CAST attended a June 18, 2024 meeting 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 VAWA, U, and T visas. Key takeaways for T visa practitioners are below.[1]

Hotline communication with VSC

• Hotline response times for I-914-related inquiries are approximately 120 calendar days.
• USCIS indicated that representatives who do not receive a response within that timeframe may want to submit another inquiry. When sending a follow-up inquiry, legal representatives should put “SECOND REQUEST” in the subject line to flag to customer service representatives that the earlier inquiry has not been addressed.
• If there’s an urgent situation, an expedite request may be submitted to expedite the adjudication of the pending application or petition. Expedite criteria may be found on USCIS’s website. When sending an email to the hotline to request an expedite, put “EXPEDITE REQUEST” in the subject line so the request can be identified easily and routed accordingly.
• Similarly, if there’s something urgent that needs to be addressed sooner than 120 days, flag that in the subject line with something like “URGENT—DEADLINE.”
• Hotline customer service representatives will generally not respond to status inquiries when a case is within normal processing times. USCIS recommends that practitioners carefully review the autoreply sent in response to a hotline email.
• When a legal representative does not receive an auto-reply or receives an error message when emailing the hotline, they should review their DMARC configurations to ensure their email account is configured properly. After verifying that email accounts are configured properly, legal representatives should check that third party software or VPNs are not causing emails to be rejected. USCIS will check that the hotline auto-replies are up-to-date and functioning correctly.
• When an attorney or accredited representative contacts the hotline, customer service representatives review a database to see if a G-28 has been submitted. If a G-28 has not been properly completed, then the hotline response to an inquiry will be that the practitioner is not the attorney of record. USCIS recommends that all fields be completed on Form G-28, including Part 3, number 1.b., which seeks the specific form types the attorney or accredited representative is representing the individual on. Additionally, USCIS recommends including a copy of a completed G-28 with each customer service inquiry.

USCIS Contact Center

• As of March 2024, benefit requestors with pending or approved VAWA, T, and U filings—including principal applicants and derivative beneficiaries—may now contact the USCIS Contact Center and access contact center services after they meet enhanced identity verification requirements. For more information, see the USCIS Contact Us webpage and look under the header for VAWA, T, and U filings. More information may also be found in the policy alert here.
• In order to avoid duplication of requests and allow USCIS to efficiently respond to inquiries, USCIS asks that legal representatives do not contact the hotline when their client has already contacted the Contact Center about a particular issue.
• The Contact Center is currently only available to represented and unrepresented benefit requestors who meet enhanced identity verification requirements. While the Contact Center is adjusting to the new workload, services will only be available to the benefit requestors themselves, not their legal representatives. For now, attorneys and accredited representatives should utilize the appropriate hotline accounts. 

Receipt notices & file transfers

• USCIS is issuing receipts, entering data, and scheduling biometrics for I-914s received 5/21/2024 and for T-based I-485s received on 5/24/2024.
  • CAST COMMENT: USCIS acknowledged the practitioner examples gathered by AILA and ASISTA that were submitted to USCIS a few days prior to the engagement and indicated it would be troubleshooting where the issues are stemming from. As of publication of these notes, that example collection remains open for additional monitoring.
• Creating A numbers for applicants and petitioners is part of the filing intake process. It occurs after the data of a filing is entered, but before a biometrics scheduling notice is issued. If an applicant or petitioner already has an A# and it was included in their application or petition, the A# will be included on their receipt notice. If no A# is included in an application or petition, USCIS searches its systems of records for the applicant or petitioner. If no records are located and an A# needs to be created, it will not be on the receipt notice, but will appear on the biometrics notice.
• In response to a question about case transfers to NBC, USCIS indicated that in general, it does not transfer I-914, I-918, and T-based I-485s to the National Benefits Center unless the petitioner has a pending application or petition that NBC has jurisdiction over. For VAWA I-360s, USCIS does transfer files to NBC if it approves the I-360 and the petitioner has a pending I-485. If USCIS does transfer the case to NBC or another office, the practitioner should contact the office where the file is located if needed. Applicants and petitioners may also call the USCIS Contact Center for assistance and more information.
  • CAST COMMENT: CAST also recommends contacting the VSC hotline if a T-related application is transferred to NBC.

