CAST participated in AILA’s November 14, 2024 engagement with USCIS on VAWA, U, and T issues where representatives from the USCIS Office of Policy & Strategy (OP&S), Service Center Operations Directorate (SCOPS), and Public Engagement Division discussed issues relating to T visas and other humanitarian remedies. Key takeaways for T visa practitioners are below.[1]

Communication with USCIS & Mail and Address Issues

• USCIS is currently working on answering hotline inquiries from July 2024. Hotline response times for I-914-related inquiries remain approximately 120 calendar days.
• USCIS indicated that it does not respond to inquiries regarding cases within processing times and advised legal representatives to check processing times before contacting the hotline.
• Practitioners should refrain from submitting duplicate inquiries to the hotline, Contact Center, and to USCIS via postal mail, as this slows down response times generally. USCIS confirmed that the Contact Center only remains an option for applicants and petitioners themselves; legal representatives must continue to use the email hotlines for any inquiries.
• Practitioners should indicate the nature of the inquiry in the subject line of any email to the hotline so that USCIS can prioritize inquiries, for example “Updated G-28.” USCIS currently prioritizes inquiries such as requests to update a G-28, address changes, and requests for expedite.
• When an address change is needed, the change must be made for each form using the receipt number. The best way for an individual with a pending or approved T visa application to update their address is by calling the Contact Center with the applicable receipt notice(s) in front of them. Legal representatives may also email the hotline to request an address change, including all the relevant receipt numbers in the request.
  • CAST COMMENT: Change of address procedures are explained on USCIS’s webpage, Change of Address Procedures for VAWA/T/U Cases and Form I-751 Abuse Waivers.
• Where multiple receipt numbers were issued due to the filing of a duplicate application to replace a “lost filing,” practitioners should contact the hotline so USCIS can administratively close the additional filing as a duplicate.
• Where USCIS determines it has erroneously denied an application or petition for abandonment, it will reopen the application or petition.
• Where an I-94 is not received due to USCIS error, USCIS will reissue the I-94 without an I-102. The legal representative must notify USCIS of the error and missing I-94.

Biometrics

• USCIS cannot use fingerprints taken by ICE for law enforcement purposes, even where the applicant is in DHS custody and ICE has refused to facilitate biometrics capture.
• Biometrics appointments are scheduled online using InfoPass for some USCIS International Field Offices. The Field Office may be contacted via the corresponding public inquiry box where an individual or legal representative is unable to schedule a biometrics appointment online.
  • CAST COMMENT: USCIS International Field Office locations may be identified via USCIS’s webpage, International Immigration Offices. Click on the corresponding country to see biometrics scheduling and public inquiry information.
• Ink fingerprints are taken on an FD-258 card by consular posts when there is no USCIS Field Office in a particular country. Delays in processing mailed fingerprint cards and low print quality might cause USCIS to mail a second biometrics notice even though prints have already been completed at a consular post.
• USCIS Field Office staff will sign and date a biometrics notice as confirmation that the individual has had their prints taken. Consular posts provide no such documentation to a T derivative who has had their prints taken by the post.

T applicants who are detained or have a final order of removal

• USCIS does not publicly release the email address to be used by ICE to seek expedited adjudication of a pending I-914. When making the request, ICE should indicate that it is seeking expedited processing and whether the applicant is detained or has a final order of removal. Additionally, if OPLA or ERO has the A-file, they must be prepared to send it to USCIS, as USCIS cannot adjudicate without the A-file.
  • CAST COMMENT: Practitioners representing T applicants who are detained or have final orders of removal should review ICE Directive 11005.3, Using a Victim-Centered Approach with Noncitizen Crime Victims, if still in effect, for ICE’s policies regarding enforcement actions involving applicants for victim-based immigration relief.
• When ICE seeks an expedite of an I-914A, USCIS will also review the principal applicant’s I-914 to make a bona fide determination.
• If USCIS determines that a pending T application is not bona fide and ICE has sought expedited adjudication of the I-914, USCIS will inform ICE of its determination.
• When an I-914 or I-914A is denied, USCIS’s internal database is updated to reflect the denial. ICE can access this information in both expedite and non-expedite cases.

