VAWA, Part 7

[thegodfather007 3]

Hi Sandra , i have been a silent reader and i must say your posts have always been very clear and informative , thank you! My issue is this , i got married to a U.S citizen upon entering the states with a K1 visa ,i filed for AOS , i765 and i485 which have both been pending for 6months till date! We started having problems that led to me filing vawa recently and few weeks later i got a Prima Facie in the mail. I have done biometrics when i filed AOS before the abuse and also my partner (still married but currently separated) never cancelled that petition.. I raised many service request online for my work authorization (filed before the abuse) to be approved but nothing happened , just recently (a month ago) i received letter in the mail that states , "in other to speed up processing we have transferred your i765 to our vermont office and that office now has jurisdiction over your case (it was previously being handled at NBC i believe). I want to know if this has anything to do with vawa petition and also please do you think i will get work permit (i really need to start working to support myself) before vawa approval as I've heard they only approve your other petitions after vawa approval but in my case i filed my i765 based on my marriage to a U.S citizen and the petition wasn't cancelled at all, even my i485 is still pending and i have not for once gotten anything like RFE from uscis which made me believe there's nothing wrong with the petion... I'm not even worried about my vawa petition or i485 as i wouldn't mind them taking their time to approve those but i really need my work authorization approved asap as its been 6months now! what can i do at this point ? please advise me thanks ...

JW

Edited June 22, 2016 by thegodfather007

[Sandra G. 5,047]

thegodfather007. Yes they transferred because of your VAWA, Set up an appointment with infopass and contact USCIS ombudsman as well.

https://cisomb.dhs.gov/oca/form7001.aspx

Edited June 22, 2016 by sandranj

[Mwil1978 0]

hi all,

i am new to this forum and i really need some help. After reading some of the post i know Sandra can be of help.

Sandra can i send you a PM?

Thanks.

[Sandra G. 5,047]

Mwill1978 you can send me a pm.

[thegodfather007 3]

thegodfather007. Yes they transferred because of your VAWA, Set up an appointment with infopass and contact USCIS ombudsman as well.

https://cisomb.dhs.gov/oca/form7001.aspx

Hi Sandra, thanks for the reply... I'm trying to do the infopass online but it kept saying there's currently no accommodation for my area etc, can i go ahead and still contact ombudsman? if yes , can i list all the petitions i have pending with uscis in the field that asked for it? Is it okay to release all information online to the ombudsman? thanks for your assistance!

JW

[Nyash89 0]

Hi Sandra....you' said I qualify for a sawa case....okay I don't know where to start from,i am not working,i know I need to see a psychologist,and as start my case,any attorney you can refer me to or if you can work on my case...I've written down in details all my forms of abuse including time and date and some recordings...thanks in advance. I am in. Boston

[Sandra G. 5,047]

thegodfather the USCIS ombudsman will answer you just about form I-485 and I-765, the Ombudsman will NOT ANSWER ANYTHING VAWA.You must fill out with all information asked in the form 7001.

[Sandra G. 5,047]

Niash 89 I told you if you have a diagnose of major depression os post-traumatic disorder due the abuse suffered then you have a VAWA case. You did not show me any psychological evaluation then I don't know if you have a VAWA case or not, and I said "after I read the evaluation we take from there.

If I believe you have a VAWA case I can review your affidavit and forms, but I will not sign or represent you ok, you can sign your forms.

Recordings are not accepted by USCIS.

[Nyash89 0]

Ok thank you so much

[sadness1 8]

Hello everyone, i got an RFE insted of a prima facie letter like most of you on here right, my question is, now that they receive my RFE package will they update on the website that they send me a prima facie letter? or it will just say that they received my RFE package?

[Sandra G. 5,047]

Sadness1 The USCIS website is no reliable.

[sadness1 8]

Thankx Sandra for your response, ill keep you and everyone posted then. God bless you!

[azalea3 28]

Hello All,

I'm new on here. I spent the last few days reviewing all the different parts of this thread. I want to share some of my story on here to see if any of you have any feedback/ ideas/ recommendations.

