Vawa and Citizenship

[NYqer]

Greetings all,
I got my LPR through Vawa back in April 2003. I was reading online about applying for citizenship i came across some info stating i only have to wait 3years instead of 5years.
Could someone elighten this subject for me, i would really appreciate it.
Thank you all.
Amy

[brb2]

What is "Vawa"?

Greetings all,
I got my LPR through Vawa back in April 2003. I was reading online about applying for citizenship i came across some info stating i only have to wait 3years instead of 5years.
Could someone elighten this subject for me, i would really appreciate it.
Thank you all.
Amy

[Timmy123]

[sam_c]

Greetings all,
I got my LPR through Vawa back in April 2003. I was reading online about applying for citizenship i came across some info stating i only have to wait 3years instead of 5years.
Could someone elighten this subject for me, i would really appreciate it.
Thank you all.
Amy

You need to wait 5 years - but remember you can apply 3 months before that date. So if you became an LPR in 04/2003 you can apply in 01/2008.

Sam

[NYqer]

Thank you for your answer, but this is what i get from www.shusterman.com website:

Naturalization

LPRs through VAWA may naturalize in 3 years (no residence-with-spouse requirement)

i am confused.
Amy

[mpotturi]

Can someone get a GC for violence against women??? I am I missing something here?

[sam_c]

Can someone get a GC for violence against women??? I am I missing something here?

This is not an area I know all that much about so perhaps the OP can correct me if I'm wrong. But essentially the crux of this is as follows:

Normally a US citizen will file an I-130 on behalf of a spouse to get him/her LPR status thereby allowing him/her to continue living legally in the US until the adjustment of status is complete. But the control is in the hands of the petitioner (the USC spouse) and if he fails to file the petition the spouse will go out of status and become an illegal alien possibly subject to incarceration/deportation. Abusive husbands (or wives in very rare cases) can use this power to control and abuse their spouse threatening them that if they report to the authorities they themselves will suffer because they are illegally present in the US. The "Violence Against Women Act" seeks to remedy this by allowing an abused wife to file an I-130 on her own without requiring the knowledge or consent of the USC spouse. The law also covers abused children and husbands.

Sam

[Superstring]

Can someone get a GC for violence against women??? I am I missing something here?

Yes, this is relativelly an old thing. I'm not sure what is surprising here. This is good law! Actually, Congress has passed Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994.

VAWA does not cover anyone, anywhere in any circumstance. Generally, it is designed only for PROVEN cases of women (and in some cases parents, children etc.) who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty during the marriage. Overall, the following conditions must be met:

1) Women must be legally married to the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident batterer. (So, no illegals, non-GC foreign nationals, H1 visa holders etc.)

2) Generally, abuse must occur in US (oversees does not count with the exception of miltary personnel and similar)

3) Applicant must prove that she is a person of good moral character (similar to naturalization conditions and CIMT)

4) Marriage must be entered in "good faith", not for purpose of green card fraud

5) Abuse has to be substantial and documented.

Certainly, approved WAVA petitioners can remove conditions on their green card, too (if they have conditional green card). If they do not have residency, they can get it through this means.

For example, an H1 holder married US citizen, goes through severe abuse, and can prove points 1-5....she will be entitiled to self-petition for GC.

For more info, see:

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/battered.htm

P.S.: I'm not an attorney or an immigration expert. I'm just an ordinary guy, so this is not a legal advice.

[VivaLasVegas]

Amy,
you can file your N-400 2yrs and 9months after your GC approval (under Sec 319(a) of the INA). i.e. if you got your green card as the battered spouse of a United States Citizen.

[VivaLasVegas]

http://www.uscis.gov/lpBin/lpext.dll...htm#slb-act319

Sec. 319. [8 U.S.C. 1430]


(a) Any person whose spouse is a citizen of the United States, 1/ or any person who obtained status as a lawful permanent resident by reason of his or her status as a spouse or child of a United States citizen who battered him or her or subjected him or her to extreme cruelty, may be naturalized upon compliance with all the requirements of this title except the provisions of paragraph (1) of section 316(a) if such person immediately preceding the date of filing his application for naturalization has resided continuously, after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence, within the United States for at least three years, and during the three years immediately preceding the date of filing his application has been living in marital union with the citizen spouse 1/ (except in the case of a person who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a United States citizen spouse or parent), who has been a United States citizen during all of such period, and has been physically present in the United States for periods totaling at least half of that time and has resided within the State or the district of the Service in the United States in which the applicant filed his application for at least three months

[JohnnyCash]

Greetings all,
I got my LPR through Vawa back in April 2003. I was reading online about applying for citizenship i came across some info stating i only have to wait 3years instead of 5years.
Could someone elighten this subject for me, i would really appreciate it.
Thank you all.
Amy

An immigrant who obtained LPR based upon VAWA can apply for naturalization after 2 yrs and 9 months of obtaining LPR. It is advised to submit a copy of memo (given below) with your application because a lot of USCIS clerks or adjudication officers might not know about this as they don't deal with this kinds of cases on a daily basis.

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/lawsre...k/PolMem89.pdf

Good luck.

[mpotturi]

Can someone get a GC for violence against women??? I am I missing something here?

Yes, this is relativelly an old thing. I'm not sure what is surprising here. This is good law! Actually, Congress has passed Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994.

My bad. I did not see the name in the signature and thought the OP is a male. Anyway I learnt something (immigration law) new in this process. Thanks you all for educating me.

[Superstring]

My bad. I did not see the name in the signature and thought the OP is a male. Anyway I learnt something (immigration law) new in this process. Thanks you all for educating me.

No problem. Good luck!

P.S. This law can help males if they are vicim of domestic violence, too.