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Help!! Can I apply for a vawa visa?

By lil mama in Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits

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lil mama Contributor

lil mama   7

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Canada
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Hello 

 

I am a canadian that married a usa citizen in October 2020. After the marriage I found he was cheating and suffered mental and physical abuse while with him. I left and went back to Canada and asked for a divorce. However due to covid we never lived together. I am wanting to apply for the vawa visa and don't know if I can as I was forced to leave to return to Canada as I had no place to go and felt at risk for my safety if I stayed in the usa. Has anyone applied for it while not in the usa and I did not live with SO during the marriage as this happened rite after the marriage.

 

Can someone please help me

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Boiler
Boiler

I feel like we are pulling teeth 

Crazy Cat
Crazy Cat

Something doesn't add up here.  You said you never lived together.  Where did the abuse take place?  That is extremely important.  

Scandi
Scandi

You were going to move to the US to be with your husband and that didn't work out, what's your reason for wanting to live in the US now? Were you just shopping for a greencard earlier? 

Lucky2Lucky Experienced

Lucky2Lucky   2,526

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Haiti
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57 minutes ago, lil mama said:

Hello 

 

I am a canadian that married a usa citizen in October 2020. After the marriage I found he was cheating and suffered mental and physical abuse while with him. I left and went back to Canada and asked for a divorce. However due to covid we never lived together. I am wanting to apply for the vawa visa and don't know if I can as I was forced to leave to return to Canada as I had no place to go and felt at risk for my safety if I stayed in the usa. Has anyone applied for it while not in the usa and I did not live with SO during the marriage as this happened rite after the marriage.

 

Can someone please help me

No, you must be in the US to file VAWA (unless you are military abroad which is not your case). You said you never lived together -did you get married abroad- enter US to “activate” your green card and then immediately go back to a Canada? I can’t follow your story and your VJ timeline shows you don’t have a greencard.

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Crazy Cat Grand Master

Crazy Cat   41,837

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
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Something doesn't add up here.  You said you never lived together.  Where did the abuse take place?  That is extremely important.  

"The US immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and a significant amount of money.  It is quite a journey!"

- Some old child of the 50's & 60's on his laptop 

 

Senior Master Sergeant, US Air Force- Retired (after 20+ years)- Missile Systems Maintenance & Titan 2 ICBM Launch Crew Duty (200+ Alert tours)

Registered Nurse- Retired- I practiced in the areas of Labor & Delivery, Home Health, Adolescent Psych, & Adult Psych.

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______________________________________

In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

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lil mama Contributor

lil mama   7

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Canada
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While I was there " visiting" each time 10 days I would stay and then return to Canada. As I was under the impression I could not live/move until visa was approved 

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mushroomspore Proficient

mushroomspore   3,044

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13 minutes ago, lil mama said:

While I was there " visiting" each time 10 days I would stay and then return to Canada. As I was under the impression I could not live/move until visa was approved 

You are correct that you can't move or live in the US until you have the correct visa. Visas are for entering the US under a specific status. There is no VAWA visa; there is only the VAWA self-petition, which can only be done for those already inside the US. So unfortunately you are not eligible. Did your spouse ever file for your spousal visa? 

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lil mama Contributor

lil mama   7

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Canada
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Yes I read that it can be changed into the vawa. I could not stay in the usa so had to return to Canada so could I write a letter and explain the circumstances?

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Scandi Mentor

Scandi   4,166

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You were going to move to the US to be with your husband and that didn't work out, what's your reason for wanting to live in the US now? Were you just shopping for a greencard earlier? 

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Scandi Mentor

Scandi   4,166

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1 minute ago, lil mama said:

No planning on a life together but thank you for the unnecessary comment. We had plans of opening a buisness together. 

But you said he abused you so you can't be with him, and now yet you want to live in the US even though you're back home already? What's your reason for wanting to live in the US when you can live just fine in Canada? 

K-1: 12-22-2015 - 09-07-2016

AP: 12-20-2016 - 04-07-2017

EAD: 01-18-2017 - 05-30-2017

AOS: 12-20-2016 - 07-26-2017

ROC: 04-22-2019 - 04-22-2020
Naturalization: 05-01-2020 - 03-16-2021

U.S. passport: 03-30-2021 - 05-08-2021

En livstid i krig. Göteborg killed it. Epic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBs3G1PvyfM&ab_channel=Sabaton

 

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Crazy Cat Grand Master

Crazy Cat   41,837

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
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2 minutes ago, lil mama said:

No planning on a life together but thank you for the unnecessary comment. We had plans of opening a buisness together. 

You now want to live in the US, correct?  

"The US immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and a significant amount of money.  It is quite a journey!"

- Some old child of the 50's & 60's on his laptop 

 

Senior Master Sergeant, US Air Force- Retired (after 20+ years)- Missile Systems Maintenance & Titan 2 ICBM Launch Crew Duty (200+ Alert tours)

Registered Nurse- Retired- I practiced in the areas of Labor & Delivery, Home Health, Adolescent Psych, & Adult Psych.

IT Professional- Retired- Web Site Design, Hardware Maintenance, Compound Pharmacy Software Trainer, On-site go live support, Database Manager, App Designer.

______________________________________

In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

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mushroomspore Proficient

mushroomspore   3,044

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Timeline
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11 minutes ago, lil mama said:

The plan was yes to live there. I returned back to Canada under the presumption I had to. 

Going back to Canada was definitely the smartest thing to do, given your circumstances. However you still did not answer the question of whether your spouse ever filed for your spousal visa. If the answer is no (which sounds like this is the case), then you currently have no way of immigrating to the US and the best course of action is file for divorce and move on. It's possible that in the future, you will have a new option of immigrating. But currently, if no spousal visa was even filed, then you do not 

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Boiler Grand Master

Boiler   45,468

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Wales
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Entering under an Immigrant Visa means VAWA not needed. Sounds like you will need to remove conditions with a divorce waiver which could be more complicated

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

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lil mama Contributor

lil mama   7

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Canada
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Posted (edited)

Yes spousal visa was filed I responded in previous comment asking if  it can be changed to vawa?

Edited by lil mama
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mushroomspore Proficient

mushroomspore   3,044

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26 minutes ago, lil mama said:

No planning on a life together but thank you for the unnecessary comment. We had plans of opening a buisness together. 

The question about why you want to move to the US when your abuser clearly scared you enough to make you flee the country is a legitimate one and one I wondered as well. Depending on your answer and situation, there may have been a detail(s) that could legally help you and allow us to give more tailored advice.

Just now, lil mama said:

Yes spousal visa was filed

How long ago?

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