By Kasey Husk
When Eagan Immigration client “Diego” first married his wife, “Sonia,” in 2015, he believed all his dreams were coming true. Diego and Sonia had first fallen in love 10 years earlier when the couple, both immigrants from Peru, worked at the same fast-food restaurant.
Over time, circumstances had separated the couple and they had gone their separate ways. When chance brought them back together in 2013, Diego felt that everything had turned out exactly as it had always been his destiny. The day of their wedding, 18 months later, was one of the happiest of his life. He believed that he and Sonia would build a beautiful life together, and that Sonia would help him raise his daughter, who was still living in Peru at the time, while Diego became a father to Sonia's young son.
Unfortunately, Sonia soon showed her true colors. As often happens in abusive relationships, she began to change as soon as she believed her partner was not in a position to leave her. She dropped her loving facade and began frequently comparing Diego unfavorably to her former lover. She stopped contributing to the couple's joint bank account, demanding instead that Diego support the family almost entirely on his own.
Despite having previously agreed otherwise, she viewed Diego's money as “their” money, but her own earnings as exclusively hers. She became increasingly angry if Diego spent money on himself. Over time, she demanded that he completely stop spending time with his friends, men whom she inexplicably referred to as “lowlifes” even though they were respectable family men and employees. He became increasingly isolated.
Diego's life was shattered about a year after the couple married, when he was beaten and stabbed during a robbery. He was deeply traumatized by the experience, but Sonia showed no concern for his well-being when he returned from the hospital. Her only concern was that he would miss work and therefore not get paid.
Later, when she was robbed for the second time, she was unconcerned. She quickly began to mock Diego for his trauma and rejected even small accommodations to help him cope. Diego was devastated by his wife's total lack of empathy.
Sonia's cruelty extended even to Diego's young daughter, “Marina.” At the beginning of their relationship, Sonia expressed a strong desire to raise Marina as her own. She even went to see Marina in Peru, since Diego could not, and helped her start the process to obtain a green card. However, after Diego brought Marina to the.
As the couple's relationship began to crumble due to her mistreatment of both Diego and Marina, Sonia began threatening to deport Diego whenever she was angry. Although she had previously intended to apply for Diego to obtain status in the United States, she had quickly made it clear that she no longer wanted to do so. She insinuated that he was useless to her because he was not “man enough” to support her financially. Disturbingly, she seemed to enjoy reminding Diego that if he were deported, Marina would have to return as well.
How Eagan Immigration helped Diego
For many people in psychologically abusive relationships, it can be difficult to identify when a problematic relationship has turned into an abusive one. For men who are socially conditioned to repress their feelings of sadness and pain, it can feel almost impossible to admit that they are being abused. However, as victims like Diego know, cruel words, financial exploitation, or threats may not leave the same bruises and cuts as physical blows, but they often leave victims just as wounded.
Diego came to Eagan Immigration because he was desperate to remain in the United States to care for his daughter. He was terrified that if his soon-to-be ex-wife had him deported, he would not be able to stay in the U.S. to care for Marina, nor seek psychological care to cope with the twin traumas of his violent assault and his abusive relationship. In a consultation with Eagan Immigration, our expert attorneys determined that Diego was an excellent candidate for an I-360 self-petition under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
What is a VAWA self-petition?
This specific type of immigration petition allows undocumented individuals who are victims of physical, psychological, sexual, or financial abuse to seek legal permanent resident status in the United States based on their relationship with their abuser, without their abuser even knowing they are doing so. To qualify, the abuser must be one of the following: your spouse who is a lawful permanent resident (LPR) or U.S. citizen, your adult child who is a U.S. citizen, or your parent who is an LPR or U.S. citizen. It is important to note that victims like Diego can file a self-petition under VAWA even if they are divorced from their abuser, as long as they meet two criteria: 1) the divorce occurred less than two years ago, and 2) the petitioner has not remarried.
So why are they called VAWA self-petitions if men can apply for them?
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 was conceived as an offensive against domestic violence and sexual assault, and included numerous provisions to help fund the investigation and prosecution of abusers and provide restitution options to victims. The bill was named as such because, although domestic violence can affect any gender, statistically women were (and are) more likely to be victims than men. In recognition of the fact that abusers in mixed-status families often use their undocumented partner's status as a way to control them, Congress later decided to expand the Violence Against Women Act to create a special pathway to legal status for undocumented individuals in abusive relationships. Therefore, these petitions are referred to as “VAWA self-petitions.”.
However, despite its name, the resources and benefits of the Violence Against Women Act, including self-petitions, have always been available to victims of abuse of all genders. In a speech praising the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a bill co-sponsored by then-Senator Joe Biden, Senator Harkin points out: “it was not, nor is it, the intent of Congress to categorically exclude men who have suffered domestic abuse or sexual assault from receiving benefits and services under the Violence Against Women Act.”.
Diego's result after filing a VAWA self-petition
The experienced Eagan immigration lawyers helped Diego file his VAWA self-petition in late 2018. To February 2019, had already received a prima facie determination, which established that, at first glance, USCIS believed her petition had merit. In June 2019, Diego received a work permit (EAD) and an advance permission, which allowed him the freedom to travel back to his native Peru without fear of being denied re-entry into the United States. In January 2021, Diego's VAWA self-petition was approved.
However, the most exciting part of all is that Diego became an official legal permanent resident of the United States in September 2022. In just three and a half more years, you will be eligible to naturalize as a US citizen.
Are you undocumented and in an abusive relationship? When in these situations, it can be easy to lose hope and start believing that nothing will change. At Eagan Immigration, however, they want you to know that you have options. Diego is just one of the many clients Eagan has helped obtain the peace of mind of having legal status in the United States.
Call us at 202-709-6439 o click here for a consultation directly with attorney Lauren Eagan.
This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.