Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

Helping Immigrant Victims Access Federal and State Public Benefits 365
9. See 8 USC 1641(c). A battered immigrant in removal (deportation)
proceedings who provides evidence to the benefits agency that the
Immigration Court has granted her cancellation of removal or, if the
proceeding is still pending, has found her application for cancellation to
make out a prima facie case for relief, also satisfies the immigration related
requirements of the qualified immigrant classification.
10. Recently, largely in response to the MKB litigation, the New York Office of
Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) has issued a revised policy
and alien desk guide that set forth a complete list of the various
circumstances under which a battered immigrant is to be treated as a
“qualified immigrant” for benefits purposes. See OTDA Informational
Letter, Revised 06 INF-14, Battered Aliens Eligibility for Benefits, May 5,
2006 and OTDA Informational Letter, 06 INF-23, Alien Eligibility Desk
Aid, June 26, 2006, http://www.otda.state.ny.us/directives/2006/default.htm.
11. Where the battered immigrant provides a document that shows only that an
I-130 has been filed, the social services district is instructed to verify
through the SAVE system that the I-130 is still pending and has not been
denied. If the inquiry reveals that the I-130 has been denied, which is often
the case when the abuser spouse fails to file all the required documentation
in support of the petition, the applicant must return to the local district with
evidence that she has filed an I-360 self-petition in order to be treated as a
qualified immigrant. See Revised 06 INF-14, Section B.2.
12. These documents include:
(a) a K3 or K4 visa, which is issued to the spouse or child of a USC who is
awaiting the processing for his/her application for permanent residence (the
visa is usually attached to the immigrant’s passport);
(b) V1, V2 or V3 visas, which are issued to the spouse and derivative
children of an LPR who filed an I-130 on their behalf on or before
December of 2000;
(c) an I-94 Arrival/Departure record annotated K3, K4, V1, V2 or V3 (this
may also be stapled to the immigrant’s passport or is sometimes separate), or
(d) an employment authorization document (EAD) with the code (a)(9),
which signifies the holder was granted a K3/K4 visa, or (a)(15), which
signifies the holder was granted one of the V visas.