MsVi2

2 hours ago, iwillsurvive said:

Received a case status update today that they received my response to the RFE. On the RFE it says they will decid within 60 days. Does anyone have any experience how good they are about making a decision within those 60 days? 

My Vawa was approved 42 days after they received my response to their RFE, so I would say they're being pretty good about that timeline.

Hey guys!

I wanted to bring you a really good resource today for all of you who have your Prima Facie or Vawa approval.  On Page 6 of this PDF from the National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project,  it offers an indepth look at what public benefits you are eligible for and which ones have the 5 year bar that you have to abide by.  The one thing to keep note of is that only a handful of states provide VAWA recipients with Medicaid and SNAP benefits, you can find a detailed report about what each state offers on the  Dept. of Human and Health services website.

Hope this helps someone!

1 hour ago, Goyo said:

It is better if they can do it on the computer some handwrite are not that clear.  All of them need to be notarized so the immigration officer knows that those affidavits are legit. Also, make  sure they include their address and phone numbers. 

It's not required that they be notarized, however, it's always better to have them notarized.  None of mine were and they were still taken into account, but if I had to do it over I would definitely notarized them to be on the safe side. 

2 hours ago, MJM2001 said:

I've passed my 12 month VAWA processing point and now starting to get a little restless. From what you all remember or experienced, have many received RFE's after the 12 month mark? 

Mine took nearly 17 months for approval, only received 1 RFE around 15 months for Good Moral Character. (Just my state fingerprint background check).  

The simple answer is NO. 

Disclosure of any information relating to a petition filed by a battered alien is strictly prohibited by Federal Law. 

8 U.S. Code § 1367 (a)(A)(2):

(a)In general Except as provided in subsection (b), in no case may the Attorney General, or any other official or employee of the Department of Justice, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, or any other official or employee of the Department of Homeland Security or Department of State (including any bureau or agency of either of such Departments)—

• (1)make an adverse determination of admissibility or deportability of an alien under the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.] using information furnished solely by—
• (A) a spouse or parent who has battered the alien or subjected the alien to extreme cruelty,

(2) permit use by or disclosure to anyone (other than a sworn officer or employee of the Department, or bureau or agency thereof, for legitimate Department, bureau, or agency purposes) of any information which relates to an alien who is the beneficiary of an application for relief under paragraph (15)(T), (15)(U), or (51) of section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(T), (U), (51)] or section 240A(b)(2) of such Act [8 U.S.C. 1229b(b)(2)].

So this past week has been filled with back and forth conversations with both FAFSA and my state's Medicaid.   It all comes down to them trying to verify my "eligible non citizen" status using DHS's Systematic Alien Verification program, I've lost track of how many times I've had to explain to workers that a battered alien, eligible under Vawa WILL NOT SHOW UP in that system due to 8 U.S. Code § 1367, which is FEDERAL LAW prohibiting the disclosure. 

So just letting you all know that if you are trying to get public benefits and you keep being denied, DO NOT BACK DOWN! Most workers don't know their own state or federal policies, and if they start by telling you that you have to wait 5 years remember that YOU ARE EXEMPT from that requirement. 

1 hour ago, sunshine99 said:

Could any one with children facing or dealt with Divorce and child custody issues with pending VAWA. Please let me know. I am having trial on Divorce coming up and want to know how the family court treats a parent without any legal status and the rights.

Your immigration status should have no bearing on your divorce and custody.  If you have proof of abuse and a pending Vawa it may actually play to your favor when it comes to custody, a judge will more than likely give you custody of children if you have proof of abuse. 

Your AOS will remain pending until your i360 is approved, the current timeline for i360 approvals is 16-18 months or so from receipt date. Once your i360 is approved your AOS is transferred to your local office.

Join the VAWA part 10 thread.

4 hours ago, Teacher063 said:

rfe for i765

but ask eveidence battery, citizen, marriage certificate

Why would they ask for evidence of battery(abuse) for your I-765? 

