Latest / BSPE Legal Marketing Podcast / What Criminal Grounds of Inadmissibility Can Be Waived for T Visa Applicants Under INA § 212(d)(13)? - Rajat Shankar

Transcript

What Criminal Grounds of Inadmissibility Can Be Waived for T Visa Applicants Under INA § 212(d)(13)? - Rajat Shankar · BSPE Legal Marketing Podcast

• 0:00
  WHAT CRIMINAL GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY CAN BE WAIVED FOR T VISA APPLICANTS UNDER INA § 212(d)(13)?
• 0:08
  For survivors of human trafficking who carry a criminal record, a single immigration ground of inadmissibility can stand between them and the protection the T visa is designed to provide.
• 0:19
  INA § 212(d)(13) is the federal provision that gives USCIS discretion to waive many of those criminal grounds specifically for people applying for T nonimmigrant status.
• 0:30
  The T visa exists for individuals who were subjected to a severe form of human trafficking and who meet the other eligibility requirements set out under federal immigration law.
• 0:40
  A principal applicant must generally cooperate with a law enforcement agency, though those under 18 at the time of trafficking and those suffering physical or psychological trauma may qualify for important exceptions.
• 0:52
  Under § 212(d)(13), several serious criminal grounds can potentially be waived, including crimes involving moral turpitude, prostitution and commercialized vice offenses, controlled substance violations, the drug trafficking ground, and multiple criminal conviction grounds.
• 1:09
  For all waivable grounds other than health-related ones, the applicant must demonstrate that the conduct was caused by or incident to the trafficking victimization itself.
• 1:19
  USCIS must also find that granting the waiver serves the national interest, and the ultimate decision remains a discretionary one that depends heavily on the strength of the evidence submitted.
• 1:29
  Not every criminal ground falls within the waiver's reach, because § 212(d)(13) cannot override security-related grounds, international child abduction grounds, or the ground for renouncing U.S. citizenship to avoid taxation.
• 1:44
  For violent or dangerous crimes, USCIS will only exercise favorable discretion in extraordinary circumstances unless the criminal activity was directly caused by or incident to the trafficking.
• 1:55
  The waiver request is filed using Form I-192 alongside Form I-914, the T visa application itself, and the applicant bears the burden of proving eligibility for each ground identified.
• 2:07
  Whether inadmissibility arises from a conviction, an admission, or conduct alone makes a critical legal difference, because records that appear similar on the surface can lead to very different immigration outcomes.
• 2:19
  Rajat Shankar is a New York immigration attorney who came to the United States at age eight, later earned his law degree magna cum laude from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, and has since handled asylum, deportation defense, cancellation of removal, and numerous other immigration matters for clients across Nassau County and Long Island.
• 2:39
  As a lawyer who navigated the immigration system personally before building a career dedicated to guiding others through it, Raj brings both legal knowledge and genuine insight to every T visa and waiver case he handles.
• 2:51
  If a criminal record may be affecting your T visa eligibility, contact Shankar & Associates PC, the law firm located at 518 Plainview Rd, Plainview, NY 11803, by calling 212, 461, 1467 to schedule a consultation with an attorney who understands what is at stake.