T visa final rule & bona fide determinations

• The BFD process laid out in the final T visa rule will generally only apply to T nonimmigrant status applications filed on or after 8/28/2024, the effective date of the rule. However, if USCIS issues a request for evidence for an application filed before the effective date of the rule, the BFD process will apply.
  • CAST COMMENT: CAST’s Overview of the 2024 T Visa Final Rule is available here.
• USCIS will not accept any BFD-based I-765s for T nonimmigrant status applications that are pending prior to the effective date of the final rule unless an RFE is issued, a BFD is conducted, and the applicant is sent a notice of eligibility indicating they can apply for a BFD EAD.
• USCIS is unable to provide an estimated timeframe for conducting T-based BFDs.
• The USCIS Policy Manual will be updated consistent with the final rule. USCIS is unable to provide exact publication and effective dates at this time, but anticipates publishing these revisions in late August or early September.

Survivors in removal or with removal orders

• USCIS cannot provide an approximate timeframe for expedite requests received by ICE for those individuals who are in removal proceedings or are currently detained, in part because adjudication can differ substantially depending on the form type and each case is evaluated on its own merits. Some factors that might affect the timeframe for expedited adjudication include national security and public safety concerns, inadmissibility grounds, or the absence of any required evidence. USCIS indicated that it does try to complete the case as soon as possible.
  • 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 for ICE’s policies regarding enforcement actions involving applicants for victim-based immigration relief. AILA is collecting examples of ICE refusal to seek an expedite for detained survivors or survivors with removal orders for future advocacy. (Non-AILA members may submit examples here.) CAST technical assistance is available to individuals representing detained trafficking survivors or those with final orders of removal.

Safe addresses & 8 USC § 1367 Confidentiality

• USCIS recently operationalized guidance on safe address procedures to allow protected individuals to better identify the safe addresses they wish to be utilized across pending applications. USCIS is mindful that the benefit requestor is best situated to tell USCIS where correspondence should be sent.
• If an individual believes a case was denied in error, including due to an incorrect address used for an RFE or NOID due to a safe address issue, then they should file an I-290B, which is now fee exempt for VAWA, U, and T benefit requestors.
• If an applicant or petitioner provides a safe address on Form I-914 and selects box 1.c. in Part 4 of Form G-28, the I-94 will be sent to the safe address designated on the underlying I-914.
  • CAST COMMENT: See USCIS Policy Manual Vol. 1, Part A, Ch. 7.E.4 for more information on safe address procedures.
• After an individual submits a T visa application—or another 1367-triggering benefit request—any information about the individual, including any application or petition filed before or after, is covered under 8 USC § 1367. Other applications—such as an unrelated family-based adjustment application—would also be covered under these protections, regardless of whether the requests are related to the victim-based filings or not.

Miscellaneous

• USCIS requested specific examples of RFE language in response to practitioner reports of receiving RFEs making vague references to DHS records about applicants' past entries and exits and indicating that applicants may be subject to several immigration-related grounds of inadmissibility without providing more information about what its records show. Examples may be sent to [email protected].
• USCIS requested examples in response to a question about what is causing months-long EAD delays after I-765 approval. EADs are produced through a process separate from approval notices. Timeframes may vary based on Form I-765 filing volumes. When volumes are high, it may take up to two to three weeks to produce a card. USCIS recommends waiting 30 days before contacting the hotline for assistance.
  • CAST COMMENT: Examples may be shared with AILA’s VAWA/U/T committee for submission to USCIS.
• The best way to notify USCIS of an attorney withdrawal of representation is via the hotline. It is helpful to include a written request signed by the attorney who signed the G-28, along with a new safe or preferred address for communication.

[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 notes from this engagement are available at AILA Doc. 24081502. CAST’s notes from an April 2024 engagement specific to T visas can be viewed here.