Human Trafficking on Temporary Foreign Work Visas in the U.S.A
Human trafficking — the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act — afflicts millions of men, women, and children around the world, including in the United States. Data published by the Human Trafficking Legal Center indicates a significant number of federal human trafficking cases involved victims holding nonimmigrant work visas. This booklet explains the potential impacts of the Visa Transparency Anti-Trafficking Act (VTAT), which would create a standardized reporting system across nonimmigrant visa categories that authorize work, and require that this information be made public. Anti-human trafficking organizations could then identify where traffickers are operating abroad, develop targeted outreach campaigns to prevent human trafficking, and warn vulnerable workers and U.S. embassies in source countries.