VAWA, Part 6

[Sandra G. 5,052]

Angel sorry my bad,lol. The benefit submitting AOS now is that you can apply for a work permit along with your I485.I can't advise if you should submit the form I 485 now or later, because just your attorney knows all details about your case, and I believe she/he evaluated the risks before filing VAWA . If you feel your attorney is not doing justice for your VAWA case then you should try to find a new one.I can tell you what the Law States,but since you have an attorney I can't advise you ok.

Regarding your daughter for immigration purposes she is your derivative beneficiary,since your marriage took place before she turned 18.

Edited January 21, 2015 by sandranj

[Angel66 4]

Angel sorry my bad,lol. The benefit submitting AOS now is that you can apply for a work permit along with your I485.I can't advise if you should submit the form I 485 now or later, because just your attorney knows all details about your case, and I believe she/he evaluated the risks before filing VAWA . If you feel your attorney is not doing justice for your VAWA case then you should try to find a new one.I can tell you what the Law States,but since you have an attorney I can't advise you ok.

I appreciate that, this is what confuses me. I should be able to get advise but I notice here if you got an attorney no one wants to offer advise.

[Angel66 4]

I appreciate that, this is what confuses me. I should be able to get advise but I notice here if you got an attorney no one wants to offer advise.

I did say in the beginning that my attorney was only helping with the I-360 she will not be involved with any other applications I am making hence me asking for some advice. Thanks

[Angel66 4]

I did say in the beginning that my attorney was only helping with the I-360 she will not be involved with any other applications I am making hence me asking for some advice. Thanks

I get so frustrated Sandra by the system. I've put in an application for Medicaid, I've just called the DCF and they say that they are not able to verify my INS. How do I get over this hurdle? I asked my attorney and she has said in the past she knows nothing about benefits. So I contacted a Christian Charity and as soon as I mentioned I had an attorney they turned me away.

I noticed that the agencies do not know the VAWA process not even the USCIS. When I called to ask how I go about claiming the benefits they sent me to my local office and said I should ask for a letter. The Immigration officer said he was not allowed to discuss my case with me, so I'm still no further forward.

Now today the person at Medicaid is telling me to get a letter from USCIS.

[biankat 0]

biankat thanks my dear. You can file for divorce anytime you want.Once you do not know his whereabouts then you have to ask the Court to publish the divorce summons in the newspaper.

You can apply for Naturalization after 2.9 months of being a GC holder, if your husband is an American Citizen.The divorce will not change anything ok.

Thanks Sandra

[Sandra G. 5,052]

It's not that if you have a lawyer nobody wants to give an advise,in my case is about ethics,I should not make comments about other colleague opinion. If the lawyer gives a wrong information then I can comment,but I didnt see any wrong information given by your attorney. DEspite she wont handle your l485 she did not tell you to submit,she said for you not to submit now, and as I said before she has all details how strong or not your case I think you should follow what she said.

Regarding food stamp and medicaid usually immigration attorneys do not advise because is not our field.You can go to Medicaid and ask to speak with the supervisor,if it does not work then you should contact in your State some domestic violence advocate to help you getting medicaid.Once your VAWA is approved I can help you with the AOS if she is not representing you ok.

Edited January 22, 2015 by sandranj

[Sandra G. 5,052]

I meant to say "advice" LOL

[justiceseeker 1]

Sandranj,

Your answers are always of great help.I got my green card based on VAWA June 2014.What steps,preparations ,documents I need to collect and what is needed from me to avoid before I apply for immigration after 3 years?

Second I heard that many immigration officers are still confused regarding the 3 years rule in VAWA.Do u have special instructions of how to fill the application when time comes to let them know that the i am under the 3 years rule not the 5 years?Can u send me any memorandum as pdf file stating we are under the 3 years rule not the 5 years rule so I can attach with my application in order to have every thing ready?

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

[Sandra G. 5,052]

Justice seeker make sure you file tax return every year. I will post later the link about the 3years rule.

[Angel66 4]

It's not that if you have a lawyer nobody wants to give an advise,in my case is about ethics,I should not make comments about other colleague opinion. If the lawyer gives a wrong information then I can comment,but I didnt see any wrong information given by your attorney. DEspite she wont handle your l485 she did not tell you to submit,she said for you not to submit now, and as I said before she has all details how strong or not your case I think you should follow what she said.

Regarding food stamp and medicaid usually immigration attorneys do not advise because is not our field.You can go to Medicaid and ask to speak with the supervisor,if it does not work then you should contact in your State some domestic violence advocate to help you getting medicaid.Once your VAWA is approved I can help you with the AOS if she is not representing you ok.

Hi Sandranj, I truly understand what you are saying regarding ethics, I was talking in general. I tried to get help re:Medicaid and as soon as I said I had an attorney the agency refused to help me although this was something not being covered by my attorney. I have contacted everybody, various agencies re:Medicaid but no one seems to know or be able to assist. I spoke with the department who were processing my application yesterday and they told me they declined my application because they could not verify my INS. This is why I get confused, nothing is straight forward in this country.

