I-360 Petition Approval under VAWA for a Man
Facts
Enacted in 1994, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as its name suggests was intended to protect women from domestic violence perpetrated by men. But in this particular case the client seeking an immigrant visa under VAWA was a man. His short marriage to his violent, abusive and vindictive ex-wife could rival the scariest horror film you’ve ever seen, except one where all the blood, black eyes and broken bones were for real.
Strategy
The major challenge in this case was to document the abuse and to make a compelling case using mostly secondary evidence. Primary evidence was either destroyed by the abuse perpetrator, unavailable, or simply lost. And the marriage itself was like a short-short story, so many types of evidence one would expect to find simply didn’t have time to develop there.
We had to do creative sleuthing, investigating and forensics to rival a film noir. The petition had to rely on extensive self-testimony, extensive witness testimony, expert testimony and secondary evidence obtained from every conceivable nook and cranny.
Result
The I-360 petition under VAWA was approved in 19 months.