USCIS Restores Integrity to the VAWA Domestic Abuse Program After Finding Rampant Fraud

[Boiler 48,454]

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-restores-integrity-to-the-vawa-domestic-abuse-program-after-finding-rampant-fraud#:~:text=We are updating guidance in,to survivors of domestic abuse

 

While the eligibility requirements for a VAWA self-petition have not changed in several years, we have seen alarming new filing trends. Previously, the number of VAWA self-petitions we received each year generally grew at a rate similar to other immigration benefits. However, since 2020, we have seen an unprecedented rise in VAWA receipts. Along with a substantial increase in the number of filings, we also saw significant changes in the characteristics of aliens submitting VAWA self-petitions. In addition to the increase in male self-petitioners cited above, we also saw a 2239% increase in parents submitting VAWA self-petitions from fiscal year 2020 to 2024. These have not traditionally been populations filing for VAWA.

[SalishSea 18,682]

That program has always been rife with fraud, on par with asylum and U visas.

[TBoneTX 48,894]

And the fraud adversely affects those who have legitimate cases.

[Edward and Jaycel 2,435]

9 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

And the fraud adversely affects those who have legitimate cases.

 

This is the worst part of the rampant fraud... the ones who genuinely need it get lost in the volume of bad actors

[Demise 1,481]

Well looking at the actual changes to the policy manual I don't really see that much being different, it mostly just codified things that the VAWA teams already did.

 

The current admin loves to claim about widespread fraud because it's an easy allegation to make, it's difficult to disprove, and there's always going to be at least 1 incident of fraud in no matter what you look at. You can look at parking meters in any large city and you'll find some genius who figured which washers fool the meter into thinking its a quarter. 

 

Numbers going up is not any evidence of fraud. Funnily enough the amount of men who filed went up less than the overall number of applications filed (and it's "male applicants" rather than husbands, so sons and fathers too), so comparatively the rate is lower than it used to be. Parent applications weren't even being accepted until FY 2017. Of note is that number of approvals has been going up, number of denials has been for the most part flat so denial rate has in fact been going down. 

 

Then there's the fact that a lot of people simply do not know what avenues of relief are available. A lot of this spreads by online posts, maybe lawyer advertisements, and word of mouth. Also, not all immigration lawyers do VAWA, and as they start doing them and get more proficient in them, they will try less solid cases.

 

Finally, fraud in immigration means that you lied, not that the case would never get approved. If you submit a case that's literally "On or around June 11, 2007 my USC son called me the b-word" then yeah if he did then it's not fraud, this case would never in a million years get approved but it is not fraud. 

 

So all in all I suspect that it's just a scare piece.