My attorney cannot help me or direct me to who to contact to help with this situation, yet there is a charity that works with people doing VAWA but they will not help as I have an attorney

Thank you for your offer to help with AOS, is this not something I can do myself as I already had paperwork completed which attorney has along with all other documents and pictures?

[Villanelle 4,122]

Angel-

I rarely get in the middle of things but its obvious you are having a tremendous amount of difficulty with the process. As you gathered by now Sandra is an attny that does so much on here including graciously volunteering time on here assisting those in need. She can and does speak up when she sees someone being led down the wrong path by another attny or going down the wrong path alone. But her position is precocious because as she is not your attny she can not give you specific legal advice or it turns into a situation of her becoming your attny by doing so. The rules of practice attnys abide by are complicated.

I am not an attny, so I can lay things out for you in plain non legal English language and trust me if theres anything thats incorrect- Sandra will correct it. There are several other members in the thread/forum that do the same.

So your basic VAWA.

You have the option of filing the 360 or the 360+485 (+the work permit 765). So what to choose? How to choose? What is the 360? Well the 485 is the application to adjust status. It needs the support of the USC. If you are abused you dont have that support, so you file a special form (the 360) saying hey USCIS my spouse is an **** and wont support my adjustment, please let me adjust by myself. The USCIS reviews it and says yes (approved 360) or no (denied 360).

When you initially submit the 360 you get a prima facie. Its a basic tentative receipt level approval that says you met the initial intake qualifications but they have to go through all the evidence to make a determination. Doesnt mean your approved. Doesnt mean your denied. Just means on the surface you seem to be in the right place.

The USCIS allows you to submit the 360 with out any penalties. Meaning you can submit it and get denied and they wont place you in removal. The 485 form on the other hand has penalties. Get denied on that one and into removal you go. So people who feel they have a strong VAWA case may submit the forms together 360+485 because they dont feel they will be denied. People who feel theres a chance their 360 may be denied may not submit the 485 because if its denied they would go into removal by submitting the 485.

This is why Sandra stated if you had a previous 485- what was the status of it? If you were/are already denied and removal is hanging somewhere it makes no difference.

Also some people really really need to work. The only way to work is by submitting the 485 with the 765.

I find it odd that the attny is only going to help you with the 360 form. Your process would only be half complete. If its approved you would still need to file the 485 to get your GC. But if thats all the help they are willing to provide then so be it. Sandra has offered to assist you with walking you through filing the rest on your own once you have the 360 approval.

As for your problems with getting medicaid/food stamps etc. Every state works a little bit differently. Yes there is a general rule that they quoted you about the 5yr thing. Its basically lprs can not get benefits until 5 yrs of being a resident. However there are exceptions. Domestic violence for instance. You mentioned they couldnt verify your INS? What is that referring to? Insurance or INS the old acronym for USCIS?

The document they need to verify your eligibity for assistance programs is the prima facie you received. You need to bring that to the welfare office along with your ID documents and other pertinent documents. A lot of workers are not familiar with it or the policies. Ask to speak to a supervisor or they usually have someone with a title like 'domestic violence liaison'. They should be familiar with the policy manuals and know what a prima facie is and what it entitles you to. Your benefits will vary from what others on VJ report receiving because its a state to state issue on what you get and your own financial situation.

As for going to your local USCIS office... yes well... VAWA is confidential. Its processed through the VSC (Vermont service center) No one else is going to talk to you about your case besides them. And even then- its not like they are going to sit and chit chat on the phone with you lol. You dont even need to talk to them. You have the 'letter' you need already. The prima facie. If you lost it-- well... then we will address what to do.

Also you really do need to listen to Sandras advice about cutting all contact with the abuser. We could sit here and throw all kinds of statistics at you but I really dont think it would make any kind of difference sadly. Im hoping you will follow through and get some medical coverage and seek out therapy- which would be covered.

You need to... I want to say find your self worth but that doesnt seem quite right because apparently you do feel you have worth or you wouldnt have broken away in the first place. You need to embrace it. You need to grow it and realize how valuable you are. You have fight in you. Youve shown it here with the amount of determination youve used trying to get assistance. Now fight for yourself. Take the control back of your life and cut the bad from it. You deserve only good.

[carguy87 3]

Hello everyone, just wanted to say that I just got my permanent resident card in. I am super excited and glad that everything worked out a lot sooner then I had expected Once again thank you Sandra for all the help I received from you, don't think can ever thank you enough lol

[Sandra G. 5,052]

I am happy for you Caruguy.I know life must go on, but please do not vanish, stop sometimes here to say hi and to help others as well ok,and in 2.9 months apply for Naturalization ok.

[leilabird 18]

Congratulations Carguy!

Sandra, I still have not received the biometric appointment. Is it not abnormal? My I485 was transferred to "another office" back in Jan9. I don't know what office they are referring to. But yah, just wondered. Appreciated

[carguy87 3]

Yup, I hear ya Sandra thanks.

Thank you leilabird!