Ka VAWA
Abizè ou te kenbe estati imigrasyon ou sou tèt ou. VAWA pèmèt kèk sivivan aplike pou kont yo, san pèmisyon abizè a. Nou ka di ou si li ka aplike pou sitiyasyon ou.
What You Need to Know Right Now
Confidentiality Protections
Federal law (8 U.S.C. § 1367) gives VAWA cases strong confidentiality protections. We explain how they work and help you plan for your safety.
You Do Not Need a Police Report
The “any credible evidence” standard under INA § 204(a)(1)(J) means USCIS can consider a wide range of evidence. Your own statement counts.
Long Processing Times
Current processing: 41 to 47 months total. A prima facie determination often comes sooner and can make certain benefits available.
Safety note: If you are reading this from a shared device, you can clear your browser history or use a private/incognito window. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
Your Abuser Controls Your Immigration Status. That Is Exactly What VAWA Was Designed to Stop.
You may believe that if you report the abuse or leave your abuser, you will be deported. Your abuser may have told you this. They may have threatened to withdraw a petition they filed for you, or told you that without them, you have no right to be in this country. That is exactly the kind of control that Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act to break.
Under INA Section 204(a)(1)(A)(iii)-(iv), you have the right to file your own immigration petition without your abuser's cooperation and without their consent. USCIS has a dedicated VAWA Unit at the Vermont Service Center staffed by specially trained adjudicators who understand the dynamics of domestic violence. The process is designed to protect you, not expose you.
This is not a loophole or a workaround. This is a right that Congress specifically created for people in your exact situation. In over 20 years of immigration practice, we have helped survivors use this right. You do not have to stay in a dangerous situation to keep your immigration status.
Who Can File a VAWA Self-Petition
Congress extended VAWA protections to certain abused spouses, children, and parents of U.S. citizens, and to certain abused spouses and children of lawful permanent residents. You do not need legal status to file.
Abused Spouses
If your husband or wife is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and has subjected you to battery or extreme cruelty, you can file a VAWA self-petition on your own. You do not need to be currently married. If you divorced because of the abuse, you may still file within two years. VAWA protects people of all genders.
Most CommonAbused Children
If your parent is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and has abused you, you may be able to self-petition. Age limits apply, so talk to us as early as you can.
Abused Parents
If your adult U.S. citizen son or daughter (age 21 or older) has subjected you to battery or extreme cruelty, you are eligible to self-petition. This category is less well known but equally protected under the statute.
What Counts as Abuse Under VAWA
Under 8 CFR 204.2(c)(1)(vi), VAWA covers both battery and extreme cruelty. Battery means physical violence: hitting, kicking, choking, sexual assault, forced detention. But the law goes far beyond physical harm.
Extreme cruelty includes threats of violence, verbal abuse, controlling behavior, isolation from friends and family, withholding access to money, threats to call immigration on you or have you deported, psychological manipulation, and any pattern of behavior designed to maintain power and control over you.
You do not need to show physical injury. You do not need a police report. You do not need a criminal conviction against your abuser. USCIS evaluates the totality of the circumstances, and the law is written to recognize that domestic violence takes many forms.
The Evidence Standard Is on Your Side
Congress understood that abuse survivors often cannot gather evidence the way other immigration applicants can. Your abuser may control the documents. You may not have gone to the police. You may not have told anyone.
That is why INA Section 204(a)(1)(J) establishes the “any credible evidence” standard. USCIS is required to consider any credible evidence relevant to the petition, whether or not it would be admissible in a court of law. Your personal declaration, standing alone, can be sufficient if it is detailed, consistent, and credible.
We help you write that declaration. We help you identify evidence you may not realize you have. And we present it in a way that meets USCIS requirements while telling your story with the weight it deserves.
Federal Law Protects Your Confidentiality
8 U.S.C. Section 1367 Protections
These are some of the strongest confidentiality protections in immigration law. The statute restricts what the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS, ICE, and CBP may disclose about your case, with limited exceptions. We explain how these protections apply to you.
What This Means for You
Your abuser does not control your case. A self-petition is yours, not theirs, and federal law limits how the government can use information that comes from an abuser. We explain how these protections work in your situation.
What Happens After You Call Us
We treat every step as confidential, as the law and our professional duties allow, and we plan each one with your safety in mind. Here is exactly how this works.
A Safe, Confidential Conversation
You tell us what happened. We treat what you tell us as confidential, as the law and our professional duties allow. We evaluate whether you qualify and explain every step of what comes next.
We Gather Your Evidence
Under the 'any credible evidence' standard, USCIS considers a wide range of evidence. Your own declaration. Police reports if you have them. Protection orders. Medical or counseling records. Statements from people who witnessed the abuse or its effects. Photos. Text messages. We help you identify and organize everything available to you.
We File Form I-360 with the VAWA Unit
Your self-petition goes directly to the USCIS VAWA Unit at the Vermont Service Center. Federal confidentiality protections under 8 U.S.C. Section 1367 limit what the government can disclose about your case, and we help you plan for your safety.
Prima Facie Determination
USCIS reviews your petition and, if the initial evidence supports your claim, may issue a prima facie determination. That determination can make certain benefits available. Approval of the petition is a separate, later step.
Applying for a Green Card if Approved
If your VAWA self-petition is approved, you may be eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence. If your abuser is a U.S. citizen, you may be able to apply to adjust status right away. If your abuser is a lawful permanent resident, you may need to wait for visa availability. Your abuser has no role in the process.
Processing Times and What to Expect
VAWA self-petitions are adjudicated exclusively by the USCIS VAWA Unit at the Vermont Service Center. As of 2025, total processing time for Form I-360 VAWA self-petitions is approximately 41 to 47 months. That is a long time, and we will not pretend otherwise. But some steps come earlier.
The prima facie determination, which typically comes within several months of filing, can make certain benefits available. Approval of the petition is a separate, later step.
USCIS Policy Alert PA-2025-33, issued in December 2025, updated guidance on how the VAWA Unit adjudicates these petitions and reinforced the “any credible evidence” standard. We stay current on every policy change so your case is prepared under the most up-to-date requirements.
Your Path Forward
Prima Facie Determination
Can make certain benefits available. Often comes within months of filing.
I-360 Petition Decision
USCIS reviews and decides your VAWA self-petition. Currently 41 to 47 months.
Green Card Application
If your petition is approved and a visa is available, you may apply to adjust status to lawful permanent resident.
Applying for Citizenship
After holding your green card for the required period and meeting the other requirements, you may be eligible to apply for naturalization. Your abuser has no role in any of this.
You Deserve to Be Safe and Free
You are not the first person to call us afraid that leaving means losing everything. We have walked this path with survivors who started with nothing. We explain the options the law provides and prepare each step with you. We are on your side.
We speak English, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Chinese, Russian, Sinhala, and Tamil. You can talk to us in the language you are most comfortable in. We treat what you share as confidential, as the law and our professional duties allow.
Related Services
You Do Not Need Their Permission to Be Free.
Your abuser told you that you have no options. That is not true. The law gives you the right to petition for your own immigration status on your own, without their consent. Call us. We treat the conversation as confidential, as the law and our professional duties allow. The first step is the hardest one, and you do not have to take it alone.