@sandranj Can you clarify this?  When you don't submit your i485 with Vawa, you continue to renew your i765 under catergory c31 right? When you finally submit your i485, do you submit a new i765 under category c9, or do you wait until i485 is approved and then renew your i765 under category c9??

@iwillsurvive I'm curious too to see if anyone here has a timeframe for the EAD from time of Vawa approval, I keep being advised different timeframe. 

2 minutes ago, asimove said:

I have no idea What Category was that it was don by my lawyer, the reason I ask followup question in my post, because, the advice you receive here, is better

then the lawyers can give you with !000zz of  $ feeses, amazing people like IWILLSURVIVE, SANDRA VIVA and all, did you check with new tracking site introduce by VIVA, maybe your notice was missed in the mail, just to make sure, one more thing I learn here, they have no fixed rule regarding anything, but its always good to ask, you don't lose anything, ask politly 80% chance you will get it, like I never receive my prima facie, I recently asked them, they told me resion we didnt issue that, we didnt have your good moral certificate, see how simple was that, so 1st track, and then ask them, to proceed on your i-765, it must be a small glitch 

Yeah, I sent an expedite request over 2 weeks ago for my EAD and haven't received a response and there has been no updates on my EAD case number (I was expecting at least an update saying they received my correspondence.)

I did recently find out that apparently expedite requests won't be approved unless you already have biometrics done, so now I'm just waiting for my biometrics letter to get that done and resend my expedite request.  Still though, it's taking so long even just to get biometrics done. 

8 hours ago, iwillsurvive said:

I-765 takes a little longer than usual right now. Count 4-5 months from the receipt date. You have to wait. They will send you the card, you don’t have to do anything after biometrics other than wait. 

They are currently working on December 2017 I-765 receipt dates. 

Are we talking Receipt date if filed with the 485, or receipt date from the day your Vawa was approved if filed with Vawa only? (Either way, 4-5 months of MORE waiting kills me! lol.)

2 hours ago, asimove said:

Hi, everybody,

I submit my  I-765 Mar 14, and I did my Bio yesterday, possible anybody can tell me what will be next, how long it will take to process, after bio, they didn't

give me anything, will they submit online, by themselves, or I have to do anything, please let me know, thanks

My Vawa was approved March 5th and I still haven't received any notification about my EAD, not even a letter to do Biometrics.  What category did you file your i765 under? C31 or C9?

4 hours ago, SssMay said:

 

Hello everyone. I talked to my friend's friend who has been working in uscis. But I found his opinions are not completely correct or even misunderstood to VAWA application. I am applied vawa based on the mental abuse. Yes, I am a male. It is hard to have the physical abuse too me. I have the psychiatrist's report. I am under adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and long-term depressed mood. Every day I’ve been tormented.  I do psychotherapy every week. This is a difficult time in my life. But this officer's words make me confused. I just post what he said. And I hope you guys can give your opinion.

 

"I have read your scenario as instructed by your cousin. I have to conclusively say that you may not really eligible for adjustment of status on the basis of years I have been working at USCIS and US Navy for legal assistant. Sparse out the whole pieces into small sections, you said your I-765 is pending for 90 days without getting the final approval, which is actually the USCIS correction procedure because you did file the C09 application within one year since the first filing on April 2017 and did the same application within the same year while your employment authorization was still valid at the point. Additionally, Just because your marriage to a US citizen or national does not guarantee you the right for adjustment of status if your spouse does not wish to include you into the immigration package, although your US citizen spouse indeed petitioned for you in the past and withdrew the application shortly after the filing however before the case is interviewed by adjudicated USCIS officers.
Moreover, the I-360 application is based on the abusive spouse and victim spouse and you must do the legal research with all federal-level case law at law library to see how to properly define “abusive” under the federal level. Besides, you are obligated to get the police report if your spouse had ever once physically battered or assaulted you in the past, which is the only criterion, as I assume professionally, to the ground for abusive spousal victim. As our offices past filings, the only time I-360 could be granted is based on the fact that the couples have been married for 2 years after the I-485 is approved, however the US citizen does not help out with the I-751 application to remove the condition on the green card of the beneficiary, along with the fact that the US citizen filed divorce claim against the alien before 2 years was due. On this occasion, the beneficiary is eligible for I-360 because he/she already got the conditional green card, being checked for credibility of the DHS (I-130) and the the US spouse filing the divorce filing to the state court initially at the first place. Therefore, your situation is much less strong for this filing. Moreover, the fact that your spouse dismissal of your I-485 result in your invalidity of remaining is not considered as “abusive”. The USCIS receiving of your case and charging your fee does not mean it is going to give you any positive results as matter of fact.
What I am suggesting is you might consider divorce your spouse and find someone else who is able to help you through marriage for immigration purposes, or see if you are eligible for L1, refugee or asylum application just like other immigrants do as they firstly arrived at the United States. All in all, seek help from immigration attorney in your state rather than doing the application yourself. As I see, the applications you did are either incomplete or erroneous. ''

