What Kind of Evidence Can Be Used to Win a VAWA Case?

VAWA offers the opportunity to get work permission and a migratory status that can take you up to permanent residence without leaving the US.

VAWA is a way through which an individual who is married to a US citizen or legal resident, separated from a US citizen or legal resident, or divorced from a US citizen or legal resident (up to 2 years) can obtain legal migratory status. If you have a US citizen or son or daughter over 21 years, too. If you meet certain requirements, most importantly having suffered some kind of mistreatment in the relationship with your US citizen or legal resident spouse, son or daughter over 21 years, you have a way to obtain legal migratory status without leaving the US.

When talking about VAWA, it should be considered that it’s a confidential process. If you are applying for migratory documents through your married to a US citizen or legal resident status, you won’t harm your spouse in any way, nor your marriage. You can remain married and have more children.

For an individual who entered the US illegally, VAWA offers a way to obtain legal migratory status without leaving the US. If you have had problems within your marriage with your US citizen or legal resident spouse, or divorced from a US citizen or legal resident less than two years, and meet mistreatment requirements, this could be an option.

It’s frequently thought that VAWA cases require specific evidence. Something favorable about VAWA law is that you can get a migratory status without leaving the US, apart from you being able to obtain a work permit and be pardoned from permanent bar.

The permanent bar is that which is applied to individuals (not all) who have illegal entries and exits in the US. VAWA requires little evidence to win a case. The law says that in order to win a VAWA case, an individual must submit evidence. As long as it is credible, any evidence works. The law does not require a specific list of documents or evidence to be submitted to win a VAWA case.

It states, specifically, that an individual must be able to prove a VAWA case with any credible evidence. When applying through VAWA, generally, a declaration exposing the problems is available. Problems can be based on your marriage (with a US citizen or legal resident), or with your US-resident son or daughter (over 21 years). This declaration can’t be superficial. Instead, it must explain in a detailed way the difficulties that were faced, for instance, every time you were threatened to be accused before immigration officers, and lots of details about that kind of problems.

If the problem is, for instance, that your spouse is too jealous of you, explain how your spouse calls you constantly when you are at work, how he/she wants to check on your phone when you get home to read your text messages, how you are not even feeling comfortable about making or receiving a call from your family or friends because your spouse gets mad.

Your highly-detailed written testimony or declaration is the first evidence that is recommended to submit in a VAWA case. When you are preparing a VAWA case, it’s important to include details on declarations, to mention the difficulties, to explain the problems and how they affect you emotionally.

Psychological Exam

Psychological exams can also help in VAWA cases. Your immigration lawyer can help you with this or can recommend a place where you can get this psychological exam done. It is about how these problems affect you if you are, for instance, suffering from depression or anxiety. That is the reason for the psychological exam. Something useful about this is that you don’t have to mandatorily submit it at the beginning of the process, you can submit it when the case is already being processed; so if you can’t afford it at that very moment, you can submit it later.

The declaration is first, then it can be a psychological exam. If you are taking therapy, a letter from your specialist can prove how are the problems you are having affecting you emotionally.

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Text Messages

Another possible evidence is text messages. In couples formed by at least one US citizen or legal resident, discussions can happen through text messages. For instance, if your spouse is mad at you and sends you text messages containing offenses or threats on accusing you before immigration or the police, money requests for drugs, or other vicious, you can use those text messages as evidence.

When is about problems with a rebel son or daughter, too. If it happens to be abusive and refers to you in an offensive way through text messages, or admits having attempted against your integrity in any way, these text messages can constitute useful evidence for a VAWA case.

Sometimes, fear can be overwhelming when is about VAWA cases. It must be known that VAWA will not affect your spouse, son or daughter in no way, it is completely confidential.

As a recommendation, store the text messages if you are processing a VAWA case, or if you are contemplating doing it soon.

Evidence of Property Destruction

Property destruction can, as well, be another piece of evidence for a VAWA case. If you are having problems with your US citizen or legal resident spouse, and he/she alleys that you are cheating, to the point where it breaks your cellphone, the broken cellphone can be another piece of evidence. If, during an argument, walls get destroyed or your spouse damages your vehicle in any way, this can also be presented as a piece of evidence. If you are taking medicine or if you are in therapy due to the difficulties with your rebel son, daughter, or US citizen or legal resident spouse, this is something that can, as well, be used in your VAWA application.

These are examples of evidence that can be used in a VAWA case. The law does not require many pieces of evidence, but any credible evidence. That piece of evidence can be your testimony alone in form of a declaration explaining the experienced difficulties.

If you hold pieces of evidence like these, either text messages offending you, referring contemptuously to your migratory status or threatening you on never letting you obtain legal status, threatening you on being accused before immigration department or the police by pressing false charges, sharing this evidence with your immigration attorney can be helpful.