Amendment of the VAWA Statute - Thesis Example

Congress enacted Section 40703 of VAWA to give battered immigrants some control over their status. See H.R. REP. NO. 103-395, 103rd Cong., 1st Sess. 25 (1993). The term VAWA refers to a series of statutes, first enacted in 1994, which encompassed several amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). One of the goals of this legislation was to relieve aliens whose U.S. citizen spouses were abusing them from depending on that spouse to obtain legal immigration status. See Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1796 (1994) ("VAWA 1994"). Previously, an alien seeking lawful permanent resident ("LPR," or "green card") status based on her marriage to a U.S. citizen or LPR was entirely dependent on her husband to file an immigrant visa petition on her behalf 1.1See 8 U.S.C. ' 1154(a)(1) (1993) (repealed).

Congress was concerned that such women were often pressured into remaining in abusive marriages, in light of the threat that their husbands would withdraw the visa petitions if they left, thereby putting them at risk of deportation. See 61 Fed. Reg. 13061, 13061-62 (Mar. 26, 1996) (noting that "some abusive citizens . . . misuse their control over the petitioning process . . . . to perpetrate domestic abuse"). Through VAWA 1994, this statute was amended to allow such an alien to "self-petition" for immigrant classification; to prevail, she was required to demonstrate that she was married to a U.S. citizen or LPR, was eligible for immigrant classification based on that relationship, was residing in the United States and had, at some point, lived there together with the spouse, entered into the marriage in good faith, was a person of good moral character, would experience "extreme hardship" if deported, and, during the marriage, either she or her child "was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty perpetrated by the alien's spouse." See H.R. Rep. No.

103-395 (1993), at 23-24; see also 8 U.S.C. ' 1154(a)(1); 8 C.F.R.' 204.2(c)(1)(i). If the petition is granted, the alien can apply to adjust her status to that of an LPR; if it is denied, she can file an administrative appeal. 8 C.F.R. ' 204.2(c)(3)(i)-(ii). VAWA 1994 also provided a remedy for battered spouses who had already been placed in deportation proceedings, by relaxing the requirements for the form of relief known as "suspension of deportation." See VAWA 1994 ' 40703(a) (codified at 8 U.S.C. ' 1254(a))(repealed 1996); Hernandez v.

Ashcroft, 345 F.3d 824, 832 (9th Cor. 2003). This form of relief was repealed altogether in 1996, and replaced with an application now known as "cancellation of removal." See Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act ("IIRIRA"), Pub. L. No. 104-208, ' 304(a)(3), 110 Stat. at 3009-596-606 (1996) (amending the INA to add, inter alia, section 240A, now codified at 8 U.S.C. ' 1229b). Normally, a nonpermanent resident seeking cancellation must demonstrate, inter alia, that she has been physically present in the United States for ten years, and that her removal would result in "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" to a U.S. citizen or LPR relative. 8 U.S.C. ' 1229b(b)(1).

If the alien can demonstrate that she was "battered or subjected to extreme cruelty" by a U.S. citizen spouse or parent, she need only show three years of physical presence, and that she would suffer "extreme hardship." 8 U.S.C. ' 1229b(b)(2). If she prevails in her application, then her status is adjusted to that of an LPR. 8 C.F.R ' 240.70(c).