NEW DANGERS FOR BATTERED IMMIGRANTS:
The Untold Effects of the Demise of 245(i)
Compiled on behalf of the
National Network on Behalf of Battered Immigrant Women
Prepared by:
Leslye Orloff
Jessica Cundari Erika Esterbrook
with the assistance of Alec Christoff,
Lucia Duncan, and Wayne Krause
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF NOW LEGAL DEFENSE AND
EDUCATION FUND IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 3083
THE BATTERED IMMIGRANT WOMEN'S PROTECTION ACT OF 1999
On behalf of NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund and the National Network on Behalf of Battered Immigrant Women present this testimony in support of the Battered Immigrant Women's Protection Act of 1999 which will go far toward furthering the original purpose of VAWA's immigration provisions -- freeing battered immigrant women abused by citizen and lawful permanent resident spouses or parents to report the abuse to police, seek help and prosecute their abuser's for the multiple crimes they commit against family members. We have learned much over the past 6 years about instances in which the original legislation works effectively and when it does not. H.R. 3083 is designed to correct unforseen problems in the legislation and erosions in access to VAWA that have prevented many of the needy domestic violence victims VAWA sought to protect from seeking help. Helping battered immigrant women escape abuse and bring their abusers to justice will reduce domestic violence in our communities and will ensure that the citizen children of immigrant parents have the same opportunity to live lives free of domestic violence that VAWA sought to provide to all domestic violence victims.
STATEMENT OF
NOW LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND
IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 3083
THE BATTERED IMMIGRANT WOMEN'S PROTECTION ACT OF 1999
SUBMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY'S
SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND CLAIMS
Legislative Hearing on H.R. 3083
The Battered Immigrant Women's Protection Act of 1999
July 20, 2000
Leslye E. Orloff, Esq.
Director
Immigrant Women Program
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund
1522 K Street N.W. Suite 550
Washington, D.C. 20005
(202) 326-0040
STATEMENT OF NOW LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND
IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 3083
THE BATTERED IMMIGRANT WOMEN'S PROTECTION ACT OF 1999
Introduction
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee, my name is Leslye Orloff and I am the Director
of the Immigrant Women Program at NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. NOW Legal
Defense and Education Fund is a leading national, nonprofit civil rights organization with a 30
year history of defining and defending women's rights. We provide a broad range of legal and
educational services aimed at eliminating sex-based discrimination and securing equal rights for
all women focusing on issues of domestic violence, child care, employment, immigration,
reproductive rights, and economic justice. NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund's
Immigrant Women Program co-chairs the National Network on Behalf of Battered Immigrant
Women(1)
, a broad-based national coalition of more than four hundred member organizations and
individuals that work to improve protections for and provide services to immigrant victims of
domestic violence. We appreciate the opportunity to submit this testimony in support of H.R.
3083, the Battered Immigrant Women's Protection Act of 1999, legislation that will enhance
protections for one of the most marginalized groups in the United States: immigrant victims of
domestic violence. Before I begin, I want to thank Chairman Smith and the Members of the Subcommittee for
inviting me to testify today. I am especially grateful to Congresswomen Schakowsky, Jackson-Lee, and Morella for sponsoring H.R. 3083 and for spearheading this bipartisan effort to protect
battered immigrant women and children. A special thanks to Ranking Member Sheila Jackson
Lee for her leadership and to Congressman McCollum for his commitment to these issues.
Lastly, I would like to acknowledge Senators Abraham and Kennedy for sponsoring Title V of S.
2787 the Violence Against Women Act, the Senate counterpart to H.R. 3083, which is also
devoted to ending violence against immigrant women and children. Domestic Violence, Power, and Control Against Immigrants Domestic violence is a societal problem of epidemic proportions. Experts estimate that two to
four million American women are battered every year,(2)
and that between 3.3 and 10 million
children witness violence in their homes.(3)
As information about the extent and impact of
domestic violence emerges, it has been identified as a criminal justice issue, a public health
crisis, and a costly drain on economic productivity.(4)
Domestic violence crosses ethnic, racial,
age, national origin, religious, gender, geographical and socioeconomic lines.(5)
However,
immigrants have been particularly vulnerable to becoming victims of domestic violence.
Research has found that 34-49.8% of immigrant women experience domestic violence over the
course of their lifetimes.(6)
Immigrant married women experience higher levels of domestic
violence (59.5%)(7)
and research has found that over 50% of immigrant women surveyed were
still living with their abusers.(8)
Victims of domestic violence are particularly vulnerable because they face even greater obstacles
in their efforts to escape violent relationships.(9)
Language, culture and immigration status often
block victims from access to information about legal remedies, and complicate their efforts to
obtain the relief needed to end the violence.(10)
As is the case with all victims of domestic
violence, battered immigrants experience physical violence, coercion, threats, intimidation,
isolation, destruction of important documents or possessions, and emotional, sexual or economic
abuse.(11)
Cases of battered immigrants are ultimately complicated by their abuser's use of
immigration status as a tool of control. Immigration-related abuse is a critical way in which
batterers of immigrant women exert power and control to dominate and isolate their abused
family members. Research indicates that immigration-related abuse most often co-exists with or
appears to be a predictor of physical and/or sexual violence.(12)
The 1994 VAWA Immigration Provisions Congressional Intent In 1994, Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in an effort to deter and
punish violence crimes against women.(13)
Acknowledging the complexity of hardships facing
battered immigrants, VAWA contained immigration provisions that would protect battered
immigrants.(14)
Prior to this enactment, the citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse had full
control over the legal status of their immigrant spouse. Because abusers often use immigration
status as a form of control, many battered immigrants who could have been granted legal
immigration status if their abusive spouse chose to file a visa application with the Immigration
and Naturalization Service were left without legal immigration status in the U.S. Research has
found that in abusive relationships, 72.3% of citizen and legal permanent resident spouses never
filed immigration papers for their immigrant wives.(15)
This fear of deportation paralyzed immigrant
victims and prevented them from calling the police for help, from cooperating with prosecutors
bringing criminal cases against their abusers and from seeking protection orders.(17)
Consequently, Congress enacted the self-petitioning provisions in Subtitle D of the Act Ato
permit self-petitioning for battered immigrant women to prevent the citizen or legal resident
spouse from using the petitioning process as a means to control or abuse an alien spouse.@(18)
ubtitle D of the Act recognized the importance of extending all VAWA protections to battered
immigrant women and children, whose immigration status remained uncertain in the hands of
savvy U.S. citizen and lawful permanent resident abusers. When enacting Subtitle D of the Act,
Congress recognized that many immigrant women live trapped and isolated in violent homes,
afraid to turn to anyone for help. They fear both continued abuse if they stay with their batterers
and deportation if they attempt to leave.@(16)
By
allowing for self-petitioning and by assuring that all the other provisions of the Act applied to
battered immigrants, Congress envisioned several overall benefits: removing the abuser's
control over the victim's immigration status,(19)
encouraging reporting of the abuse without the
risk of deportation,(20)and facilitating prosecution of abusers, by making law enforcement
officials more receptive to complaints of domestic violence and thereby eliminating a class of
abusers immune from criminal prosecution.(21)
Legal Impediments That Trap Battered Immigrants in Violent Relationships NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund's Immigrant Women Program and the National
Network on Behalf of Battered Immigrant Women receive over 2,000 calls a year from
advocates and attorneys trying to help women and children who have been victims of domestic
violence. Although over 5200 battered immigrants have received help under VAWA, we are
finding that several categories of immigrants battered by citizen and lawful permanent resident
spouses and parents cannot attain VAWA protections either because of omissions in the original
legislation or because of implementation problems.(22) The following are some examples of the
access problems advocates report: _ Vanna is a Cambodian wife of a member of the U.S. military who is currently
stationed abroad in a country that is not her homeland. During her abusive marriage she
has lived with her citizen husband in the U.S. and in various countries in which he has
been stationed. Her relationship has been plagued with sexual abuse with her husband
forcing Vanna to engage in sexual behaviors that made her feel demeaned and
humiliated. His physical and sexual abuse has included threats to kill Vanna in which he
told her that he could make her death look like an accident. Her husband also restricts
the amount of food she is allowed to eat and where she was allowed to go. He threatens
her with withdrawing the immigration papers he filed for her and telling her that she
would be deported back to Cambodia where she would probably be killed. She feels
trapped and isolated on the military base. Vanna wants to return to the U.S., but she does
not qualify for VAWA self-petitioning because she lives abroad. H.R. 3083 would help
Vanna by allowing abused spouses and children of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent
residents to file for VAWA protection whether or not they were residing in the United
States. _ Sara is the 21- year old Panamanian daughter of an abusive lawful permanent resident.
