VAWA PROCESS

The family-based immigration process generally requires U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to file a petition for their noncitizen family members. Some petitioners may misuse the immigration process to further abuse their noncitizen family members by threatening to withhold or withdraw the petition in order to control, coerce, and intimidate them.

With the passage of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) and its subsequent reauthorizations, Congress provided noncitizens who have been abused by their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident relative the ability to independently petition for themselves (self-petition) for immigrant classification without the abuser’s knowledge, consent, or participation in the immigration process. This allows victims to seek both safety and independence from their abusers.

Those Eligible to File

• Spouse: if you are, or were, the abused spouse of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. You may also file as an abused spouse if your child has been abused by your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse.  You may also include on your petition your unmarried children who are under 21 if they have not filed for themselves.

• Parent: if you are the parent of a U.S. citizen, and you have been abused by your U.S. citizen son or daughter.

• Child: if you are an abused child under 21, unmarried and have been abused by your U.S. citizen or permanent resident parent. Your children may also be included on your petition. You may also file for yourself as a child after age 21 but before age 25 if you can demonstrate that the abuse was the main reason for the delay in filing.