Virginia VAWA Application Elements
The VAWA application, which can be downloaded on USCIS.gov by anyone, is filed on the USCIS Form I-360. VAWA stands for the Violence Against the Women Act. It is a broad piece of legislation that was passed in 1994 and has a number of provisions that address domestic violence and violence against women in general. One of the sections of VAWA gave two types of immigration benefits for crime victims or victims of domestic abuse in the US.
Although the act is called the Violence Against Women Act, men that are victim of abuse qualify under the program too, as long as they meet the other criteria to be eligible.
Due to the extensive process that occurs when a person applies for the VAWA program in Virginia, it is very important that the person applying for VAWA immigration in Virginia contacts a lawyer to ensure they are taking the appropriate steps in the process and that they are aware of the elements of the VAWA application.
First Steps of the Process
When applying for VAWA, the first step is, generally, to speak to an attorney because the applications are complicated and require a large body of documentary evidence. There are also problems that could arise because, unlike other types of applications, such as the U-Visa, the VAWA application does not waive all grounds of admissibility. You have to meet all of the eligibility requirements and the best way to determine whether you do and to ensure that it is reflected on the application is to work with an attorney.
In most cases, the applicant is the spouse of an abuser. During the first meeting with your attorney, you will generally discuss the threshold questions for VAWA eligibility.
You should be prepared to discuss whether you were you legally married, to a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident. It has be a bonafide marriage, you must be able to prove that you resided together, and you have to establish that you were married for reasons other than immigration purposes. Additionally, you should be prepared to discuss whether the US citizen or lawful permanent resident was abusive to you and if that abuse was sufficient to qualify under the VAWA provisions.
Completing the Application
The form is fairly straightforward; it is used for a number of other types of immigration benefits, like religious worker visas and special immigrant juvenile visas, among others. For the VAWA application, you fill in the relevant sections, which is primarily biographical information about you and your derivative or dependents and biographical and immigration status information about your spouse/abuser.
Confidentiality
The application is confidential. All VAWA applications are filed in the VAWA service center of USCIS in St. Albans, Vermont and there are provisions that have been set forth in memoranda by USCIS that provide for strict confidentiality for these applications. They are subjected to a higher level of confidentiality protection and other types of immigration benefits.
Other Forms to Complete
The immigration status of your abuser determine if other documents must be provided with the completed VAWA application.
If you are married to an abuser that is a US citizen at the time that you file your I-360 VAWA application, you also submit an I-485 application for adjustment of status or for your green card. In addition, you can file an application for a work authorization document, which you will be eligible for while the VAWA and adjustment applications are pending.
If you are married to an abuser that is a legal permanent resident, you will not be immediately eligible for adjustment status upon the approval of your I-360 or your VAWA application. You cannot file them at the same time so, in those cases, I-360 is a standalone application.
If you are married to a US citizen and are otherwise admissible, you will be immediately eligible to apply for adjustment of status or to receive your green card upon the approval of your I-360.
Evidence
There is a huge body of evidence that people can submit with these applications and what is used depends on the individual case.
In some cases, an attorney has a lot of hard evidence, such as police reports or hospital records, for the person that has been physically abused. In other cases, the abuse occurred in a public place, so there may be letters from people who witnessed the abuse.
Physical abuse is not required in order to qualify for VAWA and you never need to have called the police or to have pressed charges against the abuser. In cases where there is less documentary evidence, the client and their attorney need to determine together what types of evidence can be provided to prove the abuse.