She has been sexually abused by her father since she was in junior high school. Her
father brought her mother and Sara into the U.S. without visas when she was twelve years
old. Her father has never filed a family-based petition for his wife nor Sara. By the time
she finally found the courage to disclose the sexual abuse to her mother, who had also
been abused by her father Sara was already 21 and it was too late for Sara to receive
protection under VAWA. She is afraid to report the incest to authorities because she has
no immigration status and fears being deported to her home country where she knows no
one. As a result her father goes unpunished and Sara struggles to overcome the effects of
the abuse. H.R. 3083 would allow Sara to file for relief under VAWA. _ Lupe was born in El Salvador. She came to the U.S. at age five and grew up in the
United States where she met and married her lawful permanent resident spouse. Shortly
after the marriage her husband began closely monitoring her every move. When Lupe
was pregnant with their first child Lupe fled to her parents house. Her husband followed
her and ordered her to get into his car. When she refused he dragged her by the hair into
the passenger's seat. Her pregnant belly got stuck between the seats and she could not
move. When her mother and brother tried to help, he threw her mother to the ground and
sped off with Lupe. He drove her to his apartment and locked her inside. After the baby
was born, he began raping Lupe and threatening that if she didn't comply, she would
never see the baby again. When she found him abusing the baby, locking him in a closet
to punish him for crying, and crushing his favorite toys underfoot, Lupe fled back to her
parents' house. After a restraining order was issued, he again abducted her and threatened
to drown her. Following this incident Lupe retained an attorney and filed a self-petition
that has been approved. Lupe fears having to return to El Salvador to obtain her lawful
permanent residency. Her husband continues to stalk her and has many family members
there. Lupe does not speak Spanish and her protection order, which granted her custody,
cannot be enforced if she leaves the United States. Leaving the country to obtain
permanent residency is too dangerous for her. H.R. 3083 would allow Lupe to safely
apply for adjustment of status in the United States. H.R. 3083: Restoring Access, Addressing Omissions, and Correcting Unintended Effects
and Implementation Problems of VAWA 1994
The goal of H.R. 3083 is identical to that of VAWA's immigration provisions - to free abused
immigrant spouses to cooperate in their abuser's prosecution and to obtain justice system
protection for themselves and their children. The amendments proposed in H.R. 3083 will
improve access to the criminal justice system for battered immigrants abused by citizens or other
persons lawfully permitted to reside in the United States, will remove legal impediments that
continue to encourage battered immigrants to choose to remain with their abuser and will correct
omissions and implementation problems that prevent the prosecution of batterers who abuse
immigrant family members.
H.R. 3083 continues Congress's commitment to the plight of battered immigrants and the work that began with the passage of VAWA 1994 to help battered immigrant women secure lawful immigration status and legal protection so they may flee violent homes, cooperate in the criminal prosecution of their abusers, and take control of their lives without fearing deportation. The specific purposes behind H.R. 3083 are tri-fold. First, the bill restores access to VAWA relief that was weakened by subsequent legislation. Second, H.R. 3083 offers access to lawful permanent residence status to victims who were inadvertently omitted under VAWA 1994. Finally, the bill corrects unintended effects and implementation problems of VAWA 1994 that were not anticipated when the bill was enacted. Some of the highlights of H.R. 3083's provisions include:
Restoring Access to VAWA
Adjustment of Status: Changes to immigration laws that occurred after VAWA became law in 1994 now force many battered immigrant women and children with approved VAWA self-petitions to choose between remaining without access to lawful permanent residency status and being required to leave the United States to obtain their lawful permanent residency. This is true despite the fact that the INS has already determined that they will suffer extreme hardship if returned to their home country. Further, the law makes no exceptions for battered immigrants who have proven that returning home will jeopardize their safety, undermine the treatment they rely on to overcome the abuse or interfere with custody decrees crafted to protect children from the harmful effects of domestic violence. H.R. 3083 allows battered immigrants with approved self-petitions to adjust their status to lawful permanent resident while remaining safely in the United States.
Addressing Omissions in VAWA 1994
Children Who Age-Out: The fact that domestic violence often spreads from the battered spouse as the target of the violence to abuse of the children has been well documented.(23) Battered immigrant women fleeing abusive relationships must be able to protect to their children. VAWA allows battered immigrants to include their undocumented children who are under 21 years old at the time of filing. Currently, even if a child is under 21 when the self-petition is filed, they must remain under 21 until they can obtain lawful permanent residency status based on the approved VAWA self-petition. Since the waiting time between filing of the self-petition and obtaining lawful permanent residency can range from 6 months to almost 5 years, many children who were to be offered protection by including them in their mother's petition Aage out@ by turning 21. The effect of this gap in the legislation is to force battered immigrants with older children to remain with their abusers as the only hope that her older children will benefit from a petition that their abusive spouse can file for the child even if the child turns 21. In order to assure that children over 21 have access to VAWA provisions, H.R. 3083 allows derivative children who are under 21 when the self-petition is filed, to continue to be included in their parent's petition until they can obtain their permanent residence status.
Deleting the Residence in the U.S. Requirement: Battered immigrants married to either citizens
or permanent residents living outside the U.S. have no access to VAWA immigration relief.
