25 Minutes of VAWA Advice You Won’t Find Anywhere Else!

What are my biggest tips for winning your vowel case this year? I am about to share the most important VAWA tips that I have shared over the past 12 months to help you win your case.

So, if you are thinking about filing for VAWA, planning on filing for VAWA, or are already in the process of filing for VAWA, you will not want to miss this. And as a bonus, I'll share with you how you might still be able to get legal status even if your VAWA gets denied

Tip #1

Let's talk about one of the most frequent questions that we are getting in our office right now because there is a common fear that somehow T visas, U visas, and VAWA's are going to go away and they're going to get targeted in Project 2025. Well, these are actually cases that are rooted in statute.

They're rooted in law, laws that Congress has passed, laws that Congress has come together and agreed upon through votes. And this is what VAWA is. VAWA is an actual law and the T visa is based upon actual law as is the U visa.

So there's a common fear that as soon as Trump gets into office in January that these things are going to get struck down, that there will be no more applications accepted, that the programs are going to go away, which is simply not true.

Even if it is true that he and his people want to damage the program it is not something that they can actually do easily because in order for them to eliminate the protections underneath VAWA, underneath the T visa and the U visa, they actually have to basically get rid of the law or amend the law.

Even making an amendment to a law, it requires a lot of effort, a lot of time, and it also requires consensus from both the Senate and the House of Representatives, right? They have to get together.

And as I've mentioned to you guys before, these are humanitarian programs that are widely popular because they protect people and there are not going to be a lot of Congresspeople who are going to say, "Yeah, I don't want to give protection to domestic violence victims." Also, keep in mind that these programs are attached to laws that are not just for immigration.

They're attached to broader programs protecting victims of trafficking and of domestic violence and it's not just for immigration purposes.

Tip #2

A lot of you are following me because you've heard me talk about marriage problems and the fact that if you are married to a United States citizen or to a green card holder, there is a way through a self petition called VAWA where you can show that you are suffering something called extreme cruelty or battery in your marriage and through this, you may be able to get a green card by yourself.

So, let's talk about what is extreme cruelty. The simplest way that you can think about it is this; If your US citizen or green card holding spouse does things that basically make you feel compelled to be a certain way or that you don't have a freedom of choice or freedom of will to do what you want, then that can overall show that there's a pattern of behavior that your US citizen spouse is doing to you that is exerting power and control over your actions and over your life.

So, what are some of these things?

Number one: If your spouse is really jealous all the time and they don't want you to go outside, they don't want you to hang out with your friends, they don't want you to dress a certain way, they start accusing you of looking at other women, looking at other men, wanting attention from others and they call you all the time to see where you are. They might get mad, they might start monitoring your movements.

When your spouse behaves this way, then that is naturally going to make you feel like, "Oh my God, I don't want to make them upset. So, I'm going to stop talking to my friends. I'm going to stop going outside. I'm going to go stop having a beer with the guys after work." That's one way that your spouse might be exerting power and control over your life.

Number two: If your spouse says things to you that deplete your self-confidence, where they might start out small, saying negative things about you or talking about your flaws. "Your English is not that good, so let me speak for you." But then it might escalate to them also cursing you out, humiliating you in front of others.

All of these are signs of verbal abuse, especially if your spouse is cursing you out, that is definitely verbal abuse.

Now, what about if your spouse tells you that you don't know what you're talking about? "You're crazy," "You're imagining things," "Why do you take things so seriously?" "You can't take a joke," even though what they've said really hurts you a lot. And then they dismiss it.

That is called minimizing, also denying, and then blaming you for your own reactions, right? The bottom line is that when you have one or two or three of these things, usually it's actually part of a pattern of a larger behavior. And this is really what may end up constituting what is called extreme cruelty. And even with these simple things, you may qualify to do VAWA by yourself.

And if other attorneys have told you or if you are underneath the impression that you cannot qualify for VAWA unless your spouse has laid a hand on you, that is simply incorrect. The law itself says that VAWA is approvable for people who have suffered either extreme cruelty or battery.

