Evidence in Prince William County VAWA Applications
When going through the Violence Against Women Act immigration application process, supporting evidence required for a strong VAWA application is going to be necessary. First, they need to be very extensively documented. The format itself is actually very straightforward and simple, but the gathering of evidence can be difficult. Because of this, it is important you work with an experienced VAWA lawyer so they can fight to get you the help and protection that you deserve while assisting you in your application.
Documentation
The first thing that a person needs to document is their bonafide relationship, a person’s bonafide marriage to the abuser and that needs to be done in ways that – similar to that of an ordinary marriage petition. If the person had joint accounts together, things in both their names like insurance policies, car insurance policies, medical insurance – that kind of name, with the person’s name on the lease, definitely if they have children together, the person will want to submit birth certificates.
The person wants to submit the story about the evolution of the person’s relationship with the abuser – how did they meet? Where did they get married? Photos of the marriage if possible are helpful. If the person can not gather a lot of that evidence because the person’s name was not on a lot of legal documents, the person is going to want to submit affidavits from friends and family members and people who know the person and that knew they were entering into this marriage and knew that the person’s intent in entering into it was for – to enter into a marriage and not just for immigration purposes.
Legal Status
The second thing that a person needs as evidence in a Prince William County VAWA application to document is the legal status of the abuser who needs to be either a legal permanent resident or a U.S. citizen in order for the person to qualify and that can be done through showing a passport, a green card, a birth certificate or a naturalization certificate, a 55-1 stamp which is for returning residents who have traveled abroad. There are a number of ways a person can do this and they can also, if they do not have any of that documentation, submit all of the biographical information the person has about the abuser and the USCIS can search their database and see if they can find it. If they are unable to corroborate the facts that the abuser is – or has lawful status as a citizen or resident, then a person’s case may be denied because that is an important element.
The person needs to document – and that is done on a case by case situation. If it is in the hospital, the person may want medical records; if the person called the police, they may want police reports; if the person filed for a protective order, they definitely want a copy of that.
If there are not any kind of legal documents like that, then the person may need to again to kind of given the evidentiary trail when a person starts their Prince William County VAWA application through visiting or seeing a therapist to evaluate the effects of the abuse that it has had on the person and then through preparing a very detailed affidavit that explains everything that they have gone through.
Providing Supporting Evidence
In a lot of Prince William County VAWA applications, the supporting evidence is very minimal as far as the abuse goes and that is something that can be overcome if there really was an actual situation of abuse because, in many of these cases, the abused person has been isolated from the rest of the community. They have language barriers or just cultural barriers that prevented them from seeking health or speaking about the abuse to other people, so USCIS adjudicators are trained to understand this and if you have a strong declaration supported by letters from the therapist and basically a well-crafted application, you can overcome a lack of evidence as far as the abuse goes.
They are more stringent and increasingly stringent as far as evaluating the evidence that is necessary in order to prove bonafide relationship, so that is something that can be a challenge sometimes because there are people that are in relationships where they do not have any kind of access to bank accounts or cell phones or their names were not on leases and utility bills because they were kept isolated.
Contacting an Attorney
Application for the VAWA can be a very emotional and stressful process, and because of this, it should be dealt with correctly. Make sure you hire an experienced and skilled VAWA attorney to present the evidence properly. It is imperative that you get in contact with a Prince Williams County VAWA lawyer, so they can give you the representation, assistance, and support that you need.