Today, we're going to talk about how to win your VAWA case.
If you have been the victim of extreme cruelty or battery by a U.S.
citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, child over 21, or parent,
you may be eligible to file a VAWA self petition
and get your green card without them knowing or be involved.
I am an immigration lawyer based in New York who has helped
hundreds of clients from all over the United States prepare and submit
successful VAWA self petitions, and I want to share with you
some of the best advice I have for winning your VAWA case.
So let's go through the official USCIS checklist for VAWA self petitioners
and take a look at the documents
that you should prepare and the pro tips that you need to know along the way.
This is the checklist that lists all the evidence required
when filing the Form I-360 for your VAWA case.
If you want to download your own copy, I will
include a link in the description below and be sure to stay tuned until the end,
because we are also going to cover some of the best practices
for your personal declaration,
which is possibly the most important part of your VAWA case.
The first item from our checklist is evidence of the abuser's
US citizenship or lawful permanent resident status.
If the abuser is a US citizen, you can submit a copy
of their birth certificate, passport,
naturalization certificate or "A number" if they were naturalized.
If the abuser is a lawful permanent resident,
you can provide the front and back copies of their green card—also called an I-551
permanent resident card—a copy of their passport or I-94
arrival card with a temporary proof of residence stamp,
or their "A Number" from their immigration case.
In some states, you can also contact the County Recorder
where the abuser was born and request a copy of their birth certificate.
If they are a green card holder and have submitted for I-130
on your behalf,
you can also
include a copy of the petition as evidence of their immigration status.
If you cannot get access to any of your immigration documents,
you can also file a Freedom of Information Act request, called a FOIA request,
with USCIS.
USCIS will then provide you with your immigration file,
which may include information about your spouse and their status,
and as a last resort if you are unable to provide any proof
of your abuser's citizenship or residency status,
you can also directly request that USCIS verify this information on their own.
When you request USCIS to verify the citizenship or residency
status of your abuser, it is best to include as much evidence
as possible from anything that you have, including a Social Security number,
a driver's license, or any other records you are able to obtain.
You can also submit written affidavits from persons with personal knowledge
of the abusers status.
Next on our checklist is the marriage and divorce decrees,
birth certificates or other evidence of your legal relationship to the abuser.
The best form of proof is a copy of your marriage certificate.
It's fine if your marriage occurred
outside the United States, so long as it is legally binding.
Same sex marriages are also recognized so long as they are legally
made in the country or state where they were performed.
Note that if you were previously married, you must also provide a copy
of all of the terminations of all of your previous marriages,
no matter how old the divorce may be.
And if your abuser is your parent,
then the best form of proof is a copy of your birth certificate,
which would list their name as your mother or as your father.
Also, if you are in a common law marriage state, you may be able to prove
that you are married through other forms of evidence,
anything that you can show to prove that you have held yourself out underneath
that state's law as man and wife to form a common law marriage.
And remember, it is not required for you to be living apart from your abuser.
Your attorney will work with you to make sure that your documents are kept
safe, and moreover, the entire process is protected by law to be confidential.
The third item on our checklist is one or more documents
showing that you and the abuser have resided together,
such as employment records, utility receipts, school records,
hospital or medical records, birth certificates of children,
mortgages, rental records, insurance policies or affidavits.
You need to prove that you have lived
together at some point during the marriage if your abuser is a spouse
and you also need to prove
that you have lived together for some period of time with your child
if your abuser is a child, even though no specific time is required.
That means that if you have only lived together for one day,
this may still qualify as having shared residence so long as you have
some documents to show that this was in fact your place of residence.
Proof that you have lived together can typically include
the lease or rental agreements, utility or other bills,
children's school records or medical records, and any other documents that list
you and your abuser as having lived together in the same address.
Note that is not required that you currently live with your abuser,
and it is acceptable if you have lived together outside the US or inside the US.
And if you are having trouble locating any of these documents,
you can also submit declarations
or affidavits from landlords, neighbors, friends and family members.
If you do, make sure to include a copy of their ID
because USCIS will give more credibility to affidavits
with a verified author rather than those without.
If the copy of the ID
is not possible, then I would recommend that you get these affidavits notarized.
Next on our checklist is evidence of the abuse, such as reports
and affidavits from police, judges, court officials, medical personnel, school
officials, clergy, social workers and other social service agency personnel.
If you have an order of protection or have taken other legal steps
to end the abuse, you should submit copies of those court documents.
While physical abuse is the most visible form of abuse
and as demonstrated through the list even given by USCIS,
this is not the only type of abuse that is covered underneath the VAWA law.
The vast majority of valid cases, especially in our office, include
cases for persons who have suffered extreme cruelty.
Extreme cruelty can include almost any behavior that is controlling,
manipulative or harmful.
USCIS will consider any behavior that, when taken
as a whole, may not appear to be initially abusive,
but are part of an overall pattern of violence against the victim.
Psychological or sexual exploitation are considered acts of violence.
Thus, the definition of extreme cruelty can be considered slightly vague
because it is considered to be subjective and depends on an individual case
by case basis.
If you are not sure whether the experiences that you are living
through constitute extreme cruelty, contact us with the details of your case
and I will take a look to evaluate whether you can qualify for VAWA.
A few examples of extreme cruelty can include, but are not limited to,
isolation, intimidation, economic abuse, sexual abuse,
coercive control, threats of deportation, threats to call the police, abandonment,
employment-related abuse, stalking,
monitoring you, threats to harm you, threats to take away your kids,
and any other behavior that is cruel or controlling.