Current VAWA provisions state that an applicant must reside within the territory of the U.S. to
file a self-petition. There is not a residency requirement in regular family-based visa petitions.
A citizen or legal permanent resident spouse living abroad can file a visa petition on behalf of
their immigrant spouse at the American Consulate. Battered immigrants need the same access to
immigration benefits they would have if their spouse was not abusive. H.R. 3083 allows abused
spouses and children of citizens and permanent residents to file for VAWA protection without
regard to where they currently reside, this removes an incentive for abused immigrant spouses
and children to remain with their abusers. Because of the transient nature of the military
(military members move twice as often as the civilian workforce), military spouses are
particularly affected by this provision. This is important because the frequency of abuse in
military families is proportionally much greater and more severe than in civilian families.(24)
Effect of Changes in the Abuser's Immigration Status: Conviction of a domestic violence crime
is a removable offense. One unintended effect is that the battered immigrant's pending VAWA
self-petition becomes void when her husband is deported. This creates a perverse incentive for
the battered immigrant either to tolerate the abuse rather than report it or to refuse to cooperate
in his prosecution. H.R. 3083 allows battered immigrants to file a VAWA self-petition that
would remain valid even if the batterer is deported due to domestic violence. Unintended Effects and VAWA Implementation Problems Deleting Extreme Hardship: VAWA self-petitioning applicants would normally be beneficiaries
of regular family-based petitions, but for the actions of the abusive spouse or parent. To win
approval of a family-based visa petition the parties must prove that they have a valid marriage or
parent/child relationship. In addition to this proof, VAWA self-petitioners must prove that they
have been victims of battery or extreme cruelty at the hands of their citizen or resident spouse or
parent and that they are persons of good moral character. Once the self-petitioner has proved all
of these facts, they must additionally prove that their deportation would cause extreme hardship
to themselves or their children. Extreme hardship is a difficult evidentiary test that battered
immigrants who file applications with INS without the assistance of an attorney find almost
impossible to meet. The extreme hardship requirement has resulted in INS denials of self-petitions of many unrepresented battered immigrants are of good moral character, who present
compelling evidence of abuse and whom INS believes are in good faith valid marriages. This
result is contrary to VAWA's goal of providing relief to battered immigrants; with the end result
of abusers continuing to go unprosecuted. INS' reviewed VAWA cases and found that in no
instance did they find credible evidence of marriage fraud and credible evidence of domestic
violence in the same case.(25)
VAWA's evidentiary requirements are ,even without extreme
hardship, much higher than the proof requirements in all other family based visa cases. H.R.
3083 deletes the extreme hardship requirement recognizing that it poses a difficult, unnecessary
hurdle that deprives many needy victims of VAWA's protections and allows their abusers to go
free. Public Charge: Discretionary Process to Reinstate a Revocation:
Access to Legal Services: Battered immigrants are far more successful in their applications for VAWA self-petitions when they are represented by lawyers who have received domestic violence training. Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funded programs provide the vast majority of legal services to battered women in the country. Recognizing this fact, in 1997 Congress amended legal services appropriations legislation to allow lawyers working for LSC-funded programs to represent battered immigrant women, a variety of domestic violence related matters, without regard to their immigration status in so long as those services are funded with non-LCS dollars. The legislation, however, used the INS definition of family relationships (spouses and children) rather than each states' own domestic violence definition. This had the effect of cutting off access to legal services for many battered immigrants who would be protected if the state definition had been used B including immigrant women battered by their citizen boyfriends. H.R. 3038 will make an important technical correction to fix this problem.
Recommendations and Conclusion
On behalf of NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund and the National Network on Behalf of Battered Immigrant Women, thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony in support of the Battered Immigrant Women's Protection Act of 1999. The Act will go far toward furthering the original purpose of VAWA's immigration provisions -- freeing battered immigrant women abused by citizen and lawful permanent resident spouses or parents to report the abuse to police, to seek help and to prosecute their abusers for the multiple crimes they commit against family members. We have learned much over the six years, since VAWA's enactment, about instances in which the original legislation works effectively and when it does not. H.R. 3083 is designed to correct unforseen problems in the legislation and erosions in access to VAWA that have prevented many of the needy domestic violence victims VAWA sought to protect from seeking help. Helping battered immigrant women escape abuse and bring their abusers to justice will reduce domestic violence in our communities and will ensure that the citizen children of immigrant parents have the same opportunity to live lives free of domestic violence that VAWA sought to provide to all domestic violence victims.
AYUDA, Inc.
1736 Columbia Road, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
INTRODUCTION
The stories recounted in this volume document the experiences of battered immigrants from around the country. In all of these cases, battered immigrants either filed or are in the process of filing self-petitions for lawful permanent residency pursuant to Subtitle G of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994. The purpose of this compilation is to highlight the potential hardships and dangers that battered immigrants will face now that §245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) has sunsetted. This provision previously allowed many immigrants, including battered immigrants, to obtain lawful permanent residency while they remained in the United States. Since the sunsetting of §245(i), immigrants who have not been lawfully present in the U.S. must now leave the country as the only means of obtaining lawful permanent residency. Battered immigrants are not exempted from this requirement. They must also leave the U.S. as the only means to obtain permanent residency through VAWA. This makes bettered immigrants more vulnerable to abuse and may ultimately deter them from leaving their abusers and bringing charges against them.
I. Empowering Battered Immigrants Through VAWA
Immigrants who are abused by their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident
spouses or parents may obtain their "green cards" without relying on their abusers
to file the papers for them with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 included a provision that allowed
battered immigrants the opportunity to "self-petition," that is, file an application for
permanent residency based on the abuse that occurred in the marriage or the parent-child relationship.(26)
By filing a self-petition, the battered immigrant would be free
to leave the abusive household. Prior to 1994, abusers had total control over their
spouses' or children's immigration status. Battered immigrants could not file for
lawful permanent residency on their own behalf. As a result, many battered
immigrants remained without legal immigration status in the U.S. because their
abusers used control over their immigration status as a tool to continue the abuse. II. The Expiration of §245(i) At the time that VAWA was passed, there already existed a provision in the INA
that allowed immigrants who had entered the U.S. illegally to "adjust" from
approved visa status to permanent resident status while remaining in the U.S.
