Have you screened for U-visa, T-visa, VAWA, asylum, or SIJS — any pathway beyond DACA/TPS?
DACA and TPS are *temporary* designations vulnerable to administrative termination at 30–60 days' notice. Every consultation we run on a DACA/TPS holder includes a parallel screen for: U-visa (victim of qualifying crime, 4-year statute of limitations from the crime is *not* a thing — there is no SOL, but evidence degrades), T-visa (trafficking — physical or labor), VAWA self-petition (abuse by USC/LPR spouse, parent, or adult child), affirmative asylum (one-year filing deadline from last entry under INA § 208(a)(2)(B) with limited exceptions), and SIJS (under-21 abuse/abandonment/neglect by one parent).
Context & Examples
Real example — Daniela, Tracy. Daniela had DACA since 2014 and worked at a poultry processing plant. During intake for her renewal, she casually mentioned that her supervisor had withheld three months of wages and threatened to call ICE if she complained. We screened: that fact pattern is prima facie labor trafficking under 22 USC § 7102(11)(B). We filed a T-visa with the U.S. Department of Labor as the law enforcement certifier (Form I-914B), recovered her unpaid wages through a Wage and Hour Division complaint, and Daniela's T-visa was granted 16 months later. She is now on the path to LPR.
The lesson: Pro se DACA/TPS renewals never ask the trafficking question. Most clients don't know they qualify because they don't think "trafficking" applies to them. It applies more often than the public realizes.
Why an attorney is essential: A T-visa beats DACA every time. It is permanent, leads to a green card, and cannot be terminated by executive order. The only way to find it is to have someone who knows how to ask.
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