USCIS Updates Domestic Abuse Program Rule for Immigrants After Finding ‘Rampant’ Fraud

Self-petitions under the program had jumped by about 360 percent between Fiscal Years 2020 and 2024.

Children participate in a U.S. citizenship ceremony at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services district office in New York City on Jan. 29, 2013. John Moore/Getty Images

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating its policies related to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) following concerns about “rampant fraud” being committed by immigrants applying for the program, the agency said in a statement on Dec. 22.

U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who wish to bring family members to the United States through the family-based immigration process must file petitions to sponsor their relatives. However, this creates a situation where the petitioner could abuse the immigrant family members by threatening to withhold the petition.

VAWA, passed in 1994, aimed to resolve this problem. VAWA allows immigrants who have been abused by their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident relatives to independently self-petition for immigrant classification without the abuser’s knowledge.

However, there have been “alarming new filing trends” related to VAWA applications, according to the USCIS.

The number of self-petitions received by the agency each year used to grow at a rate similar to other immigration benefits. But there has been an “unprecedented rise” in VAWA receipts since 2020, it stated.

“From fiscal years 2020 to 2024, the overall number of Form I-360 VAWA self-petitions increased by approximately 360 percent and male self-petitioners increased by 259 percent,” USCIS stated.

“We also saw a 2,239 percent increase in parents submitting VAWA self-petitions from fiscal year 2020 to 2024. These have not traditionally been populations filing for VAWA. When unqualified aliens misuse the VAWA program, it causes significant processing delays, harming survivors with legitimate claims.”

According to the updated rules regarding married couples, a self-petitioner is now required to establish that they entered into a good-faith marriage with the alleged abuser by providing primary evidence of a marital relationship.

The policy clarifies that the self-petitioner must be residing with the alleged abuser for the relationship to be considered qualified under VAWA.

“This is a shift from USCIS’ previous policy allowing the self-petitioner to have resided with the abuser in the past,” the Dec. 22 policy alert from the agency stated.

USCIS stated that it believes that this interpretation ensures “preserving program integrity and continuing to protect qualifying victims.” The rules add clarifying language related to what constitutes a good-faith marriage and separation.

The agency also provided context regarding how it considers “good moral character” and “battery and extreme cruelty” when adjudicating VAWA self-petitions.

“USCIS must look to the motivation and the impact of the alleged harm, not merely the question of whether or not hurtful conduct occurred,” the alert reads.

The USCIS said in its statement that the new requirements for VAWA self-petitions ensure that the agency is better equipped to “protect program integrity, combat fraud, and manage the VAWA program as intended by Congress.”

Protection Against Abuse

All people in the United States, irrespective of their immigration or citizenship status, are provided guaranteed basic protections, including against domestic violence.

Victims have the right to obtain a protection order for themselves and children, to seek legal separation or divorce without getting the consent of their spouse, to ask for custody of children and financial support, and to share certain marital property.

“If your abuser accuses you of a crime, you have basic rights, regardless of your immigration or citizenship status, including: the right to talk to a lawyer; the right to not answer questions without a lawyer present; the right to speak in your defense,” the USCIS stated.

In January, the House passed the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, which mandates that immigrants convicted of or admitting to domestic violence or sex offenses be deemed inadmissible to the United States, according to a Jan. 16 statement from the office of Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

However, the Women’s Refugee Commission opposed the bill in a Jan. 17 statement, warning that the bill would harm female immigrant survivors of domestic violence, as there was a possibility that they could get arrested and prosecuted despite being victimized.

“Survivors of domestic violence are vulnerable to arrest and prosecution as perpetrators, either due to false accusations by their abusers or when they act in self-defense,” the group stated.

“They also can face prosecution for ‘failing to protect’ their children from witnessing the abuse they experience—in effect punishing victims for being abused.”

While the bill was sent to the Senate in January and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, it has remained in limbo since then.