Since 1994, any immigrant who entered the U.S. illegally, or in the case of
relatives of lawful permanent residents, entered lawwfully but worked without
permission or overstayed a visa, could pay a fine of $1000 and adjust to permanent
resident status while remaining in the U.S.(27)
The INA provision that allowed for
this adjustment of status was §245(i). This provision brought in significant revenue
to the INS(28)
and allowed those with approved immigrant visa petitions to remain
in the U.S. to continue working and supporting their families while adjusting their
residency status.(29)
The absence of §245(i) would have meant that
all immigrants(31) with approved immigrant visas who either entered the U.S. illegally or overstayed an earlier visa
could no longer adjust status within the continental United States. Instead, these immigrants would be forced to
return to their home countries of origin and obtain their green cards through processing at U.S. embassies or
consulates abroad. On July 29, 1997, the Senate voted to permanently extend §245(i); but on September 30, 1997, the
House of Representatives voted to allow §245(i) to expire.(32)
A day later, on
October 1, 1997, President Clinton signed a resolution that extended §245(i) until
October 23, 1997.(33)
When October 23, 1997, arrived, the President again
extended §245(i), this time until November 7, 1997.(34)
Finally, on November 13,
1997, both the House and Senate voted to let §245(i) sunset on January 14, 1998.(35)
On November 26, 1997, the President signed legislation entitled the "Departments
of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act of 1998."(36)
This legislation contained a provision that
eliminated the benefits of §245(i) for all immigrants seeking permanent residency
status. When §245(i) ended, battered immigrants petitioning for immigration relief
under VAWA lost their ability to obtain green cards while remaining safely within
U.S. borders. III. Catch-22: VAWA's "Extreme Hardship" Requirement and §245(i) The sunsetting of §245(i) presents an urgent problem for battered immigrants who
self-petition under VAWA. Without §245(i), many battered immigrants with
approved VAWA self-petitions filed after January 14, 1998, will be required to
return to their countries of origin to obtain their green cards. These battered
immigrants have already proven to the INS's satisfaction that they must not return
to their countries of origin. This is because all battered immigrants whose VAWA
self-petitions have been approved by INS have demonstrated that they would suffer
"extreme hardship" if they were forced to return to their countries of origin.(37)
Generally, a battered immigrant will meet the extreme hardship test if she proves
that her abuser is able to travel to her country of origin, that she will be in danger
due to the loss of her U.S. restraining order when she travels outside the U.S., or
that her country of origin lacks laws or services to protect her from abuse. She may
also meet the test if she proves that she will lose custody or visitation of her
children by being forced to leave the U.S. or if she or her children will suffer from
physical or mental health problems by discontinuing the treatment they receive in
the U.S. to help them cope with the effects of the abuse. She must show that
similar physical or mental health services are unavailable in her country of origin.
In addition, she may meet the test by demonstrating that she and her children will
suffer due to human rights violations or political and social turmoil present in her
country of origin.(38)
Immigrants who benefit from family-based petitions filed by non-abusive spouses
or parents can receive lawful permanent residency status without proving extreme
hardship.(39)
Current law places battered immigrants who have met the extreme
hardship test and received approval of their VAWA self-petitions in a difficult and
dangerous "catch-22." The law forces them to return to their countries of origin as
the only means to obtain their green cards, despite the fact that the INS has
determined that they cannot safely return. The sunsetting of §245(i) forces all
illegally present immigrants to return to their countries of origin to get their green
cards. The law makes no exception for battered immigrants who have already
proven that returning to their countries of origin will jeopardize their safety,
undermining the treatment they rely on to overcome the abuse and/or interfere with
crafted to protect children from the harmful effects of domestic violence. IV. Devastating Effects for VAWA Self-petitioners Battered immigrants who have successfully self-petitioned under VAWA will
suffer many hardships and dangers if they are forced to return to their countries of
origin to obtain their green cards. The stories contained here illustrate the fact that
battered immigrant VAWA self-petitioners experience many of the same hardships
and dangers even though they come from different countries, live in different
states, and make their homes in both urban and rural communities. These
hardships and dangers can be summarized as follows: A. Risk of being abused abroad Leaving the U.S. deprives battered immigrants of the protection provided by U.S.
laws, court orders, and law enforcement.(40)
Restraining orders are not valid
outside the territory of the U.S., which makes battered immigrants vulnerable to
abuse the moment they leave the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts.(41)
The Violence
Against Women Act made restraining orders enforceable across state lines in every
U.S. jurisdiction; however, these orders have no effect outside of the U.S.(42)
Batterers who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents have the ability to
travel abroad easily and can take advantage of abused immigrants' lack of legal
protection. Since the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility
Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 made the crime of domestic violence a deportable offense, a
batterer who is a lawful permanent resident convicted of a domestic violence crime
may be deported to the same country where the battered immigrant will be forced
to return to obtain her green card.(43)
There are no procedures currently in place at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad
for processing cases of battered immigrants with VAWA self-petitions approved by
the INS. Although battered immigrants are exempt from the three- and ten-year
bars to re-entry which apply to other immigrants who have been unlawfully present
in the U.S., there are no regulations implementing these exemptions for VAWA
self-petitioners.(44) Thus, we cannot predict how long a battered immigrant will
have to remain abroad to obtain her green card under VAWA. If a battered immigrant decides not to take her children with her when she travels
abroad to get her green card, she must then locate a temporary place for the
children to stay that is safe from her abuser. This is often a very difficult, if not
impossible, task. If the battered immigrant does succeed in finding a place for her
children to stay, once she leaves the U.S., her abuser may file for permanent
custody of the children, claiming that she has abandoned them. Furthermore, many battered immigrants may not be able to leave the U.S. because custody
matters are still pending in the courts. A battered immigrant may not remove the children from
the country without court permission while custody is being adjudicated. To attain such court
permission, a battered immigrant must be able to guarantee to the court that she will return to the
U.S. by a fixed date. Providing such a date is impossible, though, since a battered immigrant
will not be able to predict how long it will take to obtain her green card abroad. If she misses a
U.S. court date for a pending custody matter, she may risk losing custody of her children
permanently. C. Abuser kidnapping the children Battered immigrants are concerned that if they leave their children in the U.S. with
a trusted relative, their abusers will either petition the courts for custody of the
children or attempt to kidnap the children. Conversely, battered immigrants are
also concerned that if they bring their children with them to their countries of
origin, their batterers will follow them there, kidnap the children from them, and
take the children back to the U.S. or to another country. D. Shame and loss of familial support Many battered immigrants will face severe social stigma if forced to return to their
countries of origin after divorcing or separating from their husbands.(45)
Women
are often deterred from reporting domestic violence in the U.S. or leaving their
abusers because they fear that their families and communities in their countries of
origin will condemn them for exposing their husbands' abuse and breaking up the
traditional family unit.(46)
Religious norms and social constructions of gender roles
in the immigrants' home countries will also penalize the returning immigrant who
has dared to leave her abusive husband.(47)
Thus, VAWA self-petitioners forced to return to their home countries to obtain their green cards may not be able to access
help and support from their families and communities in their home countries
during the time they must remain abroad. They may be ostracized because they
publicly exposed their husbands' abuse. E. Lack of physical and mental health care abroad for battered immigrants or their children Victims of domestic violence and their children often suffer from physical and mental health
problems as a result of the abuse.(48)
These problems include depression, low self-esteem, post-traumatic stress disorder, and long-term physical injuries caused by the abuse. If a battered immigrant or her children receive treatment from mental health professionals in the
U.S., discontinuing treatment for the weeks or months needed to obtain a green card abroad
could cause tremendous emotional damage for women and children struggling to rebuild their
lives. Additionally, for some battered immigrants or their children, travel abroad for any period of
time would disrupt treatments they are receiving in the U.S. for physical ailments. Often, these
immigrants will be unable to find an adequate level of affordable health care treatment in their
countries of origin. The issue becomes even more complicated when a battered immigrant's
child has a physical ailment that requires treatment in the U.S. If the battered immigrant is the
sole caretaker of the child, and the immigrant is forced to take the child with her when seeking
her green card, discontinuing the child's medical treatment may result in life-threatening
consequences for the child. F. Poor socio-political conditions abroad Returning to the battered immigrant's country of origin could also, in some cases, subject her to
political persecution, war, torture, jail, extreme poverty, disease, entrenched gender
discrimination, or death.(49)
V. Infeasibility of Consular Processing for VAWA Self-petitions Consular officers abroad have not received the training they need to enter proper decisions
regarding VAWA self-petitioners' qualifications for lawful permanent residency. Untrained
consular officials may choose to re-open and re-evaluate approved VAWA self-petitions.
