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Article Surfing ArchiveRecognizing 'Abuse' May Be Key Step for Many Immigrants Seeking Green Cards - Articles SurfingThe Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), passed into law in 1994 and amended in 2001, provides hope for immigrant domestic violence survivors. An abused immigrant who is married to a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident or who divorced her abuser in the past two years may now petition on her own for an immigrant visa and green card application, without the abuser's knowledge or consent. In this confidential process, CIS (formerly called 'INS') agents cannot legally contact the abuser and tell the abusive spouse anything of the abused immigrant's attempts to obtain a green card under VAWA. The process can often be completed within a year for those married to U.S. citizens. This process also provides renewed work authorization to lawful permanent residents who usually face a longer waiting period due to visa number backlogs. Further, there is no appearance in front of a judge required (the process is paper driven) by the immigrant spouse and s/he may leave her abuser at any time, without harm to her immigration status. So, given these benefits, why do so many immigrants in such abusive marriages not file for their permanent residency under VAWA? There are two main reasons. For one, many do not know of VAWA's protections for abused immigrants and secondly, most do not recognize that what they have experienced or are still facing can be considered abuse or 'extreme cruelty' under U.S. immigration law. A finding of 'extreme cruelty' (abuse under immigration law) is based on the emotional, psychological, financial, and/or physical abuse that an immigrant experiences during his or her marriage. The immigrant must not only prove to CIS that such abuse happened as best s/he is able but must also indicate how this abuse has affected the immigrant. What one immigrant may consider abusive (i.e., derogatory put-downs) may not be considered abusive to another immigrant or person, depending on their culture, upbringing, background, or life experiences. The immigrant must explain to CIS why their spouse's actions affect her so significantly and subjectively, and thus, why CIS should consider those actions, taken in their totality (i.e, a pattern can be shown instead of one or two extremely abusive actions) should be considered 'extreme cruelty.' For example, in many cases, a pattern of purely psychological abuse may be more terrifying and damaging to an immigrant's emotional and physical well-being than physical abuse. It is important to point out that an immigrant does not have to indicate that she experienced physical abuse to receive an approved VAWA case. The following lists some common examples of behavior that may be considered 'abuse' under U.S. immigration law: Any type of Physical abuse, which also includes:
Psychological/Emotional Abuse may include:
Financial Abuse may include:
Many times, an immigrant who seeks legal assistance because of abuse does not mention psychological or financial abuse because she fears that she will not know how to prove it. Physical abuse usually can be documented with photos, police reports, court transcripts, and restraining orders, but admittedly, psychological abuse is more difficult to demonstrate. It still can be proven, though, through evidence including detailed affidavits of witnesses, hospital records and counseling reports. Financial abuse may also be proven through receipts, checking account statements, affidavits of witnesses, and other types of documentation. Its imperative for any immigrant in an abusive marriage to seek assistance from an attorney, to brain-storm with the attorney about what kinds of evidence and witnesses will be available, and more than anything, to know her options.
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