VAWA Citizenship?

M

memo

Registered Users (C)
Hi y'all.
I know that battered women who got their green card thru VAWA can apply for citizenship 3 years after getting their green card. Does anybody know the rules about the children of such women who got their green card as a dependent to their mother when the mother got the green card? Especially what if the child was under 21 when got the green card and is now older than 21?
 
Jackolantern said:
However, the wording of the memo apparently requires the child to actually have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by the USC in order to qualify; it may not be enough to have obtained the green card by being the child of the battered noncitizen spouse.
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Exactly. The wording of the memo is fairly ambiguous and I think the OP needs to seek the advice of an immigration lawyer before proceeding.

My understanding is that the most standard way of invoking VAWA at the GC stage is through filing form I-360, http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-360.pdf
Item J in part 2 of the form specifies that it can be filed directly by a "Self-Petitioning Child of Abusive U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident". So it may well be that the naturalization benefit the OP is asking about is only available if the child was the primary (rather than a derivative) beneficiary of VAWA at the GC stage.
 
sorry for the ambiguity guys. The kid already has the green card as the dependent of her mother who got the green card thru VAWA. So, basically mother (battered woman) and daughter (dependent) both got the GC thru VAWA. now the mother can apply for citizenship in 3 years after her GC was issued. The daughter is 22. Can she apply at the same time as her mother or should she wait for 5 years?
 
memo said:
sorry for the ambiguity guys. The kid already has the green card as the dependent of her mother who got the green card thru VAWA. So, basically mother (battered woman) and daughter (dependent) both got the GC thru VAWA. now the mother can apply for citizenship in 3 years after her GC was issued. The daughter is 22. Can she apply at the same time as her mother or should she wait for 5 years?
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You need to talk to an immigration lawyer (maybe even more than one) to find out the answer to your question.

This is a fairly obscure legal question and nobody here can answer it; at most you will get speculations (and not even particularly well-informed ones, since VAWA-related issues are very rarely, if ever, discussed in this forum) and it is not a good idea to rely on speculations.
 
memo said:
sorry for the ambiguity guys. The kid already has the green card as the dependent of her mother who got the green card thru VAWA. So, basically mother (battered woman) and daughter (dependent) both got the GC thru VAWA.
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We already understand those facts of the situation.

What I am saying is that the wording of the memo apparently means the 3-year rule is not available to an unbattered child who benefitted from VAWA at the GC stage based on having a battered mother; it seems the child must have been directly battered in order to qualify. Check with a lawyer to find out what it really means. They should be willing to refund the child's (now young adult) naturalization fee if they say go ahead and the young person gets denied because they were not directly battered.
 
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I got my GC thru VAWA on March 2006. I filed my n-400 in March 2010, fingerprint in May 2010 and I had my interview in Sf field PFC on June 29, 2010. After the interview and tests, officer told me that I did a very good job with everything but he had to tell me his bad news that I wasn't eligible as of yet, he said that I have to withdraw and refile on Jan 2011 to be able to satisfy the 5 year rule. I told him about the VAWA 3 yr rule but he didn't seem to know about it. He pulled out a book and showed me and told me that only spouses of US citizens are eligible. I did not withdraw my application and told me that I will receive a mail regarding the decision. He said I can file a request for a hearing with some fee but definitely lower than what I've paid for with my application. I received a letter of denial and a request for hearing which is asking for $605 fee and I have to send it within 30 days after I have received the letter. I was sure that i am eligible already. your thoughts please - do I file for a hearing or wait until Jan 2011 to refile??? Thank you.
 
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