• About The Journal
  • Our Team
  • Topics
    • Solutions
    • Justice
    • Health
    • Economy
  • Facebook Page
  • Twitter Username
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Support Our Publication

Menu

  • About The Journal
  • Corrections and Clarifications
  • Journal Talks:
    Guns and Public Safety
  • Transparency and Ethics at The Journal

Categories

  • Civic Engagement
  • Communities of Color and Law Enforcement
  • Community
  • COVID-19
  • Culture
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Education at a Crossroads
  • En Español
  • Events
  • Faith
  • Food & Agriculture
  • Guns and Public Safety
  • Health
  • Higher Education
  • History
  • Housing
  • Immigration
  • In Focus: Water
  • International
  • Journal Events
  • Justice
  • Kansas
  • Latinos in Kansas
  • Leadership
  • Main Story
  • Mental Health
  • Neighborhoods
  • News & Information
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • Rural
  • Solutions Journalism
  • Sponsored Projects
  • State Government
  • U.S.
  • Uncategorized
  • Voting
  • Weather
  • Wichita Journalism Collaborative

Recent Posts

  • Lack of officers hampering Wichita police department’s efforts
  • Block party puts spotlight on Afghan culture, collaboration
  • Why did Abilene, Kansas, make the world’s largest belt buckle?
  • One cup a day, the Las Adelitas way: how community keeps café doors open
  • How the Flint Hills Trail became the state’s longest ride

Archives

  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • May 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • January 2017
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • June 2016
  • February 2016
Support Our Publication

Menu

  • About The Journal
  • Corrections and Clarifications
  • Journal Talks:
    Guns and Public Safety
  • Transparency and Ethics at The Journal

Categories

  • Civic Engagement
  • Communities of Color and Law Enforcement
  • Community
  • COVID-19
  • Culture
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Education at a Crossroads
  • En Español
  • Events
  • Faith
  • Food & Agriculture
  • Guns and Public Safety
  • Health
  • Higher Education
  • History
  • Housing
  • Immigration
  • In Focus: Water
  • International
  • Journal Events
  • Justice
  • Kansas
  • Latinos in Kansas
  • Leadership
  • Main Story
  • Mental Health
  • Neighborhoods
  • News & Information
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • Rural
  • Solutions Journalism
  • Sponsored Projects
  • State Government
  • U.S.
  • Uncategorized
  • Voting
  • Weather
  • Wichita Journalism Collaborative

Recent Posts

  • Lack of officers hampering Wichita police department’s efforts
  • Block party puts spotlight on Afghan culture, collaboration
  • Why did Abilene, Kansas, make the world’s largest belt buckle?
  • One cup a day, the Las Adelitas way: how community keeps café doors open
  • How the Flint Hills Trail became the state’s longest ride

Archives

  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • May 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • January 2017
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • June 2016
  • February 2016
Skip to content
KLC Journal

KLC Journal

A Civic Issues Magazine from the Kansas Leadership Center

  • About The Journal
  • Our Team
  • Topics
    • Solutions
    • Justice
    • Health
    • Economy
DONATE
Posted inCivic Engagement

OSHA now has the power to grant visas to immigrant workers — regardless of status. Here’s what to know.

Immigrant workers experiencing exploitation in their line of work may be eligible for certain Visas in exchange for information.
by Stefania LugliMarch 21, 2023May 25, 2023

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
The Department of Labor's decision is another step towards empowering U.S. workers enough to voice their concerns about workplace safety —regardless of their immigration status.

Para leer este artículo en español, haga clic aquí.

The Department of Labor has granted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) the ability to issue visas for immigrants who are the victims of workplace safety violations.

A Feb. 13 press release from the DOL explains that OSHA’s new authority — effective March 30, 2023 — will “strengthen its ability to protect all workers, including those whose immigration status or other social and cultural inequities discourage them from sharing information with investigators or reporting workplace safety and health issues.” The move provides the agency a critical tool in protecting migrant worker communities regardless of their immigration status or temporary employment authorization. 

