The #1 Thing USCIS Looks For In Your VAWA Case!

What is the number one thing that USCIS looks for in your VAWA case?

My name is Moumita Rahman, and in my 14 years as an immigration attorney, I have filed thousands of VAWA applications and I have had a pretty good idea of what USCIS is looking for in a successful VAWA application. And on the flip side, I have also seen many people who want to get approved for VAWA, not get approved, and I have seen the reasons why.

So today I'm going to explain the number one thing that you can use to get your VAWA case approved without any other evidence.

And as an additional bonus, I will share the number two thing that you can do to increase the chances for you to win your VAWA case, and it is something that everybody has access to.

#1 Thing USCIS Looks For

So what is the number one thing that USCIS is looking for in your VAWA case?

Everyone applying for VAWA has experienced some sort of abuse, but not everyone will get their VAWA case approved.

In fact, even if two different people experienced exactly the same sort of treatments in their marriage and filed for VAWA, it is very possible for one person to get approved while the other person does not and gets a denial, despite their situation being more or less the same.

So why does that happen?

It is usually because one person only describes the abuse in smaller detail, while the other person has actually shown a credible pattern of abuse suffered throughout their marriage. And that pattern is more of what USCIS is looking for. They want to see the gradual escalation of abuse over time. Keep in mind that abuse happens on a scale.

It can start out with emotional, and then it can lead to the more serious types of abuse involving physical and or sexual violence. It is possible to get these things approved through just your affidavit, which is also sometimes called your personal statement or declaration.

And as I have mentioned before, I have been able to get VAWA cases approved with only my client's declaration. We have not had to use any police reports, medical reports, or even psychological evaluations to prove what the client has gone through.

And that is how I know that this is the number one thing that USCIS is looking for, a credible detailed description of the abuse that has been suffered with some focus on the gradual escalation of what has happened. This is how you show a pattern of abuse in your affidavit.

How Do You Show A Pattern Of Abuse?

So now that we know that USCIS is looking for patterns of abuse, how can you demonstrate it? And what does it actually look like?

The special immigration officers that are trained to decide VAWA cases have special knowledge and insight into looking for the nuances that can help show patterns of domestic abuse. That means they know how to look for certain details of how abusive relationships work, patterns of escalation, patterns of reconciliation, and other items that can help prove a good case.

Some examples of patterns found in abusive relationships include:

- A cycle of abuse involving increasing and escalating tension, which leads up to a serious incident followed by reconciliation and a calmer period of time where everything seems well.

- A gradual escalation of violence that gets worse over time, consistent and repetitive abusive behavior that can rear its head in many small ways.

- Different sorts of abusive tactics, including psychological manipulation, isolation, and other tactics meant to harm your self-esteem.

By including such details in your affidavit, an immigration officer is going to be able to easily discern that you have a credible VAWA application. However, the problem is, is that many times the things that people go through, they do not themselves consider to be abuse or they're unable to recognize it for what it is.

It's not uncommon within certain cultures or societies for a certain behavior to be considered normal or for someone to be gaslit into believing that the behaviors of their partner are actually their own fault or something that they deserved.

So I would like to share with you some signs that may help you understand whether or not your relationship has been abusive, and these are some of the details that you should include in your affidavit. Examples include:

- Your spouse swearing at you

- Telling you to go back to your country

- Telling you that you do not look good or telling you that you need to lose weight or look a certain way

- Humiliating you in front of others, or even behind closed doors

- Controlling how you spend your money

- Trying to isolate you from your friends or family

- Monitoring your phone, email, and any other communications with persons outside of the marriage

- Accusing you of flirting or cheating on them

- Telling you how to dress

- Dragging their feet when adjusting your status for a green card

- Bringing up your immigration status as a means to make you afraid

- Threatening to divorce you

- Telling you that no one will believe you if you report them because they're a US citizen

These are just a few of the types of behavior that can qualify as abuse in your VAWA application. And if you have experienced any of these, then you should absolutely include them in your personal affidavit. Even if you did not recognize it as abuse at that time, or even if you are having a hard time coming to terms with how your spouse treated you.

I recommend putting all of these into as much of a chronological narrative as possible to help make things easier to understand and also to help show that gradual escalation of psychological, emotional, and physical abuse over time. And of course, if you're still living with your spouse, be sure to include examples of ongoing abuse.

When you write these things down, write it with as much detail as you can think of, including dates and details about the effect of the abuse on you. This is important because especially if you do not show how the abuse has affected you, then it is harder to demonstrate credibility, and this could result in a repulsive for additional evidence.

Also don't just stop with the abuse.

Include other things such as:

- What would tend to make your spouse angry at you

- How you would react to such abuse or how their reactions made you behave

- How their reactions made you feel

- How your behavior changed as a result of this abuse

- The physical and emotional impact of the abuse on you over time

These help paint the picture that immigration officers are looking for when they decide to approve or deny your case.

BONUS: The #2 Thing USCIS Looks For

Now, as promised, the number two thing that can help you get your case approved besides a excellent detailed affidavit is a psychological evaluation from a licensed psychologist. This is something that is available to anyone and it can give an enormous amount of credibility to your VAWA claim.

But in order for your psychological evaluation to be effective, you will want to make sure that it includes a detailed assessment of the mental and emotional impact of the abuse, any symptoms of trauma, depression, anxiety, or other physical symptoms resulting from the abuse and expert opinion on how the abuse has affected your daily life and functioning and confirmation of your claims of abuse through a psychological analysis.

This creates an objective evidence that can help bolster your VAWA claim.

When working with my office, we maintain a network of professional psychologists for our VAWA cases who have experience in writing evaluations tailored towards VAWA applications. We make sure that their evaluations include the details that are necessary for immigration. And in addition, the most important part of our process for VAWA cases is the detailed interview process and affidavit writing process we take our clients through.

Our detailed interviews help our clients demonstrate the pattern of abuse that they have experienced in their marriages.

We also cover important details like your background, your marriage, your good moral character, any criminal history you might have, and your lack of supporting evidence, if any. We are by the sides of our clients through every step of the way, guiding them through every critical moment.

So, if you would like my help on your VAWA case, please call us for a case evaluation at 212-248-7907. We are based in New York and we help clients all over the US. So no matter what state you live in, feel free to contact us.

And if you would like more details about how to prepare a winning VAWA case, be sure to watch my other video, my ultimate guide to winning your VAWA case and in it, I take you step-by-step through the VAWA requirements and explain how you should try to satisfy these elements.

I'll include a link to that video here.

So click to watch it next and I'll see you there.