For more information:

Green Card for VAWA Self-Petitioner | USCIS

Overview:

  1. What is VAWA?
  2. Benefits of VAWA
  3. Who is eligible to apply for VAWA?
  4. VAWA requirements
  5. VAWA process
  6. Required documents for VAWA
  7. VAWA fees
  8. VAWA processing time

1. What is VAWA?

The Violence Against Women Act is abbreviated as VAWA. Despite the name, the Violence Against Women Act does not need you to be a woman to qualify. VAWA may apply to both males and women.

The Violence Against Women Act is a piece of legislation that allows some people to self-petition for a green provided specific circumstances are satisfied. To qualify, you must be the abused spouse or a child of a United State citizen or lawful permanent resident.

If you meet the VAWA criteria, you may be able to petition for permanent residency (a green card) without the assistance of your abusive spouse. You do not have to rely on your abusive husband to file an immigration petition for you. Instead, you may be able to apply for your green card on your own.

2. Benefits of VAWA

You can self-petition. If you apply for a green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, your spouse (the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident) must normally act as the petitioner for your immigration petition. This implies that the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident must consent to file your immigration papers. They are required to sign the immigration petition and serve as the “petitioner” in your case.

The difficulty with this system is that if the abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse uses immigration to control the abused spouse. They may, for example, threaten to withdraw an immigration petition if the victim reported the abuse to the authorities. Congress recognized this risk and created VAWA to help avoid it.

The biggest advantage of VAWA is that it permits the victimized spouse or kid to apply for a green card on their own. This means they will be able to file the petition on their behalf. They do not have to rely on their violent spouse to file an immigration petition on their behalf.

Immigration Benefits for Children

Another advantage of VAWA is that you can include your children as derivative beneficiaries on your VAWA petition. This implies that if you are qualified to apply for a green card under VAWA, you may also be able to apply for green cards for your children. To qualify, your children do not need to be connected to the abuser. Furthermore, your children do not have to be linked to the abuser to be eligible.

To qualify as your derivative beneficiary, your kid must be unmarried and under the age of 21 at the time the VAWA petition is filed.

3. Who is eligible to apply for VAWA?

There are 5 categories of people who may apply for VAWA:

  • Abused spouse of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.
  • Spouse of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident whose kid has been harmed by the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
  • Child abused by a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.
  • Abusive parents of a U.S. citizen who is an “immediate relative.”

4. VAWA requirements

To be eligible for VAWA, you must meet several criteria. In this part, we will go over the VAWA regulations in depth.

Marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident

To qualify for VAWA as a battered spouse of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, you must demonstrate that you married the U.S. citizen or permanent resident in good faith. This implies that you must have meant to build a life together at the time of your marriage. If the marriage was entered solely to obtain immigration advantages, it is not a good-faith marriage.

Important Points

  • Intended wedding: Intended marriages can still be used to fulfill the marriage requirement. For VAWA purposes, an intended marriage occurs when the abused spouse and the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident marry in good faith, but the marriage is invalid because the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is still married to someone else.
  • Marriage termination: In some situations, you can petition for VAWA even though you are no longer married to the abusive spouse. To be eligible, you must have been in a legitimate marriage with the abusive spouse. Furthermore, the marriage must have ended within the past two years and the divorce must be linked to the violent spouse’s violence or excessive cruelty.

Parent-Child relationship

You must demonstrate a parent-child relationship with the abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident to qualify for VAWA as the abused child of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent residence.

Parent of abusive U.S. citizen

To be eligible for VAWA as an abused parent of a U.S. citizen, you must be the parent of an abusive U.S. citizen. You must also demonstrate that you are entitled to be classed as an abusive U.S. citizen’s direct relative. This indicates that the abuser must be at least 21 years old.

Residence Requirement

There are 2 prongs to the residence requirement:

  • You must be a resident of the United States at the time the VAWA petition is submitted to be eligible for VAWA. If you don’t reside in the U.S at the time the VAWA petition is filed, you must be able to demonstrate that the abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is an employee of the U.S. government or a member of the uniformed services, or that the abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident subjected you or your child to extreme cruelty or battery in the United States.
  • To be eligible for VAWA, you must have previously lived with an abusive U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. You do not have to live with an abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident right now. Your residence with the abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident does not have to have been in the U.S.

