Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking – SNAP

Important: Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking alone is no longer a qualifying status for SNAP unless adjusted to LPR.

Eligibility Requirements and Documentation

A noncitizen who is present in the U.S. and has been issued a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) verifying that the noncitizen is a victim of severe forms of trafficking is an eligible noncitizen once they adjust their status to Legal Permanent Resident (LPR). These individuals are not subject to a 5-year waiting period.

In the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the term "severe forms of trafficking in persons" means:

sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age.
the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Department of Health and Human Services will make certification determinations for victims of a severe form of trafficking.

For adults, ORR will issue notarized letters of certification for an adult victim of a severe form of trafficking.
For children, ORR will issue notarized letters, similar to adult certification letters, stating that the child is a victim of a severe form of trafficking.

Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking – SNAP

Eligibility Requirements and Documentation

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Last Update: March 10, 2026