Human Trafficking by Amanda Guerrant: Home

Greetings!  Human trafficking and similar crimes can only exist in an environment of secrecy, ignorance, and apathy.  Therefore, the best way to fight human trafficking is to expose the truth, share knowledge, and empower ourselves and others to take action.  One big obstacle to taking action is not knowing how to help or what to do.  This guide focuses on how to help victims of trafficking and similar crimes to obtain a legal status so they can remain in the U.S. to help law enforcement investigate perpetrators when the victims are, for one reason or another, inadmissible for visas to enter the U.S. and how to find out what possible options are available to them.  

This guide focuses on how to help trafficking victims, and other victims, who are inadmissible, for various reasons, to obtain visas so that they can remain in the U.S. and assist law enforcement in bringing the perpetrators to justice.  Fortunately, there are many options available depending on the circumstances of each case.  Most grounds for inadmissibility have at lease some exceptions.  Also, some individuals may qualify for discretionary relief such as waivers of grounds of inadmissibility granted by the Attorney General.  However, available remedies depend on what type(s) of ground(s) for inadmissibility is/are involved, as well as the specific facts of the individual's case, because some remedies are not applicable to all grounds for inadmissibility.  This guide focuses on grounds of inadmissibility most likely to effect victims of trafficking and similar crimes: undocumented entry, prior removal, risk of becoming a public charge, prior crimes, and threat to public health.  

Immigration law is complex and many of the topics in this guide may be irrelevant to a particular case.  The recommended way to use this guide is:

1. Start at the beginning!  The Get Started tab gives a broad overview of applicable laws and regulations so that more specific primary law will be understood in context, available resources, and tips on issue spotting and analysis to help identify which grounds of inadmissibility may be applicable.
2. Identify which broad category of grounds of inadmissibility may be applicable. Reading 8 U.S.C. § 1182 provides an overview of broad categories of inadmissibility.  Secondary sources like Am. Jur. may be helpful if you are confused about which grounds of inadmissibility apply, as well as to give you an overview of all grounds for inadmissibility so you can read more specific primary sources in context and to ensure all applicable grounds for inadmissibility are identified.  
3. Choose the tab(s) for the applicable ground(s) of inadmissibility to learn more.
4. Identify sub-categories in sub-tabs if applicable!  Some tabs have sub-categories with even more specific information because some topics covered in main tabs are very broad and not all information in the category discussed by the tab will be relevant to each individual. 

Good Luck!  I hope you find this guide helpful! 

All information in this guide is for instructional use and should not be construed to be legal advice.  You should always consult an attorney to determine your rights.