Who is abusing you?
The answer decides which petition you file, whether you wait in line for a visa number, and which deadlines apply. Find the description closest to yours. Nothing you click here is saved.
VAWA protects abused spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens, and abused spouses and children of lawful permanent residents (green card holders), under INA 204(a)(1). If the person hurting you is not a citizen or permanent resident, or you were never married, VAWA may not fit, but the U visa covers domestic violence regardless of the abuser's status. Not sure? The private screener asks six short questions and keeps nothing.
My husband or wife is a U.S. citizen
You may self-petition as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, INA 204(a)(1)(A)(iii). You must show a marriage entered in good faith, battery or extreme cruelty during the marriage, that you lived with your spouse during the marriage, and good moral character. USCIS tightened its rules on living together and on proof of a good-faith marriage on December 22, 2025 (policy alert PA-2025-33). Because you are classified as an immediate relative, there is no wait for a visa number.
Read: spouse of a citizen · good-faith marriage · living together · your children
My husband or wife has a green card
You may self-petition as the spouse of a lawful permanent resident, INA 204(a)(1)(B)(ii). The elements are the same as for a citizen's spouse. The difference is timing: you are in the second preference category, so the green card waits for your priority date in the Visa Bulletin. If the abuser later naturalizes, your petition moves to the immediate-relative category. If the abuser loses their status after you file, your petition is not affected. INA 204(a)(1)(B)(v).
Read: spouse of a resident · the visa bulletin wait · working while you wait
We are divorced, they died, or they lost their status
The marriage does not have to still exist. You may file within two years after the marriage ended if the end of the marriage was connected to the abuse; within two years after a citizen abuser died; or within two years after the abuser lost or renounced status in connection with an incident of domestic violence (for a green card holder, a loss of status due to one). There is also a path for an intended spouse, a person who believed in good faith they were married but whose marriage was invalid only because the abuser was already married to someone else.
Read: the two-year rule · death or loss of status · intended spouses · divorce and remarriage
My parent abuses me, or abused me
An unmarried child under 21 who was abused by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident parent may self-petition, INA 204(a)(1)(A)(iv) and (B)(iii). A person who has turned 21 may still file until age 25 if the abuse was at least one central reason for the delay, INA 204(a)(1)(D)(v). A child abused by a parent may also have a path through a state court as a Special Immigrant Juvenile.
My adult son or daughter abuses me
A parent abused by a U.S. citizen son or daughter who is at least 21 may self-petition, INA 204(a)(1)(A)(vii). This category was added to the law in 2005 and many people have never heard of it. It applies only where the son or daughter is a citizen.
Read: abused parents
I am already in deportation proceedings, or I have an old order
An immigration judge can cancel removal for a person battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent, INA 240A(b)(2). A special VAWA motion to reopen exists for people with a final order, INA 240(c)(7)(C)(iv). If you have a hearing date, do not miss it, and call before it.
Read: VAWA in immigration court · VAWA cancellation · the VAWA motion to reopen · if you were arrested
None of these fits
If you were never married to the abuser, or the abuser is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident, look at the U visa, which covers victims of domestic violence who help law enforcement, and at the other paths compared side by side. If you have a conditional two-year green card through the abuser, the I-751 abuse waiver may be faster than a self-petition.
Common questions
What if more than one of these describes me?
That happens, for example when a citizen spouse abused both you and your child. Read each section that fits. Your children can often be included on your own petition, and a child may also have a separate path. We sort out the best combination at the consultation.
What if I do not know the abuser's immigration status?
Many survivors do not, because the abuser hid documents or lied about them. Tell us what you know: a passport color, a naturalization ceremony, a green card you once saw, where they were born. We can often establish status through records without contacting the abuser.
The lawyers who will handle your case
One of them calls you back, privately, on your terms.
Talk to a lawyer privately. You decide how we reach you.
Tell us a safe number or email and a safe time, and whether we can leave a message. We never contact the person who hurt you, and we never call from a number or send anything that names this site. The first conversation is free and confidential, in English, Russian, Spanish or Uzbek, with a live interpreter for any other language.