Prince William County VAWA Application Expectations
When it comes to submitting a petition, there are a number of expectations of the Prince William County VAWA application that are important to know. For instance, there is an exceedingly long waiting period, in excess of a year. The adjudication time changes and there is no way to speed up the process.
The VAWA unit is understaffed and receiving more and more applications to the department that is in charge of adjudicating both the U visas and VAWA applications. Knowing this and other useful information will enable applicants to plan accordingly and to give themselves the necessary time to prepare. Overall, understanding the expectations in the Prince William County VAWA application process may be difficult without the help of a qualified attorney.
What to Expect In Case Of Approval
If an application is approved and the new legal status is granted, how long it will be until the applicant can obtain employment will depend on whether or not they are applying as the spouse of a legal permanent resident or as that of a U.S. citizen. If an application is approved and they are the spouse of U.S. citizen, they will automatically be granted a new green card of their own.
If on the other hand, a case is approved and the applicant is the spouse of a lawful permanent resident or a green card holder, they will be placed into deferred action status and will be able to apply for a work authorization after approval. Once their priority date becomes current, they will be eligible for a green card.
Right now it is a little under two years that a person will have to wait as the spouse of a lawful permanent resident before being eligible to apply for a green card, but that can change based on the progression or the retrogression of the national visa bulletin.
Expectations In Case Of Denial
The policy of the Vermont Service Center is to not refer the case to immigration court, meaning if a person receives a denial of their application, their case and information are not automatically referred to the immigration court. Otherwise, a person would be ordered to be deported and their application would be denied.
However, there is no statutory guarantee that the person is protected from that. With the changing administration, a person should understand the Prince William County VAWA application expectations. There is a possibility that their case will be referred to the immigration court if it is denied by USCIS.
In addition, should it be referred and the applicant is ordered to be deported, there is no grace period, because a person a person may be in unlawful status or in undocumented status if their application is not granted.
To get an order of removal, USCIS needs to have referred a case to immigration court and a notice to appear. It must be issued, and then they have the right to go through immigration court proceedings before a final removal order.
Working with a VAWA Lawyer
There are many facts of the VAWA application process in Prince William County to take into account when one decides to file a petition. By working with a lawyer who has extensive experience in this area of the law, and the applicant is increasing the chances of a positive outcome. While the timeline can be long, and the requirements many, and attorney can help their client navigate the process.