Reporting Human Trafficking for T Visa Purposes

To which law enforcement agency should I report the trafficking my client experienced?

Important Update: The T Final Rule was released on April 30, 2024, updating regulations impacting T and T AOS applicants. These changes will be effective starting August 28, 2024. As a result, our resources may be temporarily out of date.

CAST is actively working on updating our trainings, advisories, and other materials to reflect the new regulations. We appreciate your patience during this transition period and encourage you to review the new regulations and our advisory, Overview of the 2024 T Visa Final Rulewhile we update our resources.

Thank you for your understanding.

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The regulations do not specify the law enforcement agencies where one must report. Instead, the regulations broadly describe that, for the purposes of the T visa, a survivor can report to any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency that has the power to detect, investigate, or prosecute trafficking. 8 CFR § 214.11(a)

CAST recommends reaching out to legal advocates who regularly work with trafficking survivors for assistance identifying law enforcement partners that have human trafficking training, are trauma-informed and victim-centered, and with whom their clients have had positive experiences with in the past. Non-profit organizations are often specifically funded to represent trafficking survivors and may have a good idea of who the best law enforcement partners may be.

If you are not sure which local non-profits to contact or there are none in your area, you can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) for a referral to law enforcement, but you must follow up with the law enforcement agency that they refer the case to. Remember, the National Human Trafficking Hotline is NOT a law enforcement agency and reporting to this hotline alone will not be sufficient to meet the T visa eligibility requirements.

For more tips on how to report for T visa purposes, check out CAST's Law Enforcement Cooperation Guide.