“Expanding OSHA’s U and T visa certification authority helps the agency better fulfill its mission to make U.S. workplaces as safe and healthy as possible,” Doug Parker, assistant secretary for OSHA, said in the press release.

“Workers in the U.S. need to feel empowered and able to trust OSHA and the U.S. Department of Labor enough to voice their concerns about workplace safety regardless of their immigration status and fears of retaliation.”

What are U and T Visas?

As part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act in 2000, Congress established specific immigration benefits to migrants vulnerable to victimization and may hesitate in informing law enforcement of a crime due to fear of their removal from the U.S. 

U Visas offer protections to noncitizen victims of qualifying crimes “in keeping with U.S. humanitarian interests.” Crime categories that qualify a victim for a U Visa include (but are not limited to) blackmail, domestic violence, fraud in foreign labor contracting, involuntary servitude and witness tampering. 

While Congress has set an issue cap of 10,000 U Visas for each fiscal year, the number of approved U applications has slightly exceeded that amount every year since 2010 — with an approval rate of about 84%. 

According to a 2021 report from USCIS, the agency had a median processing time of over 4 years from receipt of a U visa petition until placement on a waiting list. Once an applicant was on the waiting list, processing time from that until final adjudication was about 10 months. 

T Visas provide temporary legal status to victims of human trafficking — which includes labor trafficking — allowing grantees to stay in the U.S. for up to 4 years if they comply with law enforcement in the detection, investigation or prosecution of traffickers. T nonimmigrants can become lawful permanent residents after obtaining a T Visa. 

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, there are 5,000 T Visas available for eligible victims of trafficking each fiscal year. However, federal data shows that barely a fifth of those Visas have been issued annually since 2008. 

Workers interested in determining their eligibility for either Visa can find more information in filing a petition by visiting the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. Click here for T Visa (for victims of human trafficking) info and here for U Visa (victims of other qualifying crimes).


Stefania Lugli is a civic engagement reporter for both The Journal and Planeta Venus, a Spanish-language digital and print media partner. She covers a range of topics to expand Latino access to news and information they need to engage in civic life in English and Spanish. Email her with tips or comments at slugli@kansasleadershipcenter.org. Find her on Twitter @steflugli.

Recent Stories

Lack of officers hampering Wichita police department’s efforts

Lack of officers hampering Wichita police department’s efforts

May 26, 2023
Block party puts spotlight on Afghan culture, collaboration

Block party puts spotlight on Afghan culture, collaboration

May 24, 2023
Why did Abilene, Kansas, make the world’s largest belt buckle?

Why did Abilene, Kansas, make the world’s largest belt buckle?

May 24, 2023
One cup a day, the Las Adelitas way: how community keeps café doors open

One cup a day, the Las Adelitas way: how community keeps café doors open

May 17, 2023
How the Flint Hills Trail became the state’s longest ride

How the Flint Hills Trail became the state’s longest ride

May 16, 2023
Latinos enrich the culture and economy of Wyandotte County. But what about political clout?

Latinos enrich the culture and economy of Wyandotte County. But what about political clout?

May 9, 2023
Wichita’s libraries offering far more than just books these days

Wichita’s libraries offering far more than just books these days

May 4, 2023
Opinion: Sixty years is a long time. And not enough.

Opinion: Sixty years is a long time. And not enough.

May 2, 2023

Stefania Lugli

Stefania serves as the KLC Journal’s civic engagement reporter, with a primary focus on supporting news coverage for the Latino community in Kansas in collaboration with Planeta Venus, a Spanish-language... More by Stefania Lugli

  • Facebook Page
  • Twitter Username
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

325 East Douglas Avenue, Wichita, KS 67202
Phone: 316-712-4945
Email: thejournal@kansasleadershipcenter.org

  • ABOUT THE JOURNAL
  • OUR TEAM
  • OUR BOARD
  • SUPPORT THE JOURNAL
  • CORRECTIONS
© 2023 KLC Journal. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic