If you have been suffering certain problems within your marriage,
you may qualify to file for a VAWA and for a self petition,
which would allow you the option to possibly get your green card
in the future, in addition to getting protection against deportation,
a work permit, and legal status inside the United States.
According to USCIS, there are several different categories
under which a VAWA application may be filed.
These include persons who have been married to a U.S.
citizen or to a green card holder and have suffered
extreme cruelty or battery by their spouse.
Or also, if you are the parent of a 21 year old U.S.
citizen child and you have suffered extreme cruelty or battery by your child,
or you are a child of a US citizen who has committed extreme cruelty
or battery against you, or if you have suffered extreme cruelty
or battery by a lawful permanent resident spouse, former spouse, or parent.
It does not matter whether you are a man or woman
because either can apply for protection underneath VAWA.
Once you apply for VAWA, your case will take approximately two years or more.
When your case for VAWA is approved, you will receive a work authorization
underneath the Category C31, and this will allow you to travel freely
within the United States, and if you are eligible,
you may also move on to adjustment of status for a green card.
You may be eligible
to apply for adjustment of status even if you entered the country illegally
or if you fell out of lawful status, and you may be able
to legalize your children without filing separate applications.
So, in order to prove that you have suffered extreme cruelty or battery,
what qualifies and what sort of evidence do you need?
The law underneath VAWA is made to be purposefully flexible
because the government knows that
when you have suffered either physical or emotional abuse,
it can be very difficult to prove that you have gone through these situations.
So the standard of evidence is any credible evidence.
So while the most common perception of abuse involves
any sort of physical violence, the less well known and the less well understood
qualifying abuse is extreme cruelty, otherwise more commonly understood
as emotional abuse.
USCIS will consider cases where there are controlling behaviors,
threats to harm or deport you, forcible detention,
unwanted sexual contact, and other forms of toxic behavior
that is meant to control you that may constitute extreme cruelty.
Proof of battery or extreme cruelty can come in many different forms,
and as mentioned, the standard is any credible evidence.
Some of this evidence may include police reports, court documents,
psychologists evaluations,
hospital records, and a written witness statements from friends and families
that talks about what they have witnessed you going through.
You also need to prove your legal marriage and that it was legitimate
and made in good faith.
You need to prove that your spouse is a U.S.
citizen or a green card holder, and this can be challenging to do so.
Where you are not able to provide any evidence that your spouse is a U.S.
citizen or green card holder,
you can provide other sorts of documentation and information
to request that USCIS verify the status of your spouse.
Obviously, if you can get copies of your spouse's passport, green card, U.S.
birth certificate, or certificate of naturalization,
this will make your process much faster and easier for the government.
We help persons going through extreme cruelty and/or battery puts together
the strongest case possible when applying for VAWA, so
if you have been in an emotionally harmful or physically harmful relationship,
please do give us a call so that we can set up
a confidential consultation to go over your case.
Once you are ready to submit the form I-360—called the petition for a special
immigrant—along with the Form I-485 application to adjust status to USCIS,
you must send all documents with your VAWA application, including a declaration
affirming your eligibility, which should describe your relationship detail
along with everything
that you have suffered; proof that your spouse is either a U.S.
citizen or a green card holder, or proof of the other family relationship
upon which your VAWA case is made; evidence of the abuse,
including any sort of proof that we have just discussed;
and an address where USCIS can safely send your communication.
Please note that when working with my office or with any other lawyer's
office, you can always elect for all letters and documents
to be sent to your lawyer's office so that if you are still living
with your abuser, your case can remain secure and confident.
You should also include as part of your overall package
proof of your identity, which can come in the format of a birth
certificate and passport; proof of any criminal history that you have had;
or proof of not having a criminal history, which you can obtain through the form
of a good conduct certificate from your local police station
or an FBI fingerprint check; two passport style photos;
and you may also elect to send your form I-485
with a copy of your I-693 medical examination,
although please note that you can later submit this at the time of your interview,
or if USCIS requests this through a request for evidence.
And if you require any waivers in your case for certain
immigration violations, such as misrepresentation or other items,
then you can also send in forms I-212
or I-601 along with your I-485.
You can file your I-360 together or separately
from your I-485 application for adjusted to status.
If you file these separately, then you must file your I-360
first and later, when you are ready to file your I-485,
you must include a copy of the receipt for your I-360.
In addition, if you plan on working during this application
or if you plan on traveling abroad, then along with your form I-485
you can submit the Form I-765 for an employment authorization document,
and also an I-131, which is for a travel permission.
Note that if you have filed your I-485 or your I-360
and you have not requested advance permission to leave the United States,
then your I-485 may be considered abandoned
and you may also trigger a bar to reentering the United States.
You can file all these forms whether you are married or divorced,
but please keep in mind that if you have gotten divorced from your spouse,
you must file the VAWA application within two years of your divorce date.
You must also show a connection
between the divorce and the abuse that you have suffered.
You may also be able to file for VAWA even if you are outside the US,
as long as some of the abuse has occurred within the United States,
or if your spouse is a member of the US uniformed services,
or if your spouse was a member of the US government.
Assuming that you have submitted everything properly and VAWA
deems that your VAWA case is preliminarily eligible,
they will issue you something called a prima facia
determination within three to five months of filing your application.
Note that this is not an official approval, but to me it is a good sign
that your case is on its way to an approval.
Once you have received this letter, the only thing left to do is to continue
to show up for an interview for the I-485 after your I-360 is approved.
Rest assured that during this interview,
you will not be asked any questions about the abuse that you have suffered.
The questions will be focused specifically on your eligibility for a green card,
which includes certain questions
about your criminal history and prior immigration violations.
You will also be asked for certain biographical information
and information about your employment and residential history.
If your VAWA case is denied, you will receive a letter
of denial explaining how to file an appeal.
You can then file a notice of appeal along with the required fee at the USCIS
Vermont Service Center within 33 days of receiving a denial.
If your VAWA case is approved and your abuser is a U.S.
citizen, then your adjustment of status will be issued and determined
around the same time.
If your case is approved and your abuser is a green card holder,
then you must wait to make sure that your priority date is current
according to the visa bulletin, before your adjustment of status
application can go any further.
Fortunately, even if your green card cannot be determined at the same time
upon your VAWA
approval, you will receive a work authorization underneath this category
and you will be authorized to remain in the US.
We have helped hundreds of people successfully navigate the VAWA system,
free themselves from abusers and get legal status.
If you're ready to file your petition, give us a call
so that we can go over your case and whether you qualify.
And if you would like to learn more about the process, I'll
include a link in my description below to another one of my videos
so you can learn more in depth about what to expect when filing your I-360.
I will also continue to release more videos about VAWA in the future,
so be sure to subscribe to my channel so you can stay up to date.
Click this link and I'll see you there!