Proof of extreme cruelty can come in many different forms,
including your own declaration—which we will discuss in
just a moment—declarations from friends, family members, coworkers,
religious organizations, your workplace or your school,
domestic abuse service providers (such as shelters, crisis lines
and support groups), criminal court records, emails, notes,
text messages and voicemails, medical records,
marriage, religious and mental health counselors and police reports.
A lot of the same proof also applies for physical violence
and battery, as well as photos of the injuries themselves, damaged
or broken furniture or other items, and any other signs of physical abuse.
The more evidence you can provide to show the abuse that you have suffered,
the stronger your case will be.
USCIS has a standard of any credible evidence, therefore
even if you do not feel that you can prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt
that is not required for a VAWA case, it is simply any credible evidence,
and immigration will judge the contents of your affidavit, which is your testimony
and any proof that you can give to corroborate your claims.
To help make your case, you can also get a psychological evaluation
from a professional who specializes in working with victims of abuse.
When clients work with us, we help them locate psychologists
and other trained professionals to give assessments for their case.
The counselor can then write a written evaluation,
stating the treatments that the client has undergone
and any diagnoses or assessments of the client's health.
It is also a good idea to get as many written declarations
as possible from friends or family
who may have witnessed or experienced some of the violence along with you.
These can even be from persons who live outside the U.S.
and speak a language other than English.
Simply get their statement and we will be able to help you translate them.
And no, you do not need a police report and you do not need to prove your case
beyond a reasonable doubt.
Having a police report can help your case, however you can still win
your case without a police report.
Next on our checklist is your affidavit of good moral character,
accompanied by a local police clearance, state-issued criminal background check,
or similar report from each locality or state in the United States
or abroad, where you have resided for six months or more during
the three year period immediately before you filed your application.
When considering your good moral character, USCIS will focus on the past
three years,
so you may want to contact the local police station at each of the locations
that you have lived for more than six months over the past three years.
Ask them to provide you
with the police clearance letter or whatever equivalent the state offers.
If they ask why, explain that it is for an immigration purpose.
As with some of the other items
that we have covered, you can also include affidavits from friends,
family members and coworkers who can testify to your good character.
Also include any contributions to your community and family,
such as documents from other charities you may have worked with or
religious organizations.
Request that any affidavits submitted on your behalf highlight important
information that shows your involvement and that you are a good person.
This may include regularly attending church,
taking part in community activities or supporting other families.
If you do have a criminal history, your attorney must assess
the impact that these criminal histories may have on your case.
If you do contact us about your situation,
let us know about any arrests or charges or convictions that you have
so we can make sure to cover it appropriately in your case.
And of course, when you are undocumented or not living in the state
that you used to live in.
You may not be able to obtain a local police clearance when this happens,
another good alternative is to obtain an FBI fingerprint-based background search.
And the last item on our checklist says that if you are a spouse,
submit evidence showing that you entered into your marriage in good faith,
such as proof that one spouse
has been listed on the other spouse's insurance policy,
property leases, properly filed tax forms, or bank statements.
You may also submit your affidavit or affidavits
of others who have knowledge of your courtship, wedding
ceremony, shared residence and other life experiences if available.
The official standard of proof for a good faith marriage is
whether or not you intended to establish a life together when you entered it.
Common evidence can include children, love letters, proof of residency
with your abuser, proof of how you met and any other items that we have covered.
Unsurprisingly, one of the favored forms of evidence for a good faith
marriage that USCIS likes to see are children, as well as joint finances.
There's also typically a higher standard of proof for shorter marriages,
so if that's the case
and submit as much evidence as possible so you can prove that it was legitimate.
This next part is not on the USCIS checklist, yet
it may be the most important ingredient for a winning and successful VAWA case.
This is a statement that you have prepared that provides as much evidence
as possible detailing your relationship, starting from when you met
and leading up to the most recent abuse that you have suffered.
In this declaration, you will want to include information
about how the two of you met, how your relationship started,
how you eventually married, the feelings that you had for your spouse,
when you got married, when the abuse started and how long it lasted,
what sort of abuse you suffered, who you may have confided to during this time,
and any other details that you believe are relevant to your case.
Sometimes this is the only documentation that persons can submit
with their VAWA application because evidence is so limited to them.
Remember that there is no interview to determine the approval
or denial of a VAWA I-360 application, so USCIS
does base its decision only on the paper documentation that you provide.
You can submit an appeal of your case if it is denied,
but if you fail to convince USCIS that your evidence
is credible, their final decision may be the end of your petition.
I want to share a few other common things that I see with VAWA petitions.
When preparing your VAWA case, be careful in using any shared devices.
You want to make sure that the evidence that you provide and your communications
with your attorneys and with immigration are confidential.
If you work with an immigration attorney then we strongly recommend having every
communication with USCIS sent through us so that it can remain confidential.
It is also important that you avoid any inconsistencies in your file.
If there is conflicting information
between your VAWA application and any other immigration filing,
then it can result in a finding of lack of credibility.
So use a FOIA request to get all previous information
that you may have submitted and ensure that your information is consistent.
Also, be sure to use the most current forms editions for your case.
Go to USCIS
website and double check to make sure you're using the most up to date version.
And also, keep in mind that the moment that DHS knows
that you are a valid self petitioner, your abuser cannot get you deported.
We covered a lot of ground today,
and all of this might sound a little overwhelming,
but don't worry, you don't need to know every single thing that we have covered
in this video in order to submit a successful VAWA application.
If you want help with preparing your case, give us a call right now
so that we can book an appointment and help you succeed in your case.
If you would like to learn more about the VAWA process,
I will include a link to another video here
where I explain the entire process from start to finish.
I will also continue to release more videos about VAWA in the future,
so if you haven't yet subscribed, make sure you do so so you don't miss a beat.
Click here and watch this video, I'll see you there!