Allowing consular officials who do not appreciate the particular problems that battered
immigrants face to overturn decisions made by INS adjudicators with expertise in domestic
violence poses grave dangers to battered immigrants. The INS has followed the lead of other justice system professionals who work on issues of
domestic violence. Many courts, police departments, and prosecutors' offices have created
specialized units with trained staff to handle domestic violence cases.(50)
The INS has adopted this integrated approach, as demonstrated by its training of INS officials assigned
to adjudicate VAWA self-petitions.(51)
INS centralized the collection and adjudication of VAWA
self-petitions so that all VAWA cases would be handled by a group of specially trained
immigration adjudicators at the INS Vermont Service Center. This group of officers has been
made aware of the particular evidentiary burdens that victims of domestic violence face, and they
have developed expertise in adjudicating these cases. The problem and danger to battered immigrants lies in allowing consular officers abroad to
determine whether or not battered immigrants will receive their green cards. Within the U.S.,
both administrative agency and judicial review is afforded to all immigrants whose petitions are
denied approval by the INS. By contrast, no judicial review is available to immigrants for
decisions made by consular officers at embassies and consulates abroad. Even though a battered
immigrant has left the U.S. with an approved VAWA petition in hand, a consular officer abroad
could determine that the battered immigrant's personal affidavit was not believable or that the
petition did not contain sufficient evidence to meet the required burdens of proof. Since the
domestic violence that the approved VAWA self-petition was based upon must have occurred in
the U.S., and any evidence to support the self-petition also must have remained in the U.S., a
battered immigrant would be unable to gather whatever additional evidence might be needed to
convince the consular official to grant her lawful permanent residency status based on her self-petition. The consular officer could deny the battered immigrant a green card and trap her in her
country of origin without a way to legally re-enter the U.S. No review of the consular officer's
decision would be available.(52)
The proposed legislation would allow battered self-petitioners to adjust status through §245(a)
and (c) of the INA, which is the same mechanism under which spouses, parents, and children of
U.S. citizens who entered the U.S. lawfully may adjust their status. This legislation would not
create new rights for immigrants who have entered unlawfully; rather, it would restore a
previously existing option to a narrow group of people who, in good faith, married citizens or
lawful permanent residents only to suffer domestic violence at their loved-ones hands. With the
proposed legislation, battered self-petitioners would be allowed to adjust their status pursuant to
§245(a) and (c) without leaving the country and without paying a fine, regardless of whether
they overstayed their visas or worked without authorization. VII. Methodology The case summaries in this compilation describe the experiences of ____ battered immigrant
women in 41 states and the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The information
contained in these case summaries was provided by domestic violence agencies, domestic
violence shelters, immigration attorneys, and battered immigrants from across the country. All
case summaries were compiled from one or more of the following sources: 1) affidavits
prepared by battered immigrants and their attorneys; 2) case files and notes recorded by social
workers and domestic violence advocates at agencies and shelters; and 3) telephone interviews
with battered immigrants self-petitioning under VAWA. The cases compiled here constitute
only a fraction of the total number of VAWA cases in which battered immigrants will face
hardships and dangers because of the sunsetting of section 245(i) of the INA. All names have been changed to protect the identities of those involved in these incidents. Cases were submitted by a variety of organizations, including the following*: Albuquerque Border City Project Albuquerque, New Mexico American Friends Service Committee Newark, New Jersey Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California Los Angeles, California Ayuda, Inc. Washington, D.C. Casa Cornelia Law Center San Diego, California Central American Resource Center Los Angeles, California Centro Legal St. Paul, Minnesota Nancy Chen, Attorney at Law New York, New York Congresso de Latinos Unidos, Inc. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, Inc. El Paso, Texas Domestic Violence Intervention Program Iowa City, Iowa Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center Miami, Florida Greater Boston Legal Services Boston, Massachusetts Immigrant Initiatives, CUNY School of Law Flushing, New York Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence Des Moines, Iowa Legal Aid of Central Texas Austin, Texas Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago Chicago, Illinois Legal Services of North Carolina, Inc. Raleigh, North Carolina Milwaukee Women's Center, Inc. Milwaukee, Wisconsin Na Loio Immigrant Rights and Public Interest Legal Center Honolulu, Hawaii Northern Manhattan Coalition New York, New York Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Seattle, Washington NYANA New York, New York Project VAWA Tucson, Arizona Sanctuary for Families, Inc. New York, New York Southern Arizona Legal Aid Tucson, Arizona Travelers and Immigrants Aid Chicago, Illinois *A complete list of organizations is not provided in order to protect the anonymity of the
