Many of us grow up believing that we will inevitably fall in love and be happily married. That is indeed the case for some people, but unfortunately not everybody’s life turns out like you see in fairytales. That is exactly what happened to a recent client of Reeves Immigration Law Group, who we will refer to as “Chris” to protect his privacy.
Chris was born and raised in the Philippines. He had several siblings and two loving parents who worked as hard as they could to provide for their children. Despite their best efforts though, life was hard in the Philippines. Chris wanted more opportunities and a brighter future, so he decided to attend college and ultimately to come to the United States.
Chris entered the U.S. with a nonimmigrant visa that only allowed him to stay for a limited period of time. But as many others have done over the years, Chris overstayed and began to build a life for himself in the U.S. He took whatever jobs he could find, working at gas stations and restaurants, just to support himself and his family back home.
Chris also fell in love! He met a woman with whom he bonded through long conversations about their shared interests and their respect for each other’s cultures. It was not long before Chris proposed and soon after they were married.
Unfortunately, the marriage started to deteriorate almost right away. Chris’ wife was constantly yelling at him and insulting him. She would also threaten to have him deported from the country. Chris did everything he could to make the marriage work, but at some point, he decided he just could not continue to endure his wife’s emotional abuse.
Chris sought the assistance of Reeves Immigration Law Group and we are glad he did. Chris did not know if anything could be done to help him since the marriage was irretrievably broken, but we assured him that we could help. Attorney Flomy Diza talked to Chris about filing a self-petition under the Violence Against Woman Act (VAWA).
Attorney Diza explained to Chris that filing a self-petition under VAWA was not only for women. It could apply to both men and women who were victims of battery or extreme cruelty by their U.S. citizen spouse. Please note that there are also other relationships that would make a person eligible for a self-petition.
Attorney Diza and Chris began preparing Chris’ self-petition and supporting documents. This included detailed declarations from Chris and others discussing the marriage, the threats and emotional abuse from Chris’ wife, and also a discussion about Chris good moral character.
RILG is now happy to say that Chris’ self-petition was approved! We are now in the process of applying for adjustment of status, and we are confident that Chris will officially be a permanent resident of the U.S. in the very near future!