Now, what is battery?

Battery is going to be our more physical forms of abuse that can include anything from slapping, hitting, punching, kicking, to even if your spouse pressures you to have sex, or if you find out later that your spouse has had sex with somebody else, and now they're having unprotected sex with you and you might be exposed to other diseases and things like that. They don't have your consent to do that, right? And that can actually constitute battery as well.

So if you have gone through any of these situations, if you are undocumented, or if you are in the green card process, if you are looking to get your green card, you may qualify for VAWA.

Now, I also want to point out that for those of you out there who don't have a legal entry to the United States, VAWA is still a way for you to get your green card without leaving the U.S. And on top of that, we may be able to help you get your work permit and a travel document so you can actually travel to see the people that you love who you have not seen for years.

So now is the time to call an attorney who knows what they're doing and who believes in you. Give me, Moumita Rahman, a call at 212-248-7907.

Tip #3

What evidence do you need for a VAWA application?

Number one: At the bare minimum, if you are filing for VAWA based upon marriage, you need to show that you're married to a U.S. citizen or to a green card holder. So you definitely need to have at least your marriage certificate. If you have ever been married before, then you must show that your previous marriage was properly terminated. So you do need to have your divorce documents to show the integration that you yourself were free to enter into marriage with the U.S. citizen or with the green card holder.

Number two: You must show proof of shared residence

Number three: You must show proof of extreme cruelty or battery aka abuse whether it's physical abuse or mental abuse.

Lastly, you have to show that you were in a good faith marriage meaning that you were not married just for the only purpose of getting a green card. Well, how can I prove that I was in a good faith marriage? How can I prove that I suffered in my marriage because I don't have any evidence of that? I don't have any paperwork, I don't have any documentation.

But here is the secret; When you are filing for VAWA, if your affidavit has enough of the right details to show to immigration that you were in a real marriage, that you lived together and that you suffered abuse during your marriage, that is technically all the evidence that you need as an affidavit that is well written. Now when I say a well-written affidavit, I don't mean that it has to talk about every single thing that happened.

In fact, you don't want to overwhelm immigration with too much detail, but it has to be the right detail and it has to be organized the right way to help the immigration officer understand what you went through during your marriage.

Now that is the minimum evidence that you really, really need, but many of you don't want to file with just that, so you can try to get creative and you can think of anything else that can support any of the claims that were made in your affidavit.

You can get witness statements, you can get a psychological evaluation because pretty much anyone that has been in the situation of an abusive marriage and whether it's an emotionally abusive marriage or a physically abusive marriage, you will end up suffering some sort of anxiety or depression or PTSD.

You would be in the minority to not suffer that, so you can even get a psychological evaluation if you want to add to your case.

Tip #4

Does it matter for how long you have been married before you file your VAWA case? And if it does, for how long should you be married before you file for VAWA? The truth is that it really does not matter. You can get married today and file your case tomorrow.

However, here is what you need to keep in mind; The younger your marriage is and the quicker you file your case after getting married, the harder you have to work to show that your marriage was made in good faith.

Here is the simple definition of what a good faith marriage is for the purpose of immigration, and it is simply a marriage that was not made exclusively for the purpose of an immigration benefit. What that means is that as long as immigration benefit is not the only reason why you got married, it will be considered to be made in good faith. And what immigration will do is they will look at the totality of the circumstances.

Number one: They want to see what your intention was at getting married, what the circumstances around it, and also what sort of steps did you take to join your lives together emotionally, financially, physically, and any other way possible. They want to see how have you commingled your life together. So how do you do that?

How do you show to immigration that your marriage is real? Well, number one, you have to give a lot of documentary evidence such as any joint leases, joint tax returns, joint bank statements. These are the gold standard of proof in an immigration case. But what happens if you don't have them?

Well, here are some other ways that you can show a good faith marriage:

-You can show photographs

-You can get witness letters

-You can also think of anything else such as showing mail at the same place or putting each other down on doctor's forms

There are many, many ways to show that your marriage was made in good faith. The bottom line is that it really doesn't matter how long you've been married. What matters instead is how you give your evidence, what evidence you give, and if you have an interview, how you perform at your interview and how you answered your questions.

