USCIS cracking down on VAWA filing abuse

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is a law (or program) designed to allow certain aliens to file a self-petition for a green card, where they have a qualifying relationship to a US citizen (USC) or lawful permanent resident (LPR) and have been subjected to battery or extreme cruelty. The relationships typically involve spouses, children or parents of US citizens or lawful permanent residents who have been physically abused or subjected to extreme cruelty.

The typical VAWA filing had involved wives of US citizens or lawful permanent residents who were physically abused or subjected to extreme cruelty. (Note: eligibility from VAWA does not require the applicant to have suffered physical abuse. They could even be eligible as a result of sufficient mental cruelty, where the abuser might be constantly threatening them with deportation, holding their passport, isolating them and not letting them speak to family or friends, name-calling, etc.).

However, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) believes this program has been “abused,” with people making fraudulent filings, claiming abuse where none really existed. USCIS believes this is a new trick or scheme, where people file when not eligible just to get a temporary work permit or hope to fool USCIS into an approval.

USCIS notes that during the Biden administration, from 2020 to 2024, the overall number of VAWA self-petitions increased by approximately 360 percent. Male self-petitioners increased by 259 percent. There was also an astounding 2239 percent increase in parents submitting VAWA self-petitions. According to USCIS, “these trends are alarming and unprecedented… When unqualified aliens misuse the VAWA program, it causes significant processing delays, harming survivors with legitimate claims. We are prioritizing the integrity of the immigration process and the VAWA program as a resource for women and other alien survivors of abuse.”

In other words, people are filing VAWA claims when they are not eligible. This may be similar to past immigration programs, such as political asylum, where people filed bogus claims of persecution solely to get a work authorization, even though they were not entitled to the immigration benefit. In the same way, USCIS believes many people are filing VAWA claims when they were never really subjected to abuse or mental cruelty.

Accordingly, USCIS is revising its policy manual to spell out the requirements for a legitimate claim of abuse and the type of evidence needed, emphasizing that the self-petitioner must demonstrate that if they are claiming abuse from their spouse, they must also demonstrate that they “entered a good-faith marriage with the alleged abuser by providing primary evidence of the marital relationship.” In other words, if you’re going to file a VAWA claim against your spouse, it should not have been a fixed marriage (or a bigamous marriage).

My office has handled many successful VAWA claims, including claims by husbands against an abusive wife. Most of these cases did not involve physical violence but instead mental cruelty, demonstrating that the wife was a bruha. But it is important that before filing your claim, the abuse must truly reach the level specified in the statute and in the regulations. I had one consultation where a Filipina wanted to file a VAWA self-petition, and when I asked what the abuse was, she replied that her husband wanted her to cook his meals and be romantic. That’s it! If that were a legitimate VAWA claim, then practically all wives could make a similar claim.

The bottom line is there are many people who are truly being subjected to mental cruelty in their marriage and may possibly be eligible for a VAWA self-petition. But USCIS is cracking down and becoming more strict because of the number of bogus filings. Therefore, if you believe you are eligible, you should first consult with an attorney who can evaluate your situation, determine your eligibility and help prepare and package your case to greatly increase the chances of success.

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