Since our July 27 update, CAST has added another group of AAO T visa opinions to the database. Most of the newly posted cases were, once again, dismissals involving signature defects, rather than substantive T visa eligibility determinations.

On the substantive T visa side, we have now analyzed 24 appeals adjudicated since November 2025. This is an ongoing cumulative count and excludes invalid-signature dismissals and T adjustment or derivative cases.

22 dismissed, 2 remanded, 0 granted

• 15 turned on severe form of trafficking
• 5 turned on physical presence
• 2 turned on extreme hardship
• 2 turned on inadmissibility issues

As always, this is not a statement of agreement with the AAO—just an outline of what the AAO has found so far.

USCIS reports that 80% of Form I-914 (T visa) cases are currently completed within 32 months, based on the agency’s live Case Processing Times tool.[i] The agency’s own historical data shows the median T-1 case took 28.4 months in fiscal year 2026, through May 31, 2026, up from 14.9 months just two fiscal years earlier.[ii]

Those numbers describe the T visas in general. For an individual applicant, they raise the question of what this means for their individual cases.

Using USCIS’s own published statistics, it is possible to build a data-based estimate for any filing period. Applying that method to a case filed in January 2025, for example, finds that at the pace USCIS is adjudicating T-1 cases right now, that case is not projected to reach a decision until on the order of 2042, a total wait of roughly 17 years from filing to decision.

This post explains where that number comes from and how anyone can check it.

This post shares several insights from AAO T visa opinions involving smuggling and border-related fact patterns. The review draws from decisions in our database issued from 2007 through June 2026 and highlights recurring themes in how the agency analyzes whether conduct occurring during a smuggling operation also constitutes trafficking.

CAST reviewed 1,440 nonprecedent Administrative Appeals Office opinions issued between 2006 and June 2026. The dataset includes both Form I-914 T nonimmigrant status cases and applications to adjust status based on T status.

In recent years, the number of T visa applications filed by victims of trafficking has seen a dramatic increase. This rise underscores both the growing awareness of the T visa program and the increasing need for protections afforded under this visa category. However, this influx of applications has also had a noticeable effect on the rate at which cases are adjudicated, raising important questions about the system’s capacity to handle the rising demand while maintaining robust protections for survivors.