If you are a human trafficking survivor looking for resources, start with one phone number: the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. It is confidential, free, answered around the clock, and available in more than 200 languages. From that single call you can reach emergency shelter, legal aid for immigration and criminal record relief, civil lawyers who sue traffickers for damages, and the federal benefits system that supports survivors as they rebuild.1National Human Trafficking Hotline. Get Help
What follows is a map of the help available under federal law, and how each piece connects to the next.
How to Reach Help Right Now
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For anything short of that, the National Human Trafficking Hotline is the main door into the support system:
- Call 1-888-373-7888
- Text BEFREE to 233733
- Chat online at humantraffickinghotline.org
The hotline is not a law enforcement line. Trained anti-trafficking advocates answer the calls, help with safety planning, and connect you with local shelters, legal aid, and case managers through a national referral directory of anti-trafficking organizations. You do not have to report anything to police to use it, and you do not have to give your name.2National Human Trafficking Hotline. Contact Us
Immigration Relief for Foreign-National Survivors
Survivors without lawful immigration status have several routes to legal status in the United States. An immigration attorney who handles trafficking cases should decide which one fits your situation; the three main options are summarized below.
Continued Presence
Continued Presence is the fastest option and is usually the first step. It is a temporary designation that a law enforcement agency requests on behalf of a trafficking victim who may serve as a witness. No charges have to be filed, and no prosecution has to be underway. Once granted, it lasts two years, is renewable in two-year increments, and comes with work authorization and eligibility for federal benefits. If approved, the Department of Health and Human Services issues a certification letter confirming access to those benefits.3U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Continued Presence Temporary Immigration Designation for Victims of Human Trafficking
Continued Presence can be revoked if the recipient commits a crime, leaves the country without advance permission, or is later determined not to be a trafficking victim. It is not a guarantee of T-visa approval, but it provides stability while a longer-term application is prepared.
T Nonimmigrant Status (T-Visa)
The T-visa is the longer-term benefit built specifically for trafficking survivors. To qualify, you must be a victim of severe trafficking and have complied with reasonable law enforcement requests to help investigate or prosecute the crime. Minors under 18 at the time of the trafficking, and adults unable to cooperate because of trauma, do not have to meet the cooperation requirement. The T-visa provides legal status for up to four years and work authorization.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Victims of Human Trafficking T Nonimmigrant Status
No more than 5,000 principal T-visas may be issued per fiscal year by statute. Derivative family members do not count toward that cap.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Characteristics of T Nonimmigrant Status (T Visa) Applicants Family can be included: if the principal applicant is under 21, that means a spouse, children, parents, and unmarried siblings under 18. If the applicant is 21 or older, only a spouse and children qualify.
After three years of continuous physical presence as a T-visa holder, you can apply to become a lawful permanent resident. Continuous presence means no single trip outside the country longer than 90 days, and no more than 180 days total, unless the absence was necessary for the investigation or prosecution. If the investigation or prosecution ends before three years are up, you may be eligible to apply at that earlier point.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part J Chapter 2 – Eligibility Requirements
U Nonimmigrant Status (U-Visa)
The U-visa covers victims of a broader range of qualifying crimes, including trafficking, who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse and are helpful to law enforcement. It provides legal status and work authorization.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Victims of Criminal Activity U Nonimmigrant Status
The practical challenge is the wait. Congress capped the U-visa at 10,000 principals per year, and the backlog has grown past 190,000 pending cases. Most applicants wait six to ten years for a final decision. For survivors who qualify for both the T-visa and U-visa, the T-visa is almost always the better path.
Clearing a Criminal Record Tied to Trafficking
Survivors often carry criminal records for offenses they were forced to commit while trafficked. Those convictions block housing, jobs, and school long after the trafficking ends. Forty-seven states now have laws that let survivors vacate, expunge, or seal convictions connected to their trafficking. The rules vary a lot. Some states limit relief to specific offenses, some require you to prove the crime was a direct result of being trafficked, and a few only cover people who were minors at the time. Three states offer no criminal record relief for trafficking survivors at all.
The process almost always runs through a petition filed in court, and legal aid attorneys typically handle it at no cost. When a conviction is vacated, the law treats it as if it never happened, which is stronger than a plain expungement. Anti-trafficking legal organizations can review your record and tell you which convictions might qualify.
Suing a Trafficker and Collecting Restitution
Federal law gives survivors the right to file a civil lawsuit in federal court against the trafficker and against anyone who knowingly benefited financially from the trafficking. You can recover damages and reasonable attorney’s fees. This civil remedy is independent of criminal prosecution, so you can sue even if the trafficker was never charged, or was charged and acquitted.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1595 – Civil Remedy
The deadline is ten years from when the trafficking occurred, or ten years after a minor victim turns 18, whichever is later. If a related criminal case is still pending, the civil lawsuit is paused automatically until the criminal case ends.
