1. Being subjected to battery or extreme cruelty by a U.S. citizen or LPR spouse, parent, and/or child. Battery or extreme cruelty can be physical abuse, violent acts or threats of violence, sexual abuse, verbal abuse and degradation, emotional abuse, isolation, intimidation, economic abuse, coercion, or threats to take away children or to call immigration.
2. Residing or have resided with the abusive U.S. citizen or LPR spouse, parent, or child.
3. As a self-petitioning spouse of an abusive U.S. citizen or LPR, the self-petitioner must also demonstrate that he/she entered the marriage in good faith. The marriage must still be valid or if divorced, the marriage must have ended less than two years prior to filing the VAWA petition.
4. The self-petitioner must demonstrate he/she is a person of good moral character. To determine whether a person has good moral character, immigration looks at the self-petitioner’s criminal and immigration history or lack of.
This blog is not intended to be legal advice and nothing here should be construed as establishing an attorney client relationship. Please schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney before acting on any information read here.