Urgent need for help for my vawa.

[A.M 0]

Dear members,

Hope you are doing great,

I would like to tell you my story in brief so I can get a kind response for my concerns. It will be very appreciated, I feel that some of you have good experience with that kind of cases as I saw some of your posts here.

I faced a very tough situation with my ex wife, after being abused by her physically and mentally, threatened me several times, l after the last action of attacking me, I contacted trustworthy person told him what happened, advised me that I have to tell the police, so I went to the police after seeing my injuries they told me that they have to arrest her, she got arrested, I didn't do any harm to her, I just received all her aggressive and violent actions.

I've been granted a protective restraining order valid for three years, I'm protected under the law by vawa act, I called several domestic violence law organizations to get help, accepted to get free legal help and my documents almost completed, but it's difficult to get answers easily by them.

1- I 'm under the 2 years home residency requirement, so can I file the vawa case without getting a waiver for the 2 years requirement first?

2- I want to file the adjustment of status concurrently so I get my work permit faster, my work owner threatened me that he could through me out of work anytime, he and my ex wife took advantage of my situation that I have no paperwork, is it possible and faster if I file concurrently, or it's almost the same time frame to get a work permit?

Notes: my ex wife is a us citizen.

I want to contact someone knowledgable in person in order to give detailed info.

Thank you for your time and efforts, it'll give me hope and light of I receive your kind response,

Sincerely,

A. M

[Boiler 45,665]

You are currently on a J?

[Darnell 8,478]

You are in usa on a j visa?

[A.M 0]

No, I was.

[Boiler 45,665]

When did it expire?

[A.M 0]

I got f-1 visa after that, but it's expired more than 2 years ago.

[Sandra G. 5,051]

As far I understood you changed the visa J1 to F-1, but if the 2 year residency was not waived then you still be required to fulfill the 2 year home requirement unless you get it waived. You can file VAWA concurrently with I485 and I-765 .

Edited October 7, 2015 by sandranj

[A.M 0]

Thanks sandranj, do I have to waive the 2 years requirement first before applying for vawa? Because I have only three months left to file for vawa.

Is it much faster to file concurrently or it's almost the same if I file the vawa and wait for approval before the i485 and i765 ?

[Sandra G. 5,051]

You are subject to the 2-year residence requirement under INA 212(e), that being said you a need a waiver.The I-360 petition still can be approved without the waiver, but the application for adjustment of status cannot be approved without a waiver. I believe you can't submit the immigrant petition and J-1 waiver concurrently since you should have the waiver approved before submitting the AOS, but my colleague disagrees with me saying you can submit the immigrant petition BEFORE the waiver is approved.You should consult an attorney specialized in VAWA and WAIVER. I just handle VAWA cases, and I do not handle waivers.

You can read here about the waiver http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/study-exchange/student/residency-waiver.html.

Edited October 7, 2015 by sandranj

[A.M 0]

Thanks, I'm working on it.