Procedures and the Requirements to Apply VAWA Self Petition
How to apply: One has to file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status to apply for a Green Card without leaving the country. One must have an approved Form I-360 in order to qualify for a Green Card. If a visa is immediately available to them, they do not have to wait until your Form I-360 is approved to file Form I-485. A VAWA self-petitioner seeking to adjust status as an immediate relative, may file Form I-485 at any time because visas are always immediately available for immediate relatives. A VAWA self-petitioner seeking to adjust under a family-based preference category may need to wait for a visa to become available. If a visa is immediately available, you may file your Form I-485: Together (“concurrently”) with your Form I-360; While your Form I-360 is pending; or After your Form I-360 is approved (and remains valid). If there is already a pending Form I-485 based on an approved Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative that the abusive family member filed, one may request to convert Form I-485 so that it is based on VAWA self-petition. To make this request, one must notify the USCIS field office adjudicating the pending Form I-485 that has been filed a VAWA self-petition or that one will do so within 30 days. One should also provide the USCIS field office with a safe address where they can mail all future correspondence to you. If one does not submit evidence that you filed a VAWA self-petition within 30 days of requesting to convert your Form I-485, USCIS may make a decision on your pending application based on the original Form I-130 filed by the abusive family member. Otherwise, if USCIS approves your VAWA self-petition, your application to adjust status will be based on the VAWA self-petition instead of the original Form I-130. While begining the process of filing for U.S. residence under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), one must not only fill out and submit a self-petition on Form I-360 to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), but also submit evidence showing that s/he meets the VAWA eligibility requirements and qualifies for relief. Evidence to Include With USCIS Form I-360 A self-petitioning spouse must satisfy seven requirements to establish eligibility for a VAWA self-petition. 1. Relationship to the abuser: Generally, self-petitioning spouses can demonstrate the existence of a marital relationship with a valid marriage certificate. A self-petitioning child must prove that s/he is the natural child, stepchild, or adopted child of a citizen or lawful permanent resident. A self-petitioning parent must prove a parental relationship to their U.S. citizen son or daughter. If the self-petitioner is currently not married to the abuser by reason of the abuser’s bigamy, death, or divorce, the self-petitioner may still qualify if she can prove that: She believed that she has legally married the abuser, but the marriage was invalid due to her abuser’s bigamy. She was the spouse of a U.S. citizen who died within the past two years She was divorced from