Cleary Gottlieb secures US visa for Salvadoran trafficking victim

A Cleary Gottlieb Pro Bono team has successfully represented a citizen of El Salvador and victim of human trafficking in their application for a non-immigrant status visa (T-visa) in the US.

The Salvadoran citizen, who has not been named, was referred to the firm by Tahirih Justice Center, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, which provided support throughout the process, the law firm said.

T-visas are available to those who are or have been victims of human trafficking.

In 2013, the citizen in question was fraudulently induced by her traffickers into moving to the UA on the basis of an employment contract that her traffickers never intended to honour. Over the next four years, the victim’s traffickers coerced her to work for them against her will by psychologically and verbally abusing her, including not allowing her to leave the house for two years. The victim was able to escape her traffickers in April 2017 with the help of Tahirih and reported her traffickers to law enforcement.

Cleary filed the victim’s visa application in March 2018, and it was granted on March 31, 2020. The Salvadoran citizen is now able to live and work legally in the US and will eventually be eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence and citizenship. In addition, the T-visa will provide a basis for closing the victim’s removal proceedings, thus preventing her deportation from the US.