If you are a foreign national citizen that is the victim of physical abuse and/or mental abuse, you may be eligible to receive a greencard based on the fact that you are the victim of abuse. This is called a “VAWA” Petition. 

Within the realm of immigration law, what normally happens is that if you are a spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen (“USC”), or if you are a spouse or child of a lawful permanent resident (“LPR”), your USC or LPR relative can file a petition with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) on your behalf so that you can obtain legal immigration status in the United States. Essentially, your relative will control your immigration process until you get your own lawful permanent residence status, which is called your “greencard.” 

However, over the past three decades, Congress has made numerous changes to U.S. immigration law in order to offer protections to foreign national citizens who are victims of domestic violence and crime. This included the enactment of “The Violence Against Women Act” or “VAWA” for short.

With the passage of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (See 34 U.S.C. §12471 et seq.), Congress provides that a foreign national citizen — who is either a woman or a man — who has been physically and/or mentally abused by their qualifying USC or LPR relative has the ability to independently petition for lawful permanent residence status (i.e., a greencard) for themself. This is done without the USC or LPR abuser’s knowledge, consent, or participation in the immigration process. This allows the foreign national citizen victim to discreetly seek and obtain both safety and independence from their abuser. 

A foreign national citizen who is seeking to obtain a greencard under the “The Violence Against Women Act” is generally known as a “VAWA self-petitioner.” 

If the VAWA Petition is approved by USCIS, the foreign national citizen, that is, the “VAWA self-petitioner,” will receive protection from deportation, can work lawfully, becomes eligible to apply for a greencard, and can also include certain family members in their VAWA Petition, which means those family members also become eligible to apply for a greencard.  

Therefore, if you are you are a spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen (“USC”), or if you are a spouse or child of a lawful permanent resident (“LPR”), and you were physically and/or mentally abused by them, you may be eligible to obtain a greencard under VAWA.

You should speak to an immigration attorney to get a full consultation before you move forward with any immigration application, especially a VAWA Petition because these cases are very complex. An immigration attorney will be able to review your case and see if you are in fact eligible to obtain a greencard under VAWA.

By Ekaterina Huff, Esq.