«My husband threatens me with deportation, refuses to sign my immigration documents» — these are usually the first words many foreign women, and sometimes foreign husbands, say when they visit an immigration attorney after facing violence and humiliation from a spouse who is a U.S. citizen or Green Card holder in everyday life. After marrying a foreigner, American spouses and lawful permanent residents quite often abuse the dependent position of the foreign spouse. “Where will she/he go anyway! You can’t get a Green Card without the spouse’s signature.” However, this is what people think who do not know U.S. immigration laws.

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The law firm Bibicheff & Associates has helped many women, as well as men who became victims of violence and rough treatment in the family, file self-petitions and obtain Green Cards without the signature of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse. Here are the questions most often asked by affected spouses to the firm’s attorneys.

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— How can a foreign spouse obtain permanent resident status in the United States?

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As a general rule, a U.S. citizen or Green Card holder must file an immigration petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of his/her spouse. After approval of the immigration petition, the foreign spouse and his/her unmarried children (not older than 21 years) receive the right to legalize in the United States. This provision of the law gives some American spouses the opportunity to abuse their power in the family. Some foreign spouses endure humiliation for the sake of a Green Card and are even afraid to report to the police facts that threaten their physical and mental health. Meanwhile, there is a law in the United States, passed by Congress back in 1994, that protects the interests of foreign spouses.

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ATTENTION! Although the law is called the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the law equally protects both foreign women and foreign men who have suffered abuse in marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. Using the provisions of this act, the American law firm Bibicheff & Associates assists foreign spouses who have suffered abuse in marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident in filing a self-petition for further legalization in the United States.

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— When a woman or man states that their spouse is abusing them, there is a chance that they are putting a lot of emotion into it. What does the law consider abuse of a spouse?

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Here are the most typical examples related to domestic violence and attempts to subjugate a foreign spouse:

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    1. USE OF THREATS AND COERCION:

    threatening to beat or cause harm;
    blackmailing with suicide and threatening to blame the foreign spouse for it;
    forcing sexual acts;
    inducing unlawful actions.

    2. INTIMIDATION / FRIGHTENING:

    keeping the spouse in fear using corresponding looks, impermissible actions, gestures;
    breaking, damaging things belonging to the foreign spouse;
    cruelly treating the spouse’s beloved pets;
    displaying weapons for the purpose of intimidating the foreign spouse.

    3. ECONOMIC COERCION:

    preventing attempts to get a job or go to work;
    creating conditions in which the spouse is forced to ask for money;
    imposing strict financial restrictions;
    taking away money;
    denying the spouse access to information about the family budget, the ability to manage it, or make any financial decisions.

    4. EMOTIONAL PRESSURE:

    humiliating human dignity;
    giving various nicknames, calling names;
    making the spouse feel guilty.

    5. EXPLOITING A PRIVILEGED POSITION:

    treating the spouse like a servant;
    making all vitally important decisions without the spouse’s participation;
    behaving as the master/mistress of the situation.

    6. ISOLATION FROM SOCIETY:

    controlling who the spouse can meet, communicate with, what to read, where to go, what to buy;
    restricting the circle of communication and movement;
    justifying one’s behavior with jealousy.

    7. MANIPULATION WITH CHILDREN:

    making the spouse feel guilty toward the children;
    using children to pressure the spouse.

    8. MINIMIZATION, DENIAL, CONDEMNATION:

    quarreling and scolding without caring about the spouse’s feelings;
    refusing to take responsibility for cruel behavior, considering the spouse to blame for one’s actions.

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Who else, besides foreign spouses, can file a self-petition if they have been subjected to violence in the family?

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Children, stepchildren, and foreign parents of U.S. citizens also have the right to a Green Card if they are subjected to domestic violence.

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