ABSTRACT
The U visa and T visa were both created in 2000 when the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA) was passed by Congress. The statutory provisions have named 28 qualifying criminal activities that fulfill requirements of eligibility for U visa statutory provisions. The psycholegal concept that the evaluator needs to address is substantial mental or physical abuse, which must be a result of the qualifying criminal activity. For the purposes of evaluating substantial mental or physical abuse, the following types of abuse can be assessed by the examiner: physical violence, sexual violence, psychological abuse, immigration, and economic abuse. The task for the examiner is to evaluate all abusive actions, including the qualifying criminal activities, malicious actions, and microaggressions. Perpetrators of coercion intimidate victims by creating fears, credible to the victim, of disastrous consequences if they do not obey.