If the trafficker is convicted in federal court, restitution is mandatory. The judge must order it. The amount has to cover the full value of your losses, measured as whichever is greater: the gross income the trafficker earned from your labor, or the value of that labor calculated at minimum wage and overtime rates under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The restitution order is enforced like any other federal judgment, and it stacks on top of any damages you win in a separate civil case.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1593 – Mandatory Restitution
Civil legal aid for survivors also covers family law. Custody disputes, protective orders, and divorces from traffickers or abusive partners often need to be handled alongside immigration and criminal record work, and many legal aid organizations take all of it on together.
Your Rights in a Federal Criminal Case
If a federal investigation or prosecution involves your trafficker, you have specific rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, whether or not you were the one who reported the crime. They apply from the investigation through sentencing. The core protections:
- The right to be reasonably protected from the accused
- Timely notice of court hearings, plea deals, and any release of the accused
- The right to be heard at hearings involving release, plea agreements, and sentencing
- The right to confer with the prosecutor and to be told you can seek legal advice about your rights
- The right to full and timely restitution as provided by law
- The right to be treated with fairness and respect for your dignity and privacy
You or your representative can enforce these rights directly with the court. The accused cannot use them to ask for anything.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3771 – Crime Victims Rights
Federal Benefits After Certification
Trafficking survivors, including survivors without lawful immigration status, can access federal public benefits once the Office on Trafficking in Persons at the Department of Health and Human Services issues a certification letter (for adults) or an eligibility letter (for minors). The letter puts you on the same footing as a refugee for benefits purposes. Receiving Continued Presence or a T-visa triggers certification. What becomes available:
- Medicaid, or Refugee Medical Assistance if you are not Medicaid-eligible, for up to 8 months from the letter’s effective date
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Refugee Cash Assistance if you are not TANF-eligible, also up to 8 months
- SNAP food assistance and WIC nutrition support
- Public housing programs
- Refugee Social Services for up to 5 years from the letter’s effective date
Child trafficking victims who have no parent or legal guardian in the United States may qualify for the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program, which places children in licensed foster care with the full services available to other foster children in that state, plus trafficking-specific support. The child must enter the program before turning 18.
The Trafficking Victim Assistance Program, funded by the Administration for Children and Families, separately pays for trauma-informed case management through community-based organizations that help survivors line up emergency services and move toward independence.
Shelter, Health Care, and Address Confidentiality
Once you are out of immediate danger, the priorities become safety, health, and stabilization. Anti-trafficking organizations around the country run emergency shelters and secure housing programs that cover food, clothing, and temporary lodging while a longer plan comes together. The hotline’s referral directory is the fastest way to locate programs near you.
Medical, dental, substance abuse, and mental health services for survivors are usually delivered using a trauma-informed approach, meaning providers are trained in how trauma shapes behavior, trust, and decision-making. A case manager typically coordinates the pieces so you are not navigating multiple systems alone.
If keeping your physical address hidden from a trafficker is a safety concern, most states run Address Confidentiality Programs. These give eligible participants a substitute mailing address to use on public records, voter registration, and other documents. Eligibility and services vary by state. Ask your case manager or a local victim advocate about enrolling.
Crime Victim Compensation
Every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories run crime victim compensation programs funded in part by the federal Victims of Crime Act. These programs reimburse out-of-pocket costs such as medical bills, mental health counseling, lost wages, and funeral expenses. Human trafficking qualifies. Maximum payouts vary by state, with most falling in the $15,000 to $70,000 range. Property losses are usually not covered. A victim advocate or legal aid attorney can walk you through the application, which typically has to be filed within a set window after the crime is reported.11Congress.gov. The Crime Victims Fund (CVF) Federal Support for Victims of Crime
Rebuilding: Jobs, Education, and Financial Skills
Legal status, benefits, and a cleared record are the foundation. Rebuilding takes longer. Anti-trafficking organizations offer job skills training, resume help, interview coaching, and placement work tailored to survivors with gaps in work history or little formal employment. Some programs partner directly with employers who hire survivors.
Financial literacy is another common focus. Many survivors have never managed their own money, opened a bank account, or signed a lease, and life skills programs cover budgeting, credit, and tenant rights. Help is also available for earning a GED, enrolling in college, and applying for financial aid. Survivors with T-visa status or lawful permanent residency may qualify for federal student aid on the same terms as other eligible noncitizens.
Every one of these pathways begins with the same first call. If you are a survivor, or you are trying to help one, reach the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, text BEFREE to 233733, or chat at humantraffickinghotline.org.