 Who We Serve
1-Refugees | 2-Asylees | 3-Cuban/Haitian Entrants | 4-Amerasians | 5-Victims of Human Trafficking | 6-Unaccompanied Alien Children | 7-Survivors of Torture
Victims of Human Trafficking
Definition
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) defines “Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons” as:
- Sex Trafficking: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act , in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person forced to perform such an act is under the age of 18 years; or
- Labor Trafficking: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.
Eligibility
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 makes adult victims of severe forms of trafficking who have been certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) eligible for ORR and federally funded services and benefits to the same extent as refugees.
Certification allows victims of trafficking who are non-U.S. citizens to be eligible for certain benefits and services under any Federal or State program or activity to the same extent as a refugee. Certification provides victims of trafficking with the necessary documentation to be eligible to receive benefits and services they may need to rebuild their lives while remaining in the United States. Victims of trafficking who are U.S. citizens do not need to be certified to receive benefits.
To receive certification, victims of trafficking must:
- Be a victim of a severe form of trafficking as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)
- Be willing to assist with the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases; and
- Have completed a bona fide application for a T visa; or
- Have received continued presence status from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in order to contribute to the prosecution of human traffickers.
Once they have met the certification requirements listed above, victims of trafficking will receive an official letter of certification from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Children victims of trafficking (under the age of 18) do not need to be certified in order to receive services and benefits. ORR will issue a letter stating that a child is a victim of a severe form of trafficking and is therefore eligible for benefits.