enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, undocumented crime victims could legalize their status in the United States by obtaining either a T or a U non-immigrant visa. In essence, both visas provide immigration relief from deportation to foreign-born victims along with other legal protections. Although every year a total of 5000 T-visas and 10,000 U-visas are made available to qualifying crime victims, very little is known about their attainability, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the goal of this paper is (1) to examine the number of T- and U-visa applications received, approved, and denied from 2008 to 2022; (2) to identify any potential barriers to the T- and U-visa process that might explain changes in issuance rates over time; and (3) to discuss implications for policy and practice as well as future research directions. Although both visas have seen a decline in application numbers at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS data suggests that T- and U-visa applicants might be experiencing different visa processing issues. Implications for improving the visa application process include changes to the current eligibility requirements, improved victim identification efforts, and establishing a new framework for immigration policymaking.

Keywords: Human trafficking; TVPA legislation; Visa processing; Immigration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s12134-024-01205-1

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