Citizenship status of the abuser

The abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident to qualify for VAWA. If the abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is no longer a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, you may still be eligible for VAWA if you file the VAWA petition within two years of the abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident’s loss of status if the loss of status was due to domestic violence.

Must have suffered abuse

  • To be eligible for VAWA, you must have been abused by your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent. In circumstances where the VAWA petitioner is the parent of an abusive U.S. citizen kid, you must demonstrate that you were abused by the U.S. citizen child.
  • To prove that you were abused, you must establish that you were assaulted or that you were subjected to excessive brutality.
  • The laws define abuse as any act of threat or violence, including psychological abuse, rape, incest, and forced prostitution.

Good moral character

To be eligible for VAWA, you must be able to show that you are and were a person of good moral character during the three years before the filing of the VAWA petition. To establish that you have a high moral character, police clearances, tax records, and/or declarations from people you know are acceptable methods of proving it.

5. VAWA process

Here is a step-by-step overview of the VAWA process:

  • Consult with Immigration Lawyer
  • Form I-360
    • Along with Form I-360, you must send all supporting papers. We will go over these materials in further detail below.

Adjustment of Status

You may be able to file an adjustment of status (Form I-485) simultaneously with your Form I-360 in many circumstances. Form I-485 is the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Change of Status. This is the application used to “modify status” from your present status to legal permanent residence status. To go through the facts of your case and see if you are qualified to field your adjustment of status.

6. Required documents for VAWA

Several papers should be included in your VAWA application package. The documentation should be used to demonstrate that all the VAWA criteria have been met. When it comes to the documents that should be included in a VAWA application, it is crucial to understand that some records are far more believable than others. In general, primary evidence is far more useful than secondary evidence.

  • Primary evidence: police reports, hospital records, court records, etc.
  • Secondary evidence: signed statements from witnesses, an affidavit, etc.

The documents that should be included in your VAWA application will depend on the specific details of your case. With that disclaimer, here is a general list of some documents that you may end up including in your petition:

  • Cover Letter: The cover letter will describe the whole application, including the reason for filing for VAWA, the papers included in the application, and so forth. If you are working with an attorney, the cover letter is normally produced by them.
  • Form I-360: Form I-360 is used to apply for VAWA.
  • Declaration of the applicant: one of the most significant pieces of evidence in your VAWA application is your declaration. This statement should specify how each of the components of a VAWA claim is met. You should consult with an expert immigration lawyer to ensure that your declaration includes all the necessary areas.
  • Marriage Certificate: This document will be needed to demonstrate that you were married to the abusive spouse.
  • Birth certificate: This might be used to demonstrate that you are the child or parent of an abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
  • Reports from Psychologists: This may be useful when demonstrating abusive behavior by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
  • Signed statements from friends and family: These might be useful in a variety of situations. The signed declarations might serve to demonstrate that you have excellent moral character, that you had a genuine good-faith marriage (if applicable), and that the abuse occurred.
  • Joint Tax Returns
  • Joint Blank Statements
  • Pictures of you and your spouse
  • Utility bills addressed to you and your spouse
  • Police clearance letters

7. VAWA fees

Here is a breakdown of the VAWA fees:

Form I-360

VAWA applicants are free from paying the I-360 filing fee at the time this guide is released. This implies that VAWA applicants are exempt from paying the I-360 fee. Please double-check the right filing fee before submitting your application. More information is available on the USCIS website.

Form I-485

At the time of publication, the Form I-485 (adjustment of status) filing fee for applicants aged 14 to 79 is $1,225 which includes the biometrics price of $85. Applicants of various ages are charged varying fees. Please double-check the applicable charge before submitting your application. More information is available on the USCIS website.

Immigration lawyer legal fee

If you decide to hire an immigration lawyer, they will charge a legal fee for their services. Your immigration lawyer’s price will be determined by a variety of criteria, including their degree of expertise, billing, procedures, and so on.

8. VAWA processing time

The Vermont Service Center handles VAWA claims. At the time of publication, the current processing time is 18 to 24 months. You can check the USCIS website for current processing timeframes.