VAWA

[Willard 0]

Can Anyone tell me a little more about how VAWA is processed and what will happen to my spouse if I file against him?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Moved from Immigration News forum

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Can Anyone tell me a little more about how VAWA is processed and what will happen to my spouse if I file against him?

Your question is pretty vague. Are you the immigrant, and by "him" you are referring to your US citizen husband? Let's proceed on the assumption these are both true...

By self-petitioning under VAWA you are claiming that your husband abused you. USCIS doesn't take any action against your husband - that's beyond their jurisdiction. However, they do require that you prove the abuse actually happened. This usually requires police reports. If you don't report the abuse to the police, then your VAWA petition will probably be denied. If you do report it to the police, then he may be prosecuted and convicted of spousal abuse, whether or not you file a VAWA claim. In other words, the criminal accusation and the VAWA claim are separate processes, but the VAWA claim depends, to some degree, on the criminal accusation sticking.

What ultimately happens to your husband will depend on how the courts deal with the criminal case. He might receive a jail sentence or probation. He will end up with a criminal record for spousal abuse.

[crissy55 1]

Your question is pretty vague. Are you the immigrant, and by "him" you are referring to your US citizen husband? Let's proceed on the assumption these are both true...

By self-petitioning under VAWA you are claiming that your husband abused you. USCIS doesn't take any action against your husband - that's beyond their jurisdiction. However, they do require that you prove the abuse actually happened. This usually requires police reports. If you don't report the abuse to the police, then your VAWA petition will probably be denied. If you do report it to the police, then he may be prosecuted and convicted of spousal abuse, whether or not you file a VAWA claim. In other words, the criminal accusation and the VAWA claim are separate processes, but the VAWA claim depends, to some degree, on the criminal accusation sticking.

What ultimately happens to your husband will depend on how the courts deal with the criminal case. He might receive a jail sentence or probation. He will end up with a criminal record for spousal abuse.

All that JimVa wrote is true, would like to add that I did not have the police report but I instead had hospital reports from the injuries I sustained during the abuse. The physical was easier to document but I had also been seeing a psychologist so I attatched all the medical records.

Good luck.

Crissy