To qualify for T-1 nonimmigrant status, an applicant must be physically present in a qualifying location because of trafficking. This physical presence requirement is one of the core eligibility criteria under INA § 101(a)(15)(T)(i)(II), but it involves more than being in the United States or another qualifying location. The applicant must also show a connection between their presence and the trafficking.
At Shankar & Associates PC, New York T visa immigration attorney Rajat Shankar helps trafficking survivors throughout the state, including Long Island and Nassau County, understand and document federal T visa eligibility requirements. Our immigration lawyers guide New York applicants through the process of showing how their current presence in the United States is connected to trafficking.
This guide explains what the physical presence requirement means, how USCIS evaluates the “on account of trafficking” standard, what evidence supports this element, and how it connects to the other T visa eligibility criteria. Call Shankar & Associates PC at (800) 461-1467.
What Is the Physical Presence Requirement for a T Visa?
Under INA § 101(a)(15)(T)(i)(II), a T-1 applicant must be physically present in a qualifying location on account of trafficking. USCIS considers the applicant’s presence at the time of application. This means the applicant must be in the United States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port of entry to one of those locations. A principal T-1 applicant outside these areas generally cannot establish the physical presence requirement.
The requirement goes beyond mere geographic presence. Your presence in one of these locations must be connected to your trafficking experience, a concept known as the “on account of” standard. Being in the U.S. for an unrelated reason does not satisfy this element, even if you are also a trafficking victim.
The table below addresses only the location part of the requirement. The applicant must still show that their physical presence is connected to the trafficking.
| Current Location | Does It Meet the Location Part of the Physical Presence Requirement? |
|---|---|
| United States | Yes |
| American Samoa | Yes |
| Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands | Yes |
| Port of entry to the United States, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands | Yes |
| Outside a qualifying location | No |
Key Takeaway: Location alone is not enough. A principal T-1 applicant must be in a qualifying location at the time of filing and must show that their presence is connected to the trafficking.
What Does “On Account of Trafficking” Actually Mean?
The phrase “on account of trafficking” requires a causal connection between the applicant’s current presence in a qualifying location and the trafficking. Depending on the facts, this connection may be shown through current trafficking, liberation by law enforcement, escape before law enforcement involvement, past trafficking that directly relates to the applicant’s current U.S. presence, or entry for a trafficking-related detection, investigation, prosecution, or judicial process.
Does the Trafficking Have to Have Occurred in the U.S.?
Trafficking can begin in another country and still support this requirement. If the trafficking caused the applicant’s presence in the United States, the applicant may be able to show physical presence “on account of” the trafficking.
For example, a person recruited in their home country through fraud and transported to the United States for forced labor may meet this standard when the trafficking caused their U.S. presence.
Does the Applicant Need to Still Be in a Trafficking Situation?
A T-1 applicant does not need to still be in the trafficking situation at the time of filing. The key issue is whether the applicant’s current presence remains connected to the trafficking, including situations involving liberation, escape, or past trafficking that directly relates to the applicant’s present U.S. presence.
Key Takeaway: “On account of trafficking” means your presence in a qualifying location must be causally connected to your trafficking experience. Trafficking can originate abroad, and it does not need to be ongoing at the time you file your application.
What If the Applicant Left the United States After the Trafficking?
If an applicant voluntarily left or was removed from the United States after the trafficking, the physical presence analysis becomes more complicated. DHS regulations generally treat the applicant as not physically present on account of trafficking unless an exception applies.
An exception may apply if the applicant’s reentry resulted from continued victimization, the applicant became a victim of a new trafficking incident, the applicant was paroled or otherwise lawfully admitted to participate in a trafficking-related investigation or judicial process, the applicant’s current U.S. presence is connected to past or current participation in that process, or the applicant returned to receive specialized trafficking-related treatment or services unavailable in the applicant’s home country or last place of residence.