victims. Summary of Cases COUNTRY STATUS PAGE OF ORIGIN OF SPOUSE NUMBER NEW YORK Aminata Afghanistan LPR 1 Lupe El Salvador USC 3 Sol Guatemala USC 5 Gabrielle Haiti USC 7 Raquel Dominican Republic LPR 8 Belinda Dominican Republic LPR 9 Violeta Trinidad LPR 10 Pilar Mexico LPR 11 Lilly Canada USC 13 Johanna Jamaica LPR 14 Sima Pakistan LPR 15 TEXAS Carmela Mexico USC 16 Linda Mexico USC 18 Estrella Mexico LPR 20 Dolores Mexico LPR 22 Victoria Mexico LPR 24 Lisa Mexico LPR 27 Doris Mexico USC 30 Ina Mexico USC 34 Lola Mexico USC 36 Pamela Mexico LPR 38 Veronica Mexico USC 107 Berta Mexico USC 153 Rosita Mexico LPR 205 ILLINOIS Paulina Mexico LPR 40 Valerian Mexico USC 42 Julia Mexico LPR 44 Carolina Mexico LPR 46 Melanie Jamaica LPR 48 Celeste Mexico LPR 49 Tamara Mexico LPR 51 Nancy Mexico LPR 53 Beatriz Mexico LPR 99 Angela Mexico LPR 201 CALIFORNIA Marina Mexico LPR 55 Fatma Bangladesh LPR 57 Melissa Mexico LPR 59 Philippa Romania LPR 61 Anita Philippines LPR 63 Paola Peru LPR 64 Marta Mexico LPR 65 Val Thailand LPR 67 Rosa Mexico LPR 69 Pamina Mexico LPR 71 Patricia Mexico USC 73 Lina El Salvador USC 75 Victoria Mexico LPR 24 Doris Mexico USC 30 Carolina Mexico LPR 46 Conchita Mexico USC 94 Milagros Mexico USC 101 Laura Mexico USC 141 Cristina Mexico LPR 163 Nuria Guatemala USC 180 MARYLAND Elise Nigeria USC 76 ARIZONA Paloma Mexico LPR 79 Susana Mexico LPR 81 Elena Mexico USC 83 Mercedes Mexico USC 84 Maria Mexico USC 86 Doris Mexico USC 30 IOWA Ayesha Lesotho LPR 88 Allegra Mexico LPR 90 Marisia Mexico LPR 92 Conchita Mexico USC 94 Tatiana Mexico LPR 96 MICHIGAN Yaa Nigeria LPR 97 Beatriz Mexico LPR 99 UTAH Milagros Mexico USC 101 Lina El Salvador USC 75 Laura Mexico USC 141 FLORIDA Felicia Honduras USC 103 Emilia Costa Rica LPR 105 Veronica Mexico USC 107 MASSACHUSETTS Mona Poland LPR 110 Sonya Guyana LPR 112 Celia Trinidad and Tobago LPR 114 Donna Ethiopia LPR 116 DELAWARE Teresa Mexico LPR 118 INDIANA Consuelo Mexico USC 120 PENNSYLVANIA Ugne Lithuania USC 122 Maggie Columbia USC 124 Naomi Ghana USC 125 Teresa Mexico LPR 118 VIRGINIA Mariangela Mauritania USC 127 NEVADA Vilma Mexico LPR 128 RHODE ISLAND Alejandra Guatemala LPR 130 NEBRASKA Josefina Mexico LPR 132 NEW JERSEY Ramona Peru LPR 134 Kamara Kenya LPR 136 Rosalinda Peru USC 137 IDAHO Lourdes Mexico USC 139 Maria Luisa Mexico USC 140 Laura Mexico USC 141 KANSAS Stella Mexico LPR 143 Tatiana Mexico LPR 96 MINNESOTA Magdalena Mexico LPR 145 Brigitta Mexico LPR 147 NEW MEXICO Blanca Mexico USC 149 Evangelina Mexico LPR 151 Berta Mexico USC 153 Conchita Mexico USC 94 NORTH CAROLINA Miranda Mexico LPR 155 Kim Thailand USC 157 Margarita Mexico LPR 159 Lola Mexico USC 36 VIRGIN ISLANDS Ursula Trinidad LPR 161 WASHINGTON, D.C. Cristina Mexico LPR 163 Lita El Salvador LPR 166 ALASKA Miguel El Salvador USC 168 COLORADO Lucinda Argentina LPR 170 Luisa Mexico LPR 172 Dalia El Salvador LPR 174 Alicia Mexico LPR 176 KENTUCKY Eva El Salvador LPR 178 OREGON Nuria Guatemala USC 180 WASHINGTON Sara El Salvador LPR 182 Juana Mexico LPR 184 Felipe Mexico USC 186 OKLAHOMA Clara Mexico USC 187 ARKANSAS Soledad Mexico LPR 189 LOUISIANA Juanita Mexico LPR 191 Sharifa Israel LPR 192 Wabei East Africa LPR 194 TENNESSEE Catalina Mexico LPR 195 NEW HAMPSHIRE Marie Haiti USC 197 WYOMING Esperanza Honduras USC 199 CONNECTICUT Angela Mexico LPR 201 WISCONSIN Genoveva Mexico LPR 203 Rosita Mexico LPR 205 Atalanta Venezuela USC 207 Bonita Mexico USC 209 OHIO Elsa Hungary USC 210 Lee Thailand USC 211 ALABAMA Carmen Panama USC 213 GEORGIA Anou Egypt LPR 214 HAWAII Lea Micronesia USC 216 Vanessa Mexico USC 217 This case originated in New York. AMINATA Aminata is a 33-year-old citizen of Afghanistan. She met her husband, Ahmed, in Afghanistan.
Ahmed is a lawful permanent resident of the United States. The circumstances under which the couple met and married are disturbing. While in
Afghanistan, Ahmed began stalking Aminata. He would stop her in the street and tell her that
she was to be his and no one else's. He later threatened to kill her if she did not marry him.
Aminata was very afraid of his stalking and his threats, but she had no one to turn to for
protection. She lived with her elderly parents who could not help her, and the police force
offered little to no protection, due to the civil strife in Afghanistan at the time. She was afraid,
but she felt she had no choice but to marry Ahmed. During the first week of their marriage and every week thereafter, Ahmed slapped Aminata.
