Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

324 Lori Cohen
The self-petition form contains instructions on the payment of filing fees,
submission of additional documents, and mailing address. However, the form
also contains requirements that are no longer used to establish VAWA eligibility.
For example, the petition requires a petitioner to show that she or a qualifying
family member would suffer extreme hardship should she be deported. The
requirement was stricken under VAWA 2000, however, and USCIS no longer
considers extreme hardship in adjudicating a self-petition. 62 When preparing the
VAWA self-petition packet for mailing, mark the envelope and all
correspondence “VAWA UNIT” in red ink.
If the self-petitioner has been married to a USC abuser, she may
simultaneously file applications for adjustment of status and employment
authorization. If she has foreign-born children who live with her, she may
include them in her self-petition but must execute separate adjustment of status
applications for each child. 63 Because spouses of green card holders must wait
for an immigrant visa to become available, a self-petitioner who had been
married to a permanent resident cannot typically file for adjustment of status
concurrently with the VAWA self-petition but can apply for employment
authorization. If, however, the victim’s current or former permanent resident
spouse previously filed a family petition for her that has a current priority date,
the self-petitioner may file an adjustment application. 64
If the self-petition is approved, USCIS will issue “deferred action” status
and any requested employment authorization. 65 Self-petitioners who had been
married to US citizens or who have current priority dates from previously filed
family petitions will be scheduled for an interview on their adjustment of status
applications at their local USCIS office. Spouses of permanent residents without
current priority dates must wait for an immigrant visa to become available
before seeking adjustment of status. 66 In the interim, both categories of selfpetitioners
may extend their deferred action status and employment
authorization until they adjust status. 67
VAWA Cancellation of Removal
If a domestic violence victim has been placed in removal proceedings
before an immigration judge, she may also be eligible to “cancel” the
proceedings and adjust to permanent resident status under a special provision
colloquially known as “VAWA Cancellation.” “VAWA Cancellation” offers
domestic violence victims in removal proceedings the chance to obtain lawful