Question: I loved my husband when I came to the U.S. However, he is now always threatening to call deportation all the time and he is beating me. I do not want to return to my home country, but if I leave my husband I am afraid that I will lose my chance to ever get my green card. Is there anything I can do?
Answer: Yes. There is what is known as the Battered Spouse Petition for people in your exact situation. If you qualify, you can petition yourself without the help or need of your husband. In fact, by law, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) cannot use any statement your husband may use against you to try to defeat the petition.
Question: What is required for this type of petition?
Answer: The process of self-petitioning for family-based immigrant visa classification parallels that of filing a family-based petition with the cooperation of the beneficiary’s sponsor. The ultimate result of both petitions is the same; i.e., classification as an immediate relative who is immediately eligible to adjust her status
The following categories of abused individuals can self-petition for a family-based visa: 1) non-citizens who were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by their U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse; 2) non-citizen spouses whose children were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by the non-citizens’ U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse; and 3) non-citizen children who were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by their U.S. citizen or permanent resident parent.
The legal status of the self-petitioner or her child is irrelevant: they can be undocumented, in status (with a nonimmigrant visa, for example), or out of status. However, the abuser must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
The non-citizen spouse self-petitioner must show that her marriage to the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse was entered into in good faith.
The self-petitioning spouse or her child must have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by her spouse during the marriage.
Evidence of abuse may include but is not limited to reports and affidavits from police, judges and other court officials, medical personnel, school officials, clergy, social workers, and other social service agency personnel.
Question: What if I divorce my husband? Will I still be eligible for this petition?
Answer: Yes. You do not and should not live with someone whom is either battering you or subjecting you to extreme cruelty. As long as the petition is filed within 2 years of the divorce, you can divorce him and get out of this abusive relationship. In that way, you will still be allowed to apply for the green card, but will not be in a hurtful relationship.
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