5. Department of Homeland Security · Major · Needs Congress
Eliminate the T and U visas
Printed page 141 5. Department of Homeland Security
“Eliminate T and U visas. Victimization should not be a basis for an immigration benefit. … Pending elimination of the T and U visas, the Secretary should significantly restrict eligibility for each visa to prevent fraud.”
What has happened
- Not started
No statute or bill eliminating the visas has advanced (H.R. 8628 "End U Visa Abuse Act" was introduced 2026-04-30 and referred). No Federal Register rule restricting T or U eligibility was published; USCIS notices in the window only extend the T-visa form collection without change, and Public Law 119-21's new immigration fees do not touch T or U status.
No action found yet. This entry is the starting point, not a finding.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
- Negative search, 2026-08-26: titles of final rules, proposed rules and notices in the Federal Register for “U nonimmigrant”, “T nonimmigrant”, “U visa”, “T visa”, “Victims of”; Federal Register API full text “U nonimmigrant” since 2025-01-20 (11 hits, none a T/U rule); titles of bills in Congress, from congress.gov, for “U visa”, “T visa”.
- Lead, not verified: a search summary of USCIS’s U-visa bona fide determination FAQ said that from 2025-02-04 petitions needing a “comprehensive eligibility determination” no longer receive a favorable bona fide determination. The FAQ page (https://www.uscis.gov/records/electronic-reading-room/national-engagement-u-visa-and-bona-fide-determination-process-frequently-asked-questions) and Policy Manual Vol. 3 Pt. C Ch. 5 were fetched and neither shows a 2025 restriction in the text loaded (the only 2025 Policy Manual update is the 2025-02-26 “noncitizen”→“alien” terminology change). If USCIS documents such a restriction, the “restrict eligibility” limb would be attempted.
- DOJ’s 2026-06-16 information-collection notice for “DOJ Certification Letters for T Visa Holders” (Federal Register 2026-12065) is a process document, not a restriction.
- Action
- eliminate
- Object
- T and U visas
- ID
- 310