Key Takeaway: Leaving or being removed from the United States after trafficking can affect the physical presence requirement. Applicants in this situation should have an immigration attorney review whether an exception applies.
Rajat Shankar helps trafficking survivors document the causal connection between their trafficking experience and their U.S. presence. Contact Shankar & Associates PC at (800) 461-1467 to discuss your case.
How Does the USCIS Evaluate This Requirement in Practice?
A T-1 application must include Form I-914 and a detailed, signed personal statement addressing the eligibility requirements, including the trafficking the applicant experienced and how the applicant’s physical presence relates to that trafficking. The applicant must also submit evidence showing that their physical presence is connected to the trafficking. The USCIS considers any credible evidence, and no single type of corroborating document is required, but the evidence should clearly support the required connection.
The strength of your application often depends on how clearly your evidence tells the story of how trafficking brought you to, or kept you in, the United States. Consistency across your personal statement, supporting letters, and any law enforcement documentation is important.
What Evidence Supports the Physical Presence Requirement?
USCIS considers several categories of evidence when evaluating this element, and a strong application typically combines multiple types of documentation:
- Form I-914 Supplement B (Declaration for Trafficking Victim): Optional evidence from a law enforcement agency. When available, it may help support victimization, law enforcement compliance, and the connection between the trafficking and the applicant’s current presence if it includes facts relevant to those issues. USCIS still decides eligibility, and the declaration does not receive special evidentiary weight.
- Personal declaration or statement: Your own detailed account of how the trafficking brought you to or kept you in the United States. This is often a central piece of evidence.
- Letters from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs): Organizations that work with trafficking survivors can provide letters describing your circumstances and corroborating your account.
- Medical or psychological records: Documentation of physical injuries or psychological trauma consistent with trafficking can support the causal connection.
- Other corroborating evidence: Travel documents, employment records, communications with traffickers, photographs, or witness statements that support your account.
Together, these documents should show a consistent connection between the trafficking and the applicant’s current presence in the United States.
How Does This Requirement Relate to Law Enforcement Compliance?
The physical presence requirement and the law enforcement compliance requirement are separate elements, although the same evidence may support both. Form I-914 Supplement B may help when it describes the trafficking, the applicant’s cooperation, and the connection between the trafficking and the applicant’s current U.S. presence.
The form is not required for every case. A T-1 applicant may rely on other credible evidence to establish physical presence, especially when law enforcement documentation is unavailable or when an age exemption or trauma exception affects the compliance analysis.
Key Takeaway: Physical presence and law enforcement compliance are separate T visa requirements, but some evidence may support both. Form I-914 Supplement B can help when available, but a T-1 applicant may still rely on other credible evidence.
Can Someone Still Qualify If They Escaped or Were Rescued?
Escaping a trafficker or being rescued by law enforcement does not prevent a survivor from meeting the physical presence requirement. After escape or rescue, the application should clearly explain when and how the applicant became separated from the trafficker, why the applicant remains in the United States, and how that current presence remains tied to the trafficking.
Helpful evidence may include the applicant’s personal statement, service provider letters, medical or psychological records, law enforcement records, travel records, immigration records, witness statements, or other documents that support the connection between the trafficking and the applicant’s current U.S. presence.
T Visa Immigration Attorney in New York, Shankar & Associates PC
Rajat Shankar, Esq.
Rajat Shankar is a Nassau County immigration attorney whose work is shaped by his own experience as an immigrant. He came to the United States at eight years old and later became a U.S. citizen, giving him a personal understanding of how stressful, confusing, and deeply important the immigration process can be for individuals and families.
Attorney Shankar earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in 2012 and was admitted to the New York Bar in 2013. His immigration practice includes employment-based immigration, cancellation of removal, asylum, deportation defense, and T visa matters for trafficking survivors. Clients receive steady guidance from Attorney Shankar throughout immigration matters that often carry serious legal and personal consequences.
How Do Minor and Trauma Exceptions Affect Physical Presence Evidence?
