I Recently Married A US Citizen and He Is Abusive – Can I Divorce Him Without Losing My Green Card?

There is a law called the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) which applies to both male and female victims who are married to US citizen or legal permanent resident.

If there is domestic violence, which can be physical or mental, the alien may apply on her own to adjust her status for lawful permanent residence. In order to receive this status adjustment, the alien must show proof of the physical or mental abuse.

Proof of abuse can be:

• Police arrests of the abuser and police reports
• Photographs showing injury or physical abuse
• Medical records of injuries
• Psychological reports of mental abuse.

If you children are the victims of abuse from your US citizen or permanent resident husband, they too may qualify for a change in legal status under the Violence Against Women Act. If you find yourself in this situation, the first thing you must do is find safety. Safehouse Denver, The Delores Project, and the Denver Rescue Mission can all offer assistance of some kind. Next, contact an immigration attorney to discuss your options. We must secure evidence of abuse as quickly as possible, so please don’t hesitate. The law is here to protect you.

Finally, once you’ve come into contact with an attorney, we’ll need to start compiling evidence of abuse such as police reports (and contact information for the officers involved), medical records or photos from your doctor or local clinic, photos taken by friends or family, reports or letters from school admininistration, contact information from neighbors or any witnesses, etc. Your immigration attorney will be able to help you collect all of these documents.