Sexual aSSault LEGAL ADVOCACY MANUAL - Texas Association ...

VAWA Self-Petitions
For certain survivors of family violence or extreme
cruelty, there is an additional federal protection
that can be very helpful. Self-petitions under
the Violence Against Women Act can protect
noncitizen survivors who are or were married to
abusers who are U.S. citizens. A successful selfpetition
allows the survivor to remain in the U.S. as
a Legal Permanent Resident, without the assistance
of their abuser. The law also protects noncitizen
children of abusers.
NOTE: Sometimes the perpetrator of
family violence will be undocumented,
but VAWA only provides a remedy where
the perpetrator is a U.S. citizen or a Legal
Permanent Resident. If the perpetrator in
a family violence case is undocumented,
a U visa may be the appropriate remedy,
not a VAWA self-petition.
There are 4 main requirements a survivor must prove in order to win a self-petition case:
1. The survivor has one of 6 relationships with a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (“LPR”):
• The spouse or child of a U.S. citizen or LPR
• The spouse or child of a U.S. citizen or LPR who lost his or her immigration status within the
past two years because of domestic violence
• The former spouse of a U.S. citizen or LPR whose divorce took place in the past two years and
was related to domestic violence
• The spouse of a U.S. citizen or LPR who was a bigamist (and therefore they were never legally
married, but the survivor married in good faith)
• The spouse of a U.S. citizen who died within the past two years
• The parent of an adult US citizen son or daughter (over the age of 21)
2. The survivor and perpetrator have lived together and married in good faith (meaning they were
not married solely to obtain immigration status in the U.S.). They need not have resided together
in the U.S.
3. The perpetrator has subjected the survivor to “battery or extreme cruelty” (the abuse generally
does not have to have occurred in the U.S.).
4. The survivor has good moral character (based on criminal history)
Regardless of a survivor’s immigration status, an advocate may be the first person a survivor meets who
can provide meaningful guidance. Therefore, even though you cannot offer comprehensive advice about
immigration issues, you can be a huge help simply by having a general knowledge about the law and
making an appropriate referral.
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