Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

The fundamental issues confronting immigrant victims of domestic violence
are, in some respects, not so much different from those of their Americanborn
counterparts as they are intensified. The commonly experienced feelings of
powerlessness, isolation, and fear of both the abuser and the authorities increase
exponentially when the victim has journeyed to the United States from another
country. Despite these underlying similarities, the immigration status of domestic
violence victims, and, in some cases, of their abusers, raises issues that require
the practitioner to understand the complicated remedies and potential pitfalls
specific to immigration law.
Although, with its contradictory or overlapping forms of relief, the American
immigration system may seem unnavigable, legal practitioners should take heart:
despite the declining availability of relief for most other categories of immigrants,
there are now more avenues to assist immigrant victims of domestic violence than
have ever existed in US history. Help from multiple sources will be necessary, but
absent extenuating factors such as criminal convictions or fraud (and even in those
cases, waivers may be available), a domestic violence victim’s carefully executed
application for immigration relief stands an excellent prospect for success.
Barriers to Protection Faced by Immigrant Women 1
Language
Representing Immigrant Victims
of Domestic Violence
by Lori L. Cohen
Perhaps nowhere does an immigrant woman’s vulnerability become as
apparent as her inability to pick up the phone and call for help. In a society
where multilingualism is actively discouraged and proposals abound for
establishing English as a “national language,” those individuals who lack the
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