 

Well, I can't say for sure if this person does or doesn't work for USCIS, but I can for sure tell you that they are not very educated when it comes to the I-360. (AND their grammar is bad and the way they write/how they are using words comes off really strange. That's a red flag for me, I personally wouldn't trust whoever this person is.)

-First, you ARE NOT OBLIGATED & DO NOT HAVE to have a police report or arrest to prove abuse if you have other evidence.
- Having a police report/arrest is NOT the only "criterion" as he puts it, to file. 
-You do not need to research the definition of "abuse" at any federal law library, you can find what is considered "Abuse or extreme cruelty" as defined by USCIS specifically for VAWA online easily.
- You DO NOT have to be married for more than 2 years to file VAWA. (You do have to file within 2 years of being divorced though.)

- You DO NOT have to have a i485 approved for 2 years to file VAWA. 

- Having a conditional green card doesn't suddenly make you eligible for VAWA without meeting the criteria for VAWA. (just like not having one does not stop you from filing VAWA)

I don't know what supporting documents or affidavits you sent, and while keeping immigration benefits from you could be considered abuse, it depends on the situation.  If your spouse withdrew your application because of a divorce and you are claiming that as abuse... well I don't think that's actually grounds for abuse and he would be correct in telling you that you wouldn't qualify for VAWA if that is the only reason you filed VAWA. 
 

EDIT: I just re-read and saw that you are submitting mental evaluations and therapy for mental abuse.  A strong letter written by your therapist and going to several sessions can be quite strong evidence as well as a well written affidavit from you or family/friends.  I would take this person's advice with a grain of salt, they really don't seem to be very knowledgeable when it comes to VAWA.  If USCIS feels there isn't enough evidence they will send you an RFE and you will have a chance to submit more evidence. 

1 hour ago, Bm1789 said:

Did you send the letter after speaking to them? I can see new info regarding the expedite online under "case history", including a 'response' from them requesting evidence.

 

Nothing since I faxed that evidence, however.

No, my EAD is from VAWA so I can't get any information over the phone, I had to mail my request in. 

Follow the "VAWA, part 10" thread in this forum, as petitions get approved members usually post about it.  Right now we're seeing approvals for November and December 2016, so around 16-17 months from filing date.  (Though it may take longer if timeframes continue to increase as they've been doing.)

5 hours ago, Bm1789 said:

I did one through my Senator's office nearly 3 weeks ago now. Then I did one over the phone on Friday. They requested 'evidence of job offer' within a few hours - I thought I was hallucinating. I faxed it over immediately but, of course, there is no indication of whether it was received or not.

 

I sent a letter 2 weeks ago requesting my EAD to be expedited with all the proof I could gather but I haven't heard anything so far, and no updates to my case status online.  Do you know if they at least send you notification if they deny your request? 

1 minute ago, Viva said:

He said it’s for bonafide marriage. 

What evidence did you send in showing a good faith marriage?  We might be able to give you ideas. 

28 minutes ago, Double said:

Hello everyone.

 

I applied for VAWA in 2016 and was denied a year later in January 2017. I did not receive any deportation letter and i'm not in deportation proceeding due to my current visa status.

