Hello, I am new here but will attempt to explain as much of the situation as possible to provide a full picture and avoid any confusion.
I am the Canadian born son of a Canadian parent and US/Canadian duel national parent (I am not a citizen by birth nor did I acquire citizenship after birth). The Canadian (Alien) parent and me have both never held any immigrant status in the United States nor have ever overstayed any allowed stay time in the US. My parents were in a common law marriage in Canada. Both before and after I was born annual trips to the US were common, during many of those trips I witnessed battery of my Alien parent as well as cruelty towards me from the USC parent and in at least a couple cases I can recall battery against me as well. Below I have compiled a list of every incident I can confidently provide an affidavit for, at the time no police reports or medical reports were ever documented out of fear. Some of these incidents can also be corroborated by my Alien parent.
December 2007-2008? - USC parent slid car into snow bank after driving recklessly, witnessed Alien parent being punched by USC parent, witnessed from back seat (Pennsylvania)
March 2009 - USC parent abruptly left with travel documents, car and money to look for drugs (Florida)
- Forcibly yanked and pulled on aggressively in public to hurry me up by USC parent (Florida)
- While everyone else was out in town, USC parent, who was supposed to be watching me, fell asleep in bathroom and could not be woke up, no food on the property I could prepare myself (Florida)
Unknown month 2009-2010 - while on fishing trip with USC parent, fishing rod was forcibly taken from my hands and bashed against nearby log (Canada)
March 2010 - smacked in back of the head at checkout of publix in (Florida)
- abruptly left in similar manner to previous year with car and money taken to search for drug dealer (Florida)
- Similar to 2009 forcibly yanked and pulled on aggressively in public to hurry me up by USC parent (Florida)
March 2011 - Parents split up, me and Alien parent placed into protective custody by police (Canada)
Unknown month 2014-2015 - Multiple attempts of coercion related to a promise of citizenship in exchange for custody (Canada, during custody visit)
November 2018 - attempted coercion with promise of naturalization under CCA in exchange for USC parent to get full custody from Alien parent (North Carolina)
Unknown month 2020-2021 - Additional attempted coercion using potential naturalization, called Alien parent on phone asking what I should do (Canada, during custody visit)
Unknown month 2022 - USC parent ceases to pay child support earlier than obligated (Canada)
Unknown month 2022-2023? - Verbal threat relating to USC parent discovery of my possession of a credit card in my name (Canada, during visit)
Above are main standout incidents that I can recall confidently enough to provide an affidavit for, does not include the many verbal threats over the years that I cant recall as clearly, nor does it include any legal or police documents and proceedings. There is paperwork from police reports and law proceedings that I would have access to, however all of that would detail incidents in Canada, there is no paperwork or reports in the US. Up until 2011 I lived with the USC parent and Alien parent together exclusively, after 2011, a custody agreement was reached where I had visitation periods with the USC parent.
I currently live and work in Canada and do not hold any immigrant status in the US. The reason I did not file sooner was out of fear of any possible retaliation if the USC parent were to find out as even though they aren't as brazen with behavior in recent times, I imagine a petition like this would cause quite the violent reaction in the event they find out, but I am finally in a position where I believe I can safely file such a petition without the knowledge of the USC parent.
For those who want to know why I want to obtain permanent residence is simply because regardless of where I go, Canada or the US, the USC parent will be able to follow so safety is irrelevant, I'll simply have better prospects for a future in the US that I want to pursue.
From my research all of the incidents listed above from 2007-2023 would be considered either a form of extreme cruelty or battery as outlined by USCIS in Volume 3 Part D Chapter 2 of the Policy Manual, however only the incidents that occurred in the US would count, but am I incorrect in assuming that the Canadian incidents could be used to substantiate the claims of incidents in the US or would they just be disregarded altogether? Another problem I foresee is that I'm applying after turning 21, since I can reasonably show that there is a long track record of verbal and physical abuse is it conceivable that it would demonstrate that the abuse would play a factor into the delay in filing my petition? Also for the US incidents since only me and my Alien parent can provide affidavits, would that be considered non-credible evidence?
I have done my best to research VAWA to see if I am eligible but beyond the USCIS information I can't find a single similar case due to most cases discussed being spouses filing. So I wanted to seek a second opinion here.