Applicants who were under 18 when at least one trafficking act occurred, and applicants who cannot cooperate with reasonable law enforcement requests because of physical or psychological trauma, may qualify for an exemption or exception from the law enforcement compliance requirement. These rules do not remove the physical presence requirement. A T visa applicant still needs to show that their current presence in a qualifying location is on account of trafficking, while also explaining why the compliance exemption or exception applies.
For minors and trauma-affected applicants, the evidence should be organized with sensitivity to the applicant’s age, safety concerns, trauma history, and ability to report or document the trafficking.
How Physical Presence Connects to the Other T Visa Requirements
Physical presence on account of trafficking is one of the main eligibility requirements for T nonimmigrant status. Each requirement must be addressed for USCIS to approve the application. Understanding how these requirements interact helps build a cohesive case.
The main T-1 eligibility requirements generally include the following:
- You are a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons.
- You are physically present in the United States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port of entry to one of those locations on account of trafficking.
- You have complied with reasonable law enforcement requests, or you qualify for an exemption or exception.
- You would suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm if removed from the United States.
- You are admissible to the United States, or you qualify for a waiver of inadmissibility.
Because these requirements are connected, a well-organized application should use the evidence efficiently. A detailed personal statement may address victimization, physical presence, hardship, and compliance or an applicable exception. Form I-914 Supplement B, when available, may also support more than one element if it includes facts relevant to both the trafficking and the applicant’s current presence.
Legal Help for New York Trafficking Survivors Applying for a T Visa
Nassau County immigration attorney Rajat Shankar at Shankar & Associates PC handles a wide range of immigration matters, including T visa cases for trafficking survivors in New York. Our team helps applicants gather evidence, prepare personal statements, and work through the USCIS adjudication process. We focus on building an organized, well-supported application that addresses the requirements USCIS reviews in T visa cases.
Call Shankar & Associates PC at (800) 461-1467 to schedule a consultation. Our office is located at 518 Plainview Road in Plainview, and we serve trafficking survivors on Long Island, across Nassau County, and throughout New York City.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does “physical presence” mean I have to currently be in the U.S. to apply for a T visa?
Yes. A principal T-1 applicant must be physically present in the United States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port of entry to one of those locations at the time of filing. An applicant outside these qualifying locations cannot establish the physical presence requirement as a principal T-1 applicant.
What if I was trafficked abroad and ended up in the U.S.?
You may still meet the physical presence requirement. Trafficking that began in another country can support this requirement when it caused the applicant’s presence in the United States.
If I escaped my trafficker, can I still meet this requirement?
Possibly. A survivor may still meet this requirement after escaping or being rescued if the evidence connects the applicant’s current U.S. presence to the trafficking.
Can Form I-914 Supplement B help prove physical presence on account of trafficking?
Yes. Form I-914 Supplement B can help support this requirement when it includes facts showing how the trafficking relates to the applicant’s presence in the United States. The form is not required in every case, and USCIS may consider other credible evidence.
What happens if I cannot get Form I-914 Supplement B?
An applicant may still meet the physical presence requirement through other evidence. Personal statements, service provider letters, medical or psychological records, and other corroborating documents may help establish the connection between trafficking and the applicant’s presence in the United States. An immigration attorney can help identify the strongest available evidence for the case.
Does this requirement apply differently to child trafficking victims?
Not exactly. Minor victims may be exempt from the law enforcement compliance requirement if they were under 18 when at least one act of trafficking occurred. They still need to establish that their physical presence is connected to the trafficking. Evidence from guardians, social workers, service providers, medical professionals, or child welfare organizations may help support that connection.
How is “physical presence on account of trafficking” different from just being present in the U.S.?
Simply being in the United States is not enough. The applicant must show a trafficking-related reason for being or remaining in a qualifying location. Someone who is present in the United States for an unrelated reason, even if they are also a trafficking victim, may not satisfy this specific element without establishing that connection.