Determining Good Moral Character in Fairfax VAWA Applications

Determining that an applicant has good moral character is an important step of the process for Fairfax VAWA applications. One of the best ways to establish this is by seeing a therapist. Another of the most important reasons for seeing a therapist in these cases is to address the trauma that they have been through. Fairfax VAWA immigration attorneys would recommend an individual to seek therapy on an ongoing basis and not just to obtain a letter for the VAWA applications.

Defining Good Moral Character

Good moral character is defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act. There are a number of different criminal offenses and acts that can statutorily prohibit an applicant from proving good moral character, but it is also a discretionary determination. It is basically assumed that they are going to have good moral character if they passed their background checks and do not have any disqualifying criminal offenses.

If they do have a criminal history of their own, then they are going to have more of an uphill battle to submit positive discretionary evidence to overcome that.

Proving Character

It is necessary to prove good moral character for Fairfax VAWA applications as it is one of the statutory requirements of an application.

In most cases, if the applicant does not have a criminal record, it will be assumed that they have good moral character as long as they passed the background checks. In cases where they do have a disqualifying criminal record, then they are going to have submit a significant amount of positive discretionary evidence, such as letters of recommendation or other things to overcome the negative factors in their case.

Working with a Therapist

It is generally a good idea to submit a letter of support from a licensed therapist or psychologist as evidence in a Fairfax VAWA application and very rarely would it actually hurt a case. It is going to help in most cases. There are some cases where it is not necessary, such as if there are police reports and medical records. In some cases, however, it certainly will be not enough to prove abuse and to prove good moral character in a Fairfax VAWA application. If all an applicant has is their statement and a letter from a therapist that was obtained maybe after they decided to apply for VAWA, and they did not have an ongoing relationship with this therapist, it could certainly be deemed to be insufficient or to not qualify as abuse for USCIS purposes.

Disqualifying Factors

In other cases, there can be issues of good moral character if they have committed some sort of immigration fraud. That can be held against them, and then there is also other statutory things like if they have ever abused someone else or have been committed. This is one of the crimes that is set forth in Section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act which lays out all the disqualifying factors for proving good moral character.

Not having good moral character could prevent someone from being eligible for VAWA in Fairfax. If the USCIS determines that they are not a person of good moral character, their application will be denied. Working with an immigration attorney and a therapist are important steps to ensuring an application and determination of good moral character within it are done properly.

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