At the time, I hired an inefficient attorney that had his workers quitting on him reason, stuff getting mixed up and even when I was denied, I wasn't notified of the denial until after the 30 days passed so I didn't have enough time to gather additional documents to appeal the denial. Some documents were not included in my package like tax transcripts, enough photos, etc. He didn't even provide feedback on my declaration.

 

I didn't re-apply immediately because I was pretty much damaged and depressed as a person the whole time and was also seeing a psychotherapist. Can I re-apply a second time though its been over 2 years we've been together or last saw each other? Has anyone reapplied with more evidence after a denial and got their VAWA approved?

I am not 100% sure, but I think you can still file a motion to reopen/ reconsider your case after the 30 days have passed to file a motion to appeal but it depends on WHY you were denied.  If it was for lack of evidence, then I believe you can reopen. I know that to file Vawa it has to be within 2 years of divorcing your abuser,  I am not sure however if this applies to a second time filing. 

I think the best thing you can do is seek out a GOOD attorney to help you this time.  There had to have been RFE's before your denial, did you not get any request for evidence before they decided to deny?  

I loved reading through this thread, I've been discussing this very subject with a few others and we simply can't understand why they would think that such a policy change won't be challenged when it technically over reaches into the rights of a US citizen by proxy.  I know that this policy change won't affect me personally, since I was reading that the same exemptions that are in place now will continue to remain in place, but the kind of individual rights they are ignoring is deeply worrying. 
 

From what I've read, making a decision that the immigrant won't be a public charge should not ever be based on the activity, benefits, or actions of another person, regardless of how they are related.  You begin to do that and you start getting into the murky territory of punishing an individual for the actions of another individual and that's opening a giant can of legal worms.

I also did read that a large majority of employees themselves are not in favor of the proposed changes, citing that the morale has already declined with the current administration on top of the proposed new department of oversight that is meant to make sure employees themselves are not being too lenient/forgiving.  It's heartbreaking to read honestly. 

20 hours ago, Goldenvessel said:

Hmmm, that is usually not normal but it is possible they have just proceeded to review your case for approval. But It’s better to call them, make enquiries just to see what is happening.

@asimove Calling is a waste of time, you cannot get any information over the phone for anything related to VAWA due to strict privacy policies.  To make enquiries you have to write to them, do an e-request if the case is outside of processing timeframe, or contact your state senator to begin enquiring on your behalf. 

6 minutes ago, valentine4God said:

please do you have a sample some i can request an expedite on it thanks

You just write a letter to the Vermont Center, include a copy of your approved VAWA, and explain that you have a pending job offer and include a letter from your perspective employer explaining the job offer, start date, ect.  It's best if its on a letter with the company letterhead on it. 

I sent my request in for expedite last week, explained that I have a job available to me as soon as I can present EAD, sent copy of my approved petition, a copy of my bank account so show my dire financial situation and a copy of the blank employment agreement since it's through the state, so no job offer letter and no start date since it's a position available only to me, upon being authorized to work. 

I'll let you guys know if they accept it or not. 

5 minutes ago, iwillsurvive said:

The processing times website says 3-5 months. Someone just got theirs who applied in November. You can always request to expedite if you have a job offer with a start date. 

Do you know if when you send an expedite request, do they let you know if it's accepted or denied? 

57 minutes ago, digonyc said:

Thank you. Did you hear anything from them before the approval? RFE?

I did, I actually posted a super detailed timeline on page 10. 

I started bugging them in December with my senator, got my first RFE beginning of January. 

7 hours ago, digonyc said:

My case is going to be 17 MONTHS next week.  Does anyone know what is going on,whats to expect? No updates! 

I've Renew my EAD 2 months ago and so far i didnt hear anything about it! Please share you experience!

ThankYOU

That's how long it's taking, give or take.  Mine took almost 17 months before I received my approval.  My case was approved the first week of March but I didn't get any notification until 3 weeks later, there was no update to the online status either, so just keep waiting! Maybe it's been approved and they haven't sent out your notification yet!