Initially, she sought refuge with her parents, but they forced her to return to her husband and "do
her duty" as a wife. Ahmed frequently slapped, punched, pushed, and threatened to kill
Aminata. This abuse only intensified after the couple moved to the United States and settled in
New York. During one of Aminata's pregnancies, Ahmed grabbed a kitchen knife and tried to cut open her
stomach and remove the baby from her womb. Aminata defended herself and her baby as best
she could from Ahmed's attack. Her hands were cut and bruised. On another occasion, Ahmed
put a knife against Aminata's chest and cut her hand when she tried to protect herself. He also
threatened to kill her by running her over with his car. He began abusing their daughters, as
well, often pulling their hair and hitting them. After this incident, Aminata received a restraining order against Ahmed. She further sought to
protect her daughters from Ahmed by getting a court order limiting Ahmed's visitation of the
girls to supervised visits only. Over the course of her marriage, Aminata has suffered constant physical and verbal abuse from
Ahmed. Even though he was excluded from the family home pursuant to the restraining order,
Ahmed has continued to threaten and harass Aminata. She has struggled to survive without his
income, supporting her girls with meager assistance from her family and other agencies. Her
husband does not pay child support even though he is self-employed. Aminata has filed her VAWA self-petition for residency status, which has been approved. If she
is forced to leave the United States to get her green card in Afghanistan, she believes that Ahmed
will follow her there and kill her. In Afghanistan, Ahmed is fully able to do anything he wishes
to Aminata because she is his wife. He knows exactly where she would stay in Afghanistan, and
he is aware that the police force and laws of Afghanistan would not hold him accountable for any
violence committed against Aminata or the children. He is watching her very closely in the
United States, and he would know when she left the country with the children. Aminata's
restraining order would not keep her safe in Afghanistan from Ahmed's abuse. This case originated in New York. LUPE Lupe is originally from El Salvador. She met Christopher, a United States citizen, at a dance
club where he was working as a disc jockey. They started dating and quickly fell in love. Later,
they moved in together. They married in New York three years later. Christopher began controlling Lupe's movements from the beginning of their relationship. He
would call her every five minutes when she was at home, just to check up on her. When she got
pregnant with their first child, he purchased a cellular phone so he could call her even more
frequently. He told her that she did not need anyone but him and the baby. A few months into
her pregnancy, though, Lupe discovered that Christopher was having an affair with another
woman. She left him and went to her parents' house. Christopher began stalking Lupe at her parents' home, parking his car directly across the street
and calling out "I love you!" whenever she would leave the house. One day, she was standing
outside the house with her mother and brother when Christopher came barreling into the
driveway in his car, ordering Lupe to "get in." When she refused, he got out of the car and
dragged her by the hair into the passenger's seat. Her pregnant belly got stuck between the seats,
and Lupe could not move. Lupe's brother got a baseball bat and hit the back windshield of the
car as Lupe's mother tried to pull Lupe out of the car. Christopher threw Lupe's mother to the
sidewalk and sped off with Lupe in the car. He drove her to his apartment and locked her inside
with him, telling her that if she did not come back to him, he would do something drastic. He
told her it was all her fault that he did these crazy things. He kept repeating that he loved her
and begged her not to leave him. The he pulled the phone off the wall and laid down next to her
in bed. He convinced her to stay. On other occasions, Christopher would force Lupe to perform sexual acts against her will. Three
weeks after giving birth, the baby was sleeping next to Lupe in the bed when Christopher came
into the room and began to undress Lupe. She told him that the doctor had strongly
recommended no sexual activity for at least one month. Christopher became angry and called
her nasty names. Then he pushed her onto her knees and demanded that she give him oral sex.
When she said "no," he pinned her against the wall and screamed at her to do it now. She had no
choice but to follow his orders. Then he had sex with her against her will, even though she told
him that he was hurting her. Later that year, Christopher began complaining that Lupe was spending too much time with the
baby. One day, he forced her into the car and made her drop the baby off at her mother's house.
Then he took her back to their house and pushed her around the bedroom, ripping off her clothes
and calling her a whore and a slut. The he pulled his pants off as Lupe screamed and tried to
reach for the phone. He told her to act like the whore she was and have sex with him like one.
She was so afraid that she held still as he raped her again and again. When he was done, he
acted as though nothing had happened and treated her as if she had enjoyed it. From then on, the
sexual abuse was more frequent. When he would come home for lunch he would order her to
put the baby to nap so that they could have sex. Every time he wanted rough sex and oral sex,
Lupe would feel sick. Christopher would respond by pushing her, smacking her, pulling her
hair, and telling her that she would never see the baby again unless she did what he asked. Christopher abused the baby, as well. He would lock him in the closet to punish him for crying.
He would also crush the baby's favorite toys with his foot. Lupe discovered Christopher's abuse
of her son and immediately left Christopher, fleeing to her parents' house. Christopher came to
her parents' house and stalked her for a week, calling her and parking his car outside the house.
When she finally agreed to talk with him, he forced her into his car and drove away at a high
speed, swerving all over the road and telling her that they were both going to die that day. He
said that if he could not have her, no one would. She was so frightened that she told him that she
would return to him. Lupe got a restraining order against Christopher after he abducted her from the local gym and
drove her to a lake, where he threatened to drown her. Lupe talked to him and calmed him down
for hours before he finally agreed to take her back to the gym, where she called the police. She
later consulted an attorney and filed a VAWA self-petition for her residency. If Lupe is forced to return to El Salvador to get her green card, she will face severe hardships.
First of all, her restraining order is unenforceable in El Salvador. Additionally, Lupe fled the
war in El Salvador along with all her family when she was only five years old and has horrible
memories of gunfire, hiding, and running for cover in El Salvador. She has not been to El
Salvador since she fled many years ago, and she no longer speaks Spanish or knows any contacts
in El Salvador. Finally, the expense of the trip would be a significant financial burden to a
young, single mother of two young sons. She is trying to rebuild her life and support her babies
entirely on her own, with no help from Christopher. Forcing Lupe to return to El Salvador
would be a nightmare of confusion and emotional trauma for a woman who has already suffered
so much in her life. This case originated in New York. SOL Sol was born in Guatemala. She met her husband, Jeffrey, in New York in 1987. Jeffrey was
the owner of the apartment building where Sol lived when she first arrived in New York. He is
a United States citizen. Sol and Jeffrey started living together shortly after they met. They married almost six years
later. While they were living together, Jeffrey revealed to Sol that he was addicted to cocaine
and that he was trying his best to quit. Sol tried to be supportive of Jeffrey, but she soon
discovered that he was still partying with friends and taking drugs without attempting to quit.
Knowing that her husband was a drug addict upset Sol and created tension in their relationship. Jeffrey began abusing her shortly after their first child, Maggie, was born. He would push Sol
forcefully when he would get angry. He would also grab and shake her violently. He threatened
to throw her out of the apartment and leave her homeless. Only 15 days after Maggie was born,
Sol became so afraid of Jeffrey that she attempted to leave him and move in with her brother.
Before she could leave, Jeffrey told her that unless she stayed with him he would hurt her
brother. Fearing for her brother's life and not knowing the extent of Jeffrey's capacity for
violence, Sol stayed with him and abandoned her plans to flee. On another occasion, after Jeffrey held Sol by the arms and shook her repeatedly, Sol feared for
her and her daughter's life and fled to her local church. There, the pastor called the police and
helped her enter a women's shelter. She remained there for the next year. Towards the end of
that year, Jeffrey sought out Sol's brother and demanded he tell him where Sol was living.
When Sol's brother refused to tell him, Jeffrey beat him up and rummaged through his house.
He found a phone bill and from there traced one of the phone numbers to the shelter where Sol
was staying. He arrived at the shelter and demanded that Sol return to him, or else he would kill
her whole family. Believing his threats, Sol felt she had no choice but to move back in with him.