Tip #5

I wanted to ask you whether you are in a situation where you are married to a US citizen or to a green card holder, and you're having a really, really rough time in your marriage. You're having a really hard time, your spouse is always giving you all sorts of problems from maybe putting you down to not helping you file for your papers to threatening to divorce you all the time. However, you are hesitating in filing for VAWA because you still care about your spouse.

You feel like it might be a betrayal to file VAWA. You feel like somehow if you file for VAWA, it feels like you have failed in your marriage. And I want to let you know that when it comes to filing for VAWA, it does not mean that you are betraying your spouse. If you're filing for VAWA, it does not mean that they will be harmed, this is a completely confidential and private application.

The thing that I like to remind clients is that marriages are very complicated. Relationships are very complicated. We are not the sort of attorneys to tell you that you have to end your relationship in order to file for VAWA because you just don't. The law does not require that you separate from your spouse. The law does not require that you need to divorce your spouse in order to continue VAWA or to be successful in your VAWA application.

So sometimes I will let clients know that, "Look, just because you're filing for VAWA does not mean that you can't try to have a relationship with your spouse if you want to, because you may still have a lot of feelings for them." You may still want to stay together for the sake of the kids and et cetera. And if you want to do that, then we will support you in that.

However, we want to support you in getting your papers fixed. We want you to be safe from deportation. We want you to have a work permit to be able to travel and to not feel scared every single time your spouse says they want a divorce.

Tip #6

Can you still file for VAWA, a self-petition, if your original marriage case was already denied?

In other words, if you already tried to get a green card with your husband or with your wife, but that case got denied and you also suffered in your marriage and maybe that was actually one of the reasons why your case got denied then can you still find relief and get a green card by yourself by filing a self-petition?

Now let's go over what are some of the reasons why your marriage case may have gotten denied.

Number one: Some things that I have seen in marriage cases is where you might be married to a US citizen or to a green card holder who does not tell you the truth.

Sometimes you might be at the immigration interview and you find out that your spouse was actually married before or that they have filed for other people or that they've been arrested for something or you might even find out at your interview that your spouse has like this crazy debt history.

Now if you are finding out these things about your husband or about your wife at the time of your interview, the chances are pretty high that your spouse has lied to you on purpose in order to hide the truth from you so that you would enter into the marriage with them and it's basically a form of control.

Also when you find out these truths about your spouse at the interview and it comes as a surprise, it doesn't look good, right? And your case might get denied as a result.

Number two: We have situations where you and your spouse might show up at your green card interview but all of a sudden your spouse forgets the facts, right? They forget how you met, they don't remember what your mom's name is, they don't remember what your birthday is.

When your spouse does things like that, that is usually a sabotage on your immigration case and if you get denied as a result, that sabotage also is a form of emotional abuse. It is a manipulative tactic and it can form the basis sometimes of us having a successful VAWA case.

Number three: Your green card case may have already been denied by immigration is because your spouse won't give you documents to respond to a request for evidence that they need to help you with.

Sometimes it is for your husband or for your wife's tax documents or for something else and they don't give it to you or it causes you to miss your deadline again, you know, like why would they do that? Sometimes it is because they're trying to harm your chances of getting approved.

Number four: You might get denied on your original marriage case is if your spouse refuses to show up to the interview itself. Now, when your spouse does not show up to the interview, even if you yourself show up to the interview, this is going to pretty much automatically cause you to get denied.

Going back to my original question, can you still file a self petition even if your original marriage case got denied?

And the answer is yes, usually because what I have seen through my experience on these cases is that usually one of the core reasons why your case might get denied in the first place is because of the bad behavior of your spouse.

So where that is true, you do have the power to take that control back and to take matters into your own hand. And you may be able to do that just by filing a self petition.

Tip #7

"I have seen that by law, USCIS cannot accept any input from the abuser denying that abuse ever happened or even worse than the marriage wasn't bona fide, is that true?"