I am in the US on an H1-B visa since 2011. Prior to that, I was on an F-1 student visa. I met my USC husband in late 2011, and we got married in July 2013. There was some psychological and financial abuse in our marriage prior to the marriage which really escalated after we got married. He has been very derogatory towards me, very controlling as to where I go and who I see, he has alienated me from my friends, won't allow me to go see my sister who is my only relative in the US, does not pay any of the household expenses - I am the one who pays for rent, utilities, everything, he has 2 guns at home which I have asked him to remove but he doesn't (all the rest of the guns are at his parents' place - they are deceased, and he owns the place and uses it as a storage unit basically, so he has another place to securely store them, but he won't), he is physically aggressive towards me and pushes me around but is careful to not leave bruises, he sexually assaults me regularly. Finally, we have been married for 3 years in July, but he has repeatedly refused to file for a green card for me.

In December of last year, I consulted a local attorney who told me that I did not have enough grounds for VAWA application unless I have police records or hospital records. So, I gave up. In February of this year, I was really desparate and asked the HR at my workplace to apply for a green card for me. They do not apply for green card for their employees, but the HR lady who used to be a lawyer told me that the abuse I suffered is enough grounds for a VAWA application. So, I did more research and decided to apply.

I submitted my I-360 + I-485 to the VSC last Friday and they should receive it by today. Here is what I submitted:

1. Proof of USC spouse - birth certificate, copy of passport

2. Bonafides of marriage - marriage certificate, proof of annulment of his previous marriage, photos, lease, utility bills, joint bank accounts, shared car title, contracts of things related to our marriage (venue, photographer, etc.), wedding card, correspondence jointly addressed to us both etc.

3. Statements from myself (11 pages) and two friends my friend (6 pages) and his friend (5 pages) detailing the abuse they are aware of

4. Letter from my therapist. She is a social worker I have seen for 7 months. I started seeing her before I ever thought of VAWA. She is not VAWA-experienced because I was not looking at that point for someone who could help me with VAWA. So, her letter is fairly brief and not an in-depth psychological assessment. However, it does state how the abuse has impacted me.

5. Letter of support from advocate at the local Women's Shelter where I go to an intimate partner violence support group

6. Police clearance as proof of good moral character

Here are some of my questions:

(1) What sort of chance do I stand?

(2) What sort of documents are likely to be requested in an RFE? I want to prepare as soon as possible.

(3) I have an H1-B that is valid through next year. Since I applied for both I-360 and I-485 together, if my VAWA is denied, will I be placed in removal proceedings even though I have a valid work visa?

(4) I am planning to file for a divorce in the next month. I have read that this does not affect the VAWA, but I am still terrified.

(5) Should I be planning on meeting a different therapist to prepare for an RFE for a psych evaluation? I really love my therapist and don't want to move, but I will if I need to. I live in a small town, and I don't think there are any therapists here who have experience with VAWA psych evals. Any ideas on what I need to ask them/ guidelines for a strong psych eval?

(6) Anything else I am missing?

Please advice. Thanks in advance for your help.

Good luck to everyone on here.

[Sandra G. 5,047]

In case your AOS is denied and your H1B is still valid, considering you did not switch to EAD,you won't be placed in removal proceedings.

Without reading your psychological evaluation is difficult to know your chances to have your VAWA approved. I just saw 3 cases of mental abuse approved without a psychological evaluation, considering thousands of VAWA cases I handled.

Most common RFE is because the psychological evaluation does not mention details of the abuse. USCIS considers this kind of evaluation "generic" and they usually do not take into consideration a generic psychological evaluation.

You don't need a police report to file VAWA, but you need to have a GREAT psychological evaluation if you did not stay in a shelter for victims of DV.

The professional doesn't need to know or understand anything about VAWA. I had a few evaluations done by counselors and psychologists and they had no clue about VAWA, but their evaluations were great,and all cases were approved.

Edited June 28, 2016 by sandranj

[MIXHOYAMIX 1]

Signed the waiver for pressing the charges on my hudsband. He was arrested for DV. Now I am thinking about filing a VAWA.. would this waiver impacts on my chance to get my vawa approved?