OBTAINING STATUS FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE:
THE
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT (VAWA).
Under
the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), spouses and children of United States
citizens or lawful permanent residents may request lawful permanent residency
if they have been the victims of domestic violence.
This
law applies even if the person applying is undocumented, and entered the United
States illegally. If the VAWA
application is granted, the person’s unlawful presence here is forgiven, and they
become eligible for a green card.
The
person applying must have been legally married in good faith to a U.S. citizen
or lawful permanent resident who committed the domestic violence. The law also allows the unmarried children of
the battered spouse under the age of 21 to get status as derivative
beneficiaries.
Likewise,
VAWA allows an opportunity to apply for status for a battered child under 21
years of age and unmarried. The parents
of a child who has been abused and unmarried minor children can also apply as
derivative beneficiaries.
A
battered spouse only qualifies for relief if the abuse occurred in the United
States. The only exception is when the
abusive spouse is an employee of the United States government or a member of
the uniformed services of the United States.
It
is important to know that the emotional or psychological abuse also qualifies;
it is not
absolutely necessary to show that the victim suffered physical
attacks. The law requires the victim to
prove they were subjected to “extreme cruelty”, which can include threats,
verbal abuse, harassment and other forms of emotional abuse, without the
necessity of physical abuse.
Our
office has had great success obtaining VAWA status for women who were subject
to various forms of cruelty or violence.
In these applications, a police report of the abuse is helpful, but not
necessary. We have been able to succeed
in winning these cases with statements from witnesses including family
members.
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CHRISTOPHER A. KEROSKY of the law firm of
KEROSKY PURVES & BOGUE has practiced law since 1984 and has been recognized
as one of the top immigration lawyers in Northern California for the 10 years
by “Super Lawyers” (2006-2019) www.SuperLawyers.com . He graduated from University of California,
Berkeley Law School and was a former counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice
in Washington D.C.
WARNING:
The foregoing is an article discussing legal issues. It is not intended to be a
substitute for legal advice. We recommend that you get competent legal advice
specific to your case.