So here's the thing, a lot of people are concerned that if they file for a valid, their husband or their wife is going to try to sabotage their case by writing to immigration that this marriage is fake. They only married me for a green card, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. This is a classic sabotaging technique that a lot of people do to try to harm your case.

And when you file for a regular green card case, and yes, it can definitely harm your case, I have had cases that I've had to help bring back from a denial where your spouse tries to sabotage and we were able to save it later, but that was the regular marriage case. So if you're filing for just the regular adjustment to status, I-130, I-485 combination, that will definitely affect your case.

However, when you file for VAWA, if your spouse tries the same thing by law, immigration is not allowed to use that sort of information against you. Moreover, they are trained to understand that that sort of information, that sort of tactic is a classic sign of abuse.

If that actually happens in your immigration case, when you file for VAWA, I would just use that as proof that look at what this person is trying to do. Instead of just letting them go, instead of letting my client break up with them or divorce, it shows that they're actively trying to sabotage their case.

Tip #8

If you have a two-year conditional residency card, but your card is expired, you're no longer with your spouse, you've gotten separated, or you even got divorced, then you may need to do a waiver of the I-751 joint filing requirement. And number one, there's a waiver for divorce.

So if you and your spouse got divorced, then you can ask for a filing waiver due to termination of the marriage, but you have to give lots and lots of evidence of your good faith marriage. So lots of joint documents, the USCIS loves to see tax returns and bank account statements, joint statements of assets and liabilities. They consider that to be the highest level of proof.

However, the majority of you out there are not going to have these things because your spouse may have been controlling everything that was happening in the house and not giving you access to the documents, not putting your name on bills.

What happens if your two-year conditional card has expired and you are not with your spouse and your spouse was refusing to put you in the documentation?

Number one: When your spouse refuses to do joint filings with you, that is usually a sign that they are not cooperating with you on your case and they're kind of holding it over your head.

They don't really want you to advance in your immigration case. They're trying to make your life difficult. And I bet you 9 times out of 10 that there are many other things that are happening in your relationship. And when these things happen and you haven't expired to your conditional residency card, then you can actually file for something called an I-751 waiver for extreme cruelty or battery.

This is going to help you explain why you don't have that evidence. It's going to help you explain why you're not filing together with your spouse. And it's going to help you get your 10-year green card and also qualify for citizenship within three years instead of waiting for five. You can apply for this waiver even if your conditional residency card expired years and years ago. Even if you lost your card as long as you had that card, there is no deadline to file for the waiver.

Tip #9

Can VAWA help protect your child who may have also suffered as a result of the marriage that you were in? The answer is yes.

It can help them and there are a few important considerations to keep in mind. One thing that we want to keep in mind is the age of your child. How old are they? If they are under 21, then they can be included as something called a derivative applicant on your VAWA application. And depending on whether your spouse is a citizen or a green card holder, we may even be able to file the I-485s at the same time.

Next, your child does not necessarily need to have suffered directly at the hands of your spouse. It is not a requirement for them to get derivative VAWA status.

However, if your child did actually suffer through the marriage, if your spouse ended up abusing them emotionally or physically, then your child themselves may actually be eligible to file for a VAWA by themselves and they may not actually need to be derivative.

But what if your child has already passed the age of 21? Is it too late or can they file for VAWA?

There is actually an age exception where if your child is still underneath 25 years old and the abuse that they suffered was part of the reason why a VAWA application was not filed by them prior to, then they may actually be still eligible to file for a VAWA by themselves.

So this is very important for you to know, especially if you have children and you know, many people may think that your child needs to have been living in the same place as you and your spouse. And the answer is that that is not actually necessary.

If your child is under 21, but still outside the US and they were actually never here, they too may still be able to get derivative status. However, until your entire case gets approved, they would not have their process done at the consulate.

Tip #10

What can you do if you have a US citizen's son or daughter that is 21 years old, but they do not want to sponsor you for a green card?

Please listen up because you may have an option to file a green card by yourself and it would not require you to leave the US for 10 years like some other people may have told you.

