Filing for Vawa on your own

[nadia&sameer 12]

Hi everyone,

I am writing on behalf of a friend of ours. His wife has tried to kill him twice (Police reports both times). This last time had audio of her threatening to kill him with a knife (they live in a state where his taping her is admissible without her consent). And a video from outside their apartment complex which shows her attacking him with said knife. She was very drunk at the time and called the police herself to have him arrested. Once they arrived and obtained the audio/video, she was the one arrested and has subsequently been charged with a slew of charges including felony attempted murder. She was released on bail today so we are working to get him out of the state immediately. I just don't have the time right now to go through all the Vawa posts on here, which I'm sure give a wealth of info, so could someone please give me a quick rundown of what we need to get done asap? Obviously right now my main concern is getting him out of there to safety, get an order of protection (which I doubt will do much good as the woman obviously has some issues that a piece of paper isn't going to resolve), and start divorce proceedings. I would guess he will be eligible for Vawa, correct? Is it something we could help him file on his own or does he really need a lawyer? We're going to help him with the $$ for the divorce, but I don't think we'd have enough to help with a Vawa lawyer. He came here on a CR1 about 1 1/2 years ago and has a conditional card and it was a bonafide marriage. Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[EM_Vandaveer 2,368]

VAWA is to get a Green Card. It is unnecessary in this case as your friend already has a GC. He should divorce his psycho wife and file for ROC (Removal of Conditions) with a divorce waiver.

[Cheezees 1,514]

No VAWA needed nor is it applicable. Like EM_Vandaveer said, divorce and file for ROC with a divorce waiver with proof of a bonafide marriage.

[nadia&sameer 12]

Awesome...thanks guys!

[Shauneg 762]

Hi everyone,

I am writing on behalf of a friend of ours. His wife has tried to kill him twice (Police reports both times). This last time had audio of her threatening to kill him with a knife (they live in a state where his taping her is admissible without her consent). And a video from outside their apartment complex which shows her attacking him with said knife. She was very drunk at the time and called the police herself to have him arrested. Once they arrived and obtained the audio/video, she was the one arrested and has subsequently been charged with a slew of charges including felony attempted murder. She was released on bail today so we are working to get him out of the state immediately. I just don't have the time right now to go through all the Vawa posts on here, which I'm sure give a wealth of info, so could someone please give me a quick rundown of what we need to get done asap? Obviously right now my main concern is getting him out of there to safety, get an order of protection (which I doubt will do much good as the woman obviously has some issues that a piece of paper isn't going to resolve), and start divorce proceedings. I would guess he will be eligible for Vawa, correct? Is it something we could help him file on his own or does he really need a lawyer? We're going to help him with the $$ for the divorce, but I don't think we'd have enough to help with a Vawa lawyer. He came here on a CR1 about 1 1/2 years ago and has a conditional card and it was a bonafide marriage. Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Vawa for? What exactly are they applying for?

[Raccoon_CA 5]

And don't worry about waiting for 90 days prior to his Green Card expiring: when you file for ROC with a battered spouse/extreme cruelty waiver on Form I-751, you can file anytime prior to expiration of a conditional green card.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,368]

And don't worry about waiting for 90 days prior to his Green Card expiring: when you file for ROC with a battered spouse/extreme cruelty waiver on Form I-751, you can file anytime prior to expiration of a conditional green card.

Filing ROC as a battered spouse just makes things more complicated.

For both divorce waiver & extreme cruelty waiver, bona fide marriage has to be proven.

With divorce waiver, the only other thing to be proven is the divorce.

Filing ROC as a battered spouse you also have to prove the domestic violence. Why complicate it?

[Ontarkie 13,915]

~~Non conductive post removed. Stick to answering the question asked or do not post.~~

[Cheezees 1,514]

Filing ROC as a battered spouse just makes things more complicated.

For both divorce waiver & extreme cruelty waiver, bona fide marriage has to be proven.

With divorce waiver, the only other thing to be proven is the divorce.

Filing ROC as a battered spouse you also have to prove the domestic violence. Why complicate it?

True! An extreme cruelty waiver is unnecessary in this case. Just divorce and file with a divorce waiver. It requires the same "proof" as those who are still married. Eventually you will be asked for the final divorce decree so get started on it right now. You do not want the abusive spouse to have the upper hand so file for divorce first. Good luck!

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

If he doesn't have comingling evidence due to the abuse then the abuse situation will come handy when he ROC

[EM_Vandaveer 2,368]

If he doesn't have comingling evidence due to the abuse then the abuse situation will come handy when he ROC

No, it won't. For abuse waiver ROC, bona fide marriage still has to be proven. (Even for VAWA, no bona fide marriage proof means no VAWA, no matter the abuse.)

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

No, it won't. For abuse waiver ROC, bona fide marriage still has to be proven. (Even for VAWA, no bona fide marriage proof means no VAWA, no matter the abuse.)

I have read on here about a woman who was economically, emotionally and physically abused by the USC husband. The USC made sure they didn't take pictures together and no financial comingling. What the wife had was evidence she had before arrival. So yes, in the situation where the USC purposelly try to sabotage the immigration process of their spouse through this kind of abuse, if the typical "bona fide" evidence cannot be obtained by the abused, he can still get approved.

I stand corrected by Sandranj, since she knows more about this ^^

[EM_Vandaveer 2,368]

I remember sandranj posting once about a VAWA case where the immigrant woman even had a baby with her USC husband/abuser, but the VAWA application was denied based on not enough proof of bona fide marriage.

[Villanelle 4,121]

I have read on here about a woman who was economically, emotionally and physically abused by the USC husband. The USC made sure they didn't take pictures together and no financial comingling. What the wife had was evidence she had before arrival. So yes, in the situation where the USC purposelly try to sabotage the immigration process of their spouse through this kind of abuse, if the typical "bona fide" evidence cannot be obtained by the abused, he can still get approved.

I stand corrected by Sandranj, since she knows more about this ^^

I remember sandranj posting once about a VAWA case where the immigrant woman even had a baby with her USC husband/abuser, but the VAWA application was denied based on not enough proof of bona fide marriage.

You are both correct.

VAWA law is complex. You have to look at it like a flow chart. You know those graphs you follow along and its like if yes follow the line and go to the box on the left and if no follow the line and go to the box on the right. So since all cases are different it can be hard when you hear one snippet of the law quoted. But you are both quoting correct snippets.

For anything marriage based with the USCIS you need to prove bonafide marriage. This includes VAWA and ROC with the abuse waiver. However if you are claiming financial abuse then you can use that as an explanation as to why you have little or no comingling. But please remember not everybody who has no commingling evidence is being financially abused! For those that are a qualified attny would be able to assist and word statements properly so it would be accepted.And as stated many times on VJ a child can be used as evidence but it is not enough to be the only evidence you have.

Also I have to say I disagree with the above comments about NOT using the abuse waiver. Its generally discouraged but for those that dont know if you file that way sucessfully you are then eligible for naturalization in 3 years. If he is at ROC now then he should be close to 3 yrs. This can really help victims as being a citizen opens more doors for assistance and typically those abused are in need of some to get back on their feet.

If his wife is being charged with attempted murder among other things then he should have no problem meeting the proof for abuse. I believe 'murder' is under physical abuse (?) Not quite sure as most physical abuse are assaults but Im pretty confident. If the OP decides to file that way then I suggest they post in the VAWA thread and ask Sandra to be sure that charge is eligible.

I dont usually recommend people to file with the abuse waiver because it does complicate things but there are advantages the OP should be aware of.