Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), spouses and children of U.S. citizens or permanent residents can apply for legal residency if they have been victims of domestic violence. This law applies even if the person applying is undocumented and entered the United States illegally. If the VAWA application is approved, the immigrant’s illegal presence in the United States is forgiven, and they will be eligible for the green card. The person applying under this regulation must have been legally and in good faith married to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who has committed domestic violence. The law also allows unmarried children of the assaulted husband who are under the age of 21 to obtain status as derivative beneficiaries. Similarly, VAWA provides the opportunity to apply by status for an unmarried child under the age of 21 who has been a victim of domestic violence. The parents of this minor in question may also apply as derivative beneficiaries. The abused spouse will only qualify for this program if the abuse occurred in the United States. The only exception is when the abusive spouse is an employee of the United States Government or a member of the United States Uniformed Services. It is important to know that emotional or psychological abuse also qualifies; it is not absolutely necessary to prove that the victim has suffered physical abuse. The law requires the victim to prove that they were subjected to “extreme cruelty,” which can include threats, verbal abuse, harassment, and other forms of emotional abuse, without the need for physical abuse. Our office has had great success obtaining VAWA status for women who were victims of various forms of cruelty or violence. In these applications, the police report of the abuse is beneficial, but not necessary. We have won these kinds of cases with witness statements, including family members.
Very happy for having obtained my residency and for the patience they had handling my case. I went to my interview outside of the United States and I came back well, being a resident. When I went to my interview, they gave me everything I needed. The service was the best and with a very good price for the service. I recommend this law firm a lot, especially my attorney Lisa Elkin, excellent work!
Excellent service, thank you Alcock and Associates for your services, especially to Daniella Hernandez for her help and patience and explaining to us my siblings’ case, thank you very much Daniella.
I am very thankful with the Alcock group, for the very good experience that I had from my first interview with Emmanuel and later on with Daniela Hernandez. I thank my attorney Nicholas for having excellent people and for solving my case, which was a petition through my daughter, and everything got resolved favorably.
Hi, my experience was very satisfactory, from the beginning the treatment was very good all the way up until the end, the attorney Lisa Elkin and the assistant Daniela were very nice and very professional, I was very happy with their service, I recommend them very highly, I thank them and I am going to highly recommend them.
It was a pleasure to have as a representative this wonderful work team. The immigration attorney Lisa Elkin and her very professional assistant Daniella Hernandez were always looking after my wife's case from beginning to end.
Thank you very much Alcock and Associates for your excellent service, especially attorney Lisa Elkin who helped me obtain my residency. This law firm is very recommended. Thank you!
I definitely recommend these attorneys, they helped me so much with my residency case. They were always there for anything I needed, especially attorney Lisa and Daniella Hernandez.
Thank you very much Alcock and Associates for all your service. I obtained my residency and came to the United States from El Salvador. Especially to my attorney Lisa, thank you very much. I recommend this firm very much. Thank you for everything!!!
Thank you very much to my attorney Lisa and to Daniela. They were always very attentive in my case and thanks to that we obtained very good results. I completely recommend them and once again thank you.
After waiting for a long time, we finally are able to feel more at peace with our residency, thanks to Jennifer for her guidance and to Daniela for her help and patience, and to the attorney Nicholas for being interested in our case. Thank you.
In our consultations, we will focus on addressing your concerns, explaining your options, and your initial consultation is completely free. We will make sure to understand the details of your case so you can have the best possible guidance. We have the best specialized attorneys to provide you with the finest options and to know how to proceed with your legal situation.
FREE CONSULTATION >
Alcock & Associates, PC has licensed attorneys to practice immigration laws throughout the United States. Our offices in Massachusetts provide representation to individuals in need of U.S. federal immigration services. Our attorneys are not licensed to practice the laws of the State of Massachusetts and will not provide legal advice regarding any matter or case within the jurisdiction of the laws of the State of Massachusetts or any local law of any municipality in Massachusetts.
Alcock & Associates P.C.
336 South St.
Hyannis, MA 02601
