Getting help and benefits as a trafficking survivor

Your steps, in order

1. 1

   U.S. citizen or green card holder: apply directly

   Citizens and lawful permanent residents who experienced trafficking don't need a Certification or Eligibility Letter to qualify for similar services.1

   HHS funds Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking programs that give specialized services to U.S. citizens and permanent residents.4

   Apply for food, cash and health coverage at your state benefits office the same way anyone does. Our first-step guides on food and health care walk through it.

2. 2

   Foreign national adult: get the status HHS needs first

   HHS issues a Certification Letter to an adult only after DHS grants Continued Presence or a T visa, or sends notice that a T visa application is bona fide. A USCIS receipt notice is not enough.1

   Once you have one of those, your case manager or lawyer can contact HHS's Office on Trafficking in Persons at 866-401-5510 or trafficking@acf.hhs.gov to request the letter.13

   Don't have one yet? HHS's Trafficking Victim Assistance Program gives case management to foreign nationals who have, or may have, experienced trafficking, including help working toward certification.4

3. 3

   Under 18: ask for an Eligibility Letter

   A child doesn't need Continued Presence or a T visa. A Request for Assistance goes to HHS through its online system, Shepherd, and must be submitted before the child's 18th birthday.2

   If HHS finds the child may have been trafficked, it issues an Interim Assistance Letter good for up to 120 days. If it finds the child was trafficked, it issues an Eligibility Letter, which doesn't expire.2

   For help with a request, call 202-205-4582 or email ChildTrafficking@acf.hhs.gov (weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern). After a letter, the Aspire program helps the child use it: 1-800-307-4712.2

4. 4

   Know what the letter unlocks

   Refugee Cash Assistance helps with food, shelter and transportation. Refugee Medical Assistance gives coverage like Medicaid to people who can't get Medicaid. If your eligibility date is May 5, 2025 or later, each lasts four months.3

   The Matching Grant program is a limited-slot alternative with cash, intensive case management and job help, aimed at self-sufficiency within 240 days. Support services such as job training, English classes, child care and interpreters can last up to 5 years from your letter date.3

   A child's letter can open education and job training, cash and food help, foster care, housing, medical and mental health care, and victim compensation.2

   Start on the benefits date printed on your letter. Apply at your state benefits office or the nearest refugee resettlement agency.3

   Tip:

   Family members with their own derivative T visas (T-2 through T-6) qualify right away, to the same extent as refugees, with no HHS letter.1

5. 5

   Check the 2025 and 2026 changes to SNAP and Medicaid

   Since July 4, 2025, trafficking survivors and family members with T status can't get SNAP unless they are lawful permanent residents. Citizens aren't affected. States apply this when you first apply or at your next renewal.6

   Starting October 1, 2026, people whose status is based on trafficking generally lose federally funded full Medicaid and CHIP unless they have another qualifying status, such as a green card. Emergency Medicaid is still available.7

   Children and pregnant people who are lawfully residing may keep full coverage in states that chose that option; 39 states and D.C. had, as of April 2026. Ask your state Medicaid office.7

6. 6

   Ask law enforcement about Continued Presence

   Continued Presence is a temporary immigration status for trafficking victims who may be witnesses, or who have filed a civil lawsuit against their traffickers. It lets you stay and work in the U.S. and opens federal benefits, including those for refugees.5

   You can't apply for it yourself: only law enforcement officers can request it. It's granted for two years and can be renewed in up to two-year steps. If you filed a civil case, you or your attorney can contact the nearest HSI Victim Assistance Specialist.5

State programs and special cases

Some help depends on your state, your age or your family's status. These examples come from official state and federal pages.

Questions people ask

Keep going: more first-step guides

Sources

Official pages, read in October 2026. Rules change. If something here looks out of date, please let us know at hello@riseaid.org and we'll fix it.

1. 1.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Trafficking in Persons. Certification Letters
2. 2.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Trafficking in Persons. Requests for Assistance (Eligibility Letters for children)
3. 3.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement. Benefits for Victims of Human Trafficking (fact sheet)
4. 4.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Trafficking in Persons. OTIP-funded services
5. 5.U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Center for Countering Human Trafficking. Continued Presence Resource Guide (July 2021)
6. 6.U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP eligibility of noncitizens under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (memo, October 31, 2025)
7. 7.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. SHO #26-001: Implementation of section 71109, alien Medicaid eligibility (April 8, 2026)
8. 8.California Department of Social Services. Trafficking and Crime Victims Assistance Program: benefits and services
9. 9.Utah Office for Victims of Crime. Victim financial assistance
10. 10.Utah Office for Victims of Crime. Human trafficking resources
11. 11.National Human Trafficking Hotline. National Human Trafficking Hotline