If you are a parent and you are fortunate enough to have a adult US citizen child, however, they're always saying things to you like, "You're just an immigrant, you're illegal." "Why did you come to this country if you couldn't have legal status?"

If they basically put you down for you not having legal status and they don't treat you well, they are super disrespectful to you and they call you names, they scream at you, they don't want to listen to you. Have you had your kids even threaten to call police on you when they're mad at you? Have you had your kids threatened to call immigration on you?

Do they expect you to clean up after them all the time? They expect you to just take care of everything for them, cook for them, whatever they want, get mad at you if you haven't cooked the food that they want.

These are those sorts of behaviors that if your adult US citizen child is doing towards you, then it may mean that you may qualify to apply for an application called VAWA and apply for a green card by yourself. Not enough people are aware of this option to file for VAWA.

Many people think that, "Oh, my son or daughter, they have to hit me—they have to physically hurt me. I have to call police on them and only that way I'll be able to get approved." And that's simply not true. Your child doesn't even need to lay a hand on you.

But if they're doing these things to you, you know, these are actually considered to be emotionally abusive tactics and they can help you get a green card. And the good news is that even if you came to the country illegally, you can still qualify for this and you may still be able to get a green card without leaving the US. Even more good news is that you can also usually apply for a work permit through this and get that in about 8 to 10 months.

The whole case takes about three and a half years, usually for the green card. So don't delay, give us a call at 212-248-7907.

Many people are afraid to file for VAWA as a parent because they're afraid that it's going to harm the child. They feel that as though they don't love their child if they do this, which is simply not true. Two things can be true at the same time. You can love your child, yet they can hurt you a lot. And if they're hurting you a lot and you are without legal status, this is definitely a case to explore. It's not going to be on any public record for your child. It won't affect them, it won't affect their ability to do immigration cases for others in the future either.

BONUS: What if VAWA is Denied?

What can you do if you have filed for VAWA and your VAWA case hasn't denied?

This is something that I really hope that none of you ever have to deal with. I hope that if you file for VAWA, you get approved in the first place. But if you get denied for your VAWA case, what are your options and do you have any further recourse? There are three things that might be a way.

First of all, if you get denied for your VAWA case and you have been divorced from your US citizen spouse, then you may be able to actually file VAWA a second time unless you have been divorced from your spouse for more than two years. A prior denial doesn't mean that you necessarily can't file again.

However, if you have already gotten divorced from your spouse and it's been more than two years from the date of that divorce, then you may not be able to file a second time.

However, whether you're still married to your spouse or divorced, the second option that you may have is to appeal your denial because a lot of times they deny your case because of an incorrect application of law. It is really important that if you get a request for evidence on your VAWA case, you need to hit them hard. You need to challenge their assertions that you don't qualify.

You have to show to the US government that you are eligible because I would say that seven out of 10 requests for evidence that we see is because the immigration officer is incorrectly saying that the client does not qualify.

Number one: They could be asking for documents that are not required.

Number two: They may also be applying the wrong standard of evidence.

That is so important that if the immigration officer is saying something wrong, you need to have a lawyer that knows how to fight back. Even if it gets denied, then you may be able to appeal or you may be able to file a second time.

The third option is if your VAWA case gets denied, then let's look to see if you might qualify for something else like a T visa instead. Now, a lot of people who are in a relationship with somebody who is abusive is also being forced to work. If you are in a marriage and your spouse forces you to cook and clean and to serve them and to go to work and to turn over your wages, then that can be the basis of a T visa as well.

So even if your VAWA case gets denied and you no longer qualify to do VAWA because you've been divorced for more than two years, then you may be able to do a T visa.

And the best thing to do is to call us at 212-248-7907. If you want even more tips on how to file a successful VAWA case, which you will not find anywhere else, watch my other video, 12 VAWA Secrets That Other Lawyers Will Not Tell You. In it, I'll reveal some of the more common mistakes that other lawyers make when preparing your VAWA case, along with insider secrets that they refuse to share.

I'll include a link to that video above, so click to watch next, and I'll see you there!