Long Island T Visa Immigration Attorney Rajat Shankar Outlines Federal Protections for Trafficking Survivors Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act

PLAINVIEW, NY - Trafficking survivors in the United States may be eligible for immigration relief, federal benefits, and other protections under a federal law enacted in 2000 that established a comprehensive national framework for addressing human trafficking. Long Island T visa immigration attorney Rajat Shankar of Shankar & Associates PC (https://shankarlaw.com/t-visa-lawyer-new-york/tvpa-overview/) outlines the protections available under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, commonly known as the TVPA, and explains how qualifying survivors can access immigration relief through the T nonimmigrant visa program.

According to Long Island T visa immigration attorney Rajat Shankar, the TVPA created a three-pronged federal approach to trafficking known as the Prevention, Protection, and Prosecution framework. Congress enacted the original statute as Public Law 106-386 on October 28, 2000, after finding that existing laws addressing involuntary servitude were too narrow to cover modern trafficking operations. Since then, Congress has reauthorized the law multiple times, including the 2003 reauthorization that added a civil lawsuit right for survivors, and most recently through the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, enacted as Public Law 119-73 on January 23, 2026. "The TVPA has evolved substantially since 2000," Shankar explains. "Each reauthorization has expanded victim protections and updated the tools available to prosecutors and survivors alike."

Long Island T visa immigration attorney Rajat Shankar notes that the law covers two categories of severe trafficking: labor trafficking and commercial exploitation of individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of a commercial act. Under 18 U.S.C. section 1589, forced labor includes situations where victims perform work due to threats of serious harm, physical restraint, or abuse of legal process. For minors under 18 who are induced to perform commercial acts, the law automatically confers victim status without requiring proof that force, fraud, or coercion was involved, a critical distinction that lowers the evidentiary threshold for younger survivors.

The T non-immigrant visa created by the TVPA allows qualifying survivors to remain in the United States for an initial period of up to four years, receive work authorization, and eventually apply for lawful permanent residence. Attorney Shankar advises that applicants must meet five core requirements: being or having been a victim of severe trafficking, physical presence in the United States or another qualifying location because of the trafficking, compliance with reasonable law enforcement requests or qualification for a minor-victim exemption or trauma-based exception, a showing that removal would cause extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm, and admissibility to the United States or a waiver of inadmissibility grounds.

Shankar & Associates PC helps survivors assemble the evidence needed to establish each element. Corroborating documentation may include Form I-914 Supplement B from a law enforcement agency, personal statements, letters from nongovernmental organizations, medical and psychological records, and other supporting materials. The form is treated as optional evidence; USCIS evaluates the totality of credible evidence rather than requiring any single document. "Form I-914B can strengthen an application significantly when it's available, but the absence of law enforcement documentation doesn't prevent a survivor from qualifying," notes Shankar.

Beyond immigration relief, trafficking survivors who receive certification from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services may access federally funded benefits on the same basis as refugees, regardless of immigration status. Certified survivors may be eligible for Medicaid, nutrition assistance, housing support, employment services, mental health counseling, and legal services, among other programs. Adult survivors receive Certification Letters from the Office on Trafficking in Persons, while foreign national minors receive Eligibility Letters that serve the same function of qualifying them for available services.

For trafficking survivors in New York who need guidance on T visa eligibility, TVPA benefit certification, or related immigration matters, working with an experienced immigration attorney may help ensure a complete and well-supported application. Shankar & Associates PC is located at 518 Plainview Road in Plainview, New York. For consultations, call (800) 461-1467.

About Shankar & Associates PC:

Shankar & Associates PC is a Plainview-based immigration law firm focused on T visa applications, TVPA benefit certification, and related immigration relief for trafficking survivors. Led by attorney Rajat Shankar, the firm serves clients across Long Island, Nassau County, and the greater New York metropolitan area, coordinating T visa filings with USCIS and working with law enforcement agencies when appropriate. For consultations, call (800) 461-1467.

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Email: rajat.shankar@shankarlaw.com

Website: https://shankarlaw.com/

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