T bona fide determinations (BFDs)

• If USCIS determines that a T visa application is not bona fide, it will notify the applicant.
• The BFD process will not apply to a case issued an RFE before the effective date of the final rule. The BFD process will apply to any case filed on or after August 28, 2024 or that had an RFE issued on or after that date.
  • CAST COMMENT: More on T BFDs may be found in CAST’s FAQs.

Derivative age-outs

• The age-out changes in the final rule were made to conform the T visa regulations to the statute. INA § 214(o)(4) only applies age-out protections if the child turns 21 after the principal’s application for T nonimmigrant status is filed but while it is pending.
  • CAST COMMENT: At its August 2024 stakeholder engagement on the T visa final rule, USCIS generally stated that no application filed prior to the effective date will be made ineligible by the final rule and that if a pending case would have been granted under the interim regulations but the final rule would make the applicant ineligible, the provision of the final rule causing ineligibility will not be applied. Since this statement was not included in the final rule preamble, USCIS Policy Manual section on family members, or other formal USCIS guidance, practitioners should try to avoid a scenario where an age-out might occur after the I-914 is granted but before the I-914A is granted or the derivative is admitted into the U.S. in T derivative status (if abroad). For questions on T age-out issues, please reach out to CAST for individual technical assistance.
• Legal representatives may request that USCIS expedite adjudication of an I-914 or I-914A due to a potential derivative age-out. The expedite request should be made to the hotline with “expedite request” in the subject line and reference to the upcoming age-out in the body of the email.
  • CAST COMMENT: Practitioners should be mindful that due to the statutory language, the Department of State may not issue a derivative visa and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may not admit a T derivative who has turned 21 after the principal applicant’s I-914 has been granted, even if the I-914A was granted by USCIS. To avoid this potential consequence, practitioners should prepare to make expedite requests early and should try to prepare for consular processing (e.g. obtaining passports and necessary travel authorizations, etc.) early. Expedited consular processing assistance for T derivatives may be available through the International Organization for Migration’s US TIP Program.

Waivers of inadmissibility

• Generally, when additional grounds of inadmissibility are identified by a consular officer, the consulate will contact USCIS regarding the inadmissibility. USCIS will then review the file, note the information obtained from the consulate, and amend the I-192 as appropriate [assuming the adjudicator determines waiver of the ground should be granted]. USCIS then sends a copy of the amended I-192 approval notice to the Kentucky Consular Center for uploading into consular databases. A copy of the I-192 approval is also sent to the safe address of record and the legal representative.
  • CAST COMMENT: CAST recommends that legal representatives consider proactively reaching out to the service center to amend an I-192 in this circumstance instead of assuming that the consular post will do so. Legal representatives may seek amendment of a previously granted I-192 by contacting the hotline or contacting the service center via postal mail, including a brief explanation of the facts underlying the inadmissibility, and specifying the applicable inadmissibility section. General information on inadmissibility in T visa cases may be found in CAST’s advisory, Waivers of Inadmissibility in T Visa Cases.

Adjustment of status

• USCIS does not have official interpretation or policy on how to count days for calculating continuous physical presence under INA § 245(l)(3), but generally considers dates of departure and admission while in T nonimmigrant status as days inside the U.S.
  • CAST COMMENT: More on continuous physical presence for T-1 applicants for adjustment of status may be found in Vol. 7, Part J, Ch. 3.C(1).

Miscellaneous

• Form I-290B filed for an I-914 or I-914A should be filed with the Nebraska Service Center, which is now completing intake processing for T-based I-290Bs.
• USCIS confirmed that where filing address information conflicts on a denial notice and USCIS’s website, the website information takes precedence.
  • CAST COMMENT: Prior to filing any form or application, practitioners should always check the form filing location on USCIS’s website for filing address changes. For I-290B filing addresses, please see USCIS’s webpage, Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion.

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[1] Note that many of the topics covered were discussed in general terms and related to VAWA, T, and U visa petitions, not T visas specifically. AILA’s unofficial notes are available at AILA Doc. 25011607 and USCIS’s responses to pre-submitted questions may be found in USCIS’s Electronic Reading Room. For more information specific to T visas, please see CAST notes from an August 2024 USCIS engagement on the T Visa Final Rule and an April 2024 T Visa Panel.