Under VAWA, a woman (or man) who is married to an abusive US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse can get their lawful permanent residency in the USA (or green card) independently from their abusive US citizen spouse. This way of applying for permanent residency in the USA is called “VAWA self-petitioning” or “self-petitioning under VAWA”. Instead of depending on an abusive US citizen or LPR spouse to apply for permanent residency for their foreign spouse, under certain circumstances, a foreign spouse can apply in her own right and get permanent residency for herself and her children. Abusive US citizen or LPR spouse plays no role in this self-petitioning process and does not even have to know that his foreign spouse applied for immigration benefits without his consent or assistance. Under VAWA, all information provided by a self-petitioner is confidential.
Because the law is very complex and you may have doubts whether you are eligible to apply under VAWA, we suggest you do not file any paperwork before consulting first with our office. As a first step, we will review your situation and eligibility and advise you as to what documentation/evidence you would need to self-petition under VAWA.