Immediately afterward, Jeffrey began pressuring Sol to have a second child and refused to allow
Sol to use birth control. Sol's second child, Anthony, was born needing a liver transplant. Money was tight in the
household at that time, and one day Jeffrey flew into a rage over how much money Sol had spent
for household supplies. He started to throw things around the apartment, kicking and hitting the
furniture and walls. He also threatened to kill Sol's mother. At that moment, Sol decided that
she would risk everything to escape this man's violence. She left the apartment with the children
and filed for a restraining order, which is still in effect and which granted her sole custody of the
children to protect them from Jeffrey's violence. Since Sol left Jeffrey, he has continued to stalk her, harassing and threatening to kill her and her
family. He has also sent her threatening letters and a videotape of him filming the place where
Sol and the children were now living. The police are trying to arrest Jeffrey for violation of the
restraining order, but so far, he has managed to evade them. Sol believes he is capable of the
greatest violence--including killing her and her family and kidnaping the children. If Sol is forced to return to Mexico to get her green card under VAWA, she fears that Jeffrey
will follow her there and abuse her. She knows that he is currently stalking her and the children
and that he follows her movements closely in the U.S. The restraining order she has against him
is the only thing that is keeping her safe from Jeffrey's violence. Outside of the U.S., her
restraining order would not be valid. In addition, if forced to leave the U.S. to get her green card, Sol would have to take her children
with her for an unknown period of time while the consulate processes her visa. Sol's U.S.
citizen son, Anthony, would face life-threatening health problems if he went with his mother to
Mexico to get her green card. He requires ongoing treatment and dialysis for his liver problems,
and he depends on Sol as his primary caretaker. He cannot interrupt his medical treatment for a
trip with his mother to Mexico. There is no one that Sol can risk leaving the children with in her
absence. Any caretaker would be subject to violent attacks while caring for the children and may
not be able to protect the children from Jeffrey. This case originated in New York. GABRIELLE Gabrielle was born in Haiti. She has lived in the United States for the past three years. While
she was living in Haiti, she met Pierre, a United States citizen also originally from Haiti. Pierre
had been visiting his mother near Gabrielle's hometown. In time, Pierre and Gabrielle started
dating and soon fell in love. Pierre later brought Gabrielle with him to the U.S. and married her
in New York. Soon after the marriage took place, Gabrielle noticed a change in Pierre. He isolated her in a
small town where she had neither friends nor family. Gabrielle felt depressed and lonely and
longed to make American friends, but Pierre never allowed her to leave the house without him.
He even pinned down the curtains and told her that she "had no business looking outside." He
refused to let her go to school or learn to speak English because he wanted her to be entirely
dependent upon him. Pierre would inform Gabrielle that she was only good for cooking,
cleaning, and having sex with him. He even proposed bringing women to the house to have sex
with both Gabrielle and himself. This proposition horrified Gabrielle. One day, after a long period of severe emotional abuse and isolation, Gabrielle finally disobeyed
Pierre's orders and left the house to take a walk by herself. When she returned home after the
walk, she found that Pierre had called the police and had told them that she was taking drugs.
Gabrielle did not understand English, so she could not answer the police officer's questions.
After a translator was called, Gabrielle explained to the police how Pierre had been abusing her
during their marriage. The police took Gabrielle to a battered women's shelter. Pierre later served divorce papers on Gabrielle and threatened to have her deported. He told her
that since he was an American citizen, he could do whatever he wanted to her, and nothing
would happen to him. Gabrielle went to an attorney and received a restraining order against
Pierre and assistance in applying for her green card under VAWA. Pierre was furious at
Gabrielle's actions. He immediately made a trip to Haiti and visited Gabrielle's parents, her
adult daughter, and her former place of employment, spreading lies about Gabrielle and
threatening to kill her if she ever set foot in Haiti again. He also threatened to hurt Gabrielle's
parents and daughter if Gabrielle ever came back to Haiti. He knew full well that Gabrielle's
restraining order would not protect her outside the United States. Gabrielle's family and friends in Haiti have called and written to her to warn her of Pierre's plan
to kill her or have her killed if she ever returns to Haiti. Gabrielle is very afraid of Pierre and
believes she will be in serious danger if she returns to Haiti to get her green card under VAWA.
Gabrielle feels that Haiti is an insecure place where Pierre could easily kidnap, hurt, or kill her
without police intervention. She has no doubt that once she sets foot in Haiti, Pierre will be
waiting for her. This case originated in New York. RAQUEL Raquel is a citizen of the Dominican Republic. She has lived in the United States for the past
four years. After her arrival in the United States, Raquel met and fell in love with Gerardo, a
lawful permanent resident of the United States originally from the Dominican Republic. After a
period of courtship, Raquel and Gerardo were married. Raquel had no idea at the time of her
marriage that Gerardo was an abusive man. Shortly after their marriage, Raquel noticed a change in Gerardo's behavior. He began to be
very controlling and domineering with Raquel. He also started criticizing the way she talked and
acted. He would insult her verbally, telling her "you're not good enough," and calling her an
unfit wife. When their son, Pablo, was born, Gerardo began criticizing Raquel's skills as a
mother. He was never satisfied with anything Raquel did, and soon his verbal abuse made
Raquel depressed, afraid, and severely lacking in self-confidence. Gerardo's abuse of Raquel escalated drastically over time. He began calling Raquel at work,
threatening and harassing her. During one call, he threatened to burn down their home. Finally,
in April of 1998, Gerardo beat Raquel severely all over her body. Bruised and fearful for her
and her son's safety, Raquel went to the police and reported the beating. She received a
permanent restraining order against Gerardo, in which Gerardo was ordered to leave the family
home. Shortly after this incident, Raquel consulted a lawyer who began helping her self-petition
for permanent residency under VAWA. If Raquel is forced to return to the Dominican Republic as the only way she can get her green
card under VAWA, her U.S. citizen son will suffer serious, perhaps life-threatening, health risks.
Raquel's son, Pablo, was born with severe atorec dermatitis, a rare disease which makes him
sensitive to weather changes and puts his life in jeopardy if he is exposed to sunlight. Pablo has
been receiving ongoing medical treatment for this disease, and he requires close care and
monitoring. Treatment for Pablo's disease is unavailable in the Dominican Republic. In fact,
doctors from the leading medical centers in the Dominican Republic have reported to Raquel's
attorney that there are no reported cases of Pablo's disease in the Dominican Republic and that
the Dominican Republic is unprepared to treat such a disease as Pablo's. Sending Raquel and
Pablo back to the Dominican Republic to obtain Raquel's green card could be a death sentence
for young Pablo. This case originated in New York. BELINDA Belinda's long-term boyfriend, Francisco, brought Belinda and their child to the United States
from the Dominican Republic. Belinda and the child entered illegally. Francisco is a lawful
permanent resident of the United States. After several years of living together both in the
Dominican Republic and the United States, Belinda and Francisco were married in New York.
Later, they had a second child here in the United States. The year after Belinda entered the U.S., Francisco began to physically abuse her. He would
punch and slap her repeatedly, and when she would attempt to call the police, he would threaten
to report her to the INS. He was very controlling and would monitor her movements and her
phone calls. She was not allowed to leave the house, make friends, or associate with anyone
without Francisco's permission. The physical and emotional abuse was so severe that Belinda separated from Francisco and fled
the family home with her two children. She sought refuge with Francisco's sister and began
living with her. One day, Francisco arrived at his sister's house and demanded to see Belinda.
When she came out, he began beating her face and body with his fists and pulling her hair. She
managed to escape his grasp, open the door, and run out into the street. To her horror, Francisco
followed her to the street and attacked her with a machete. The attack only ended when police
arrived on the scene and arrested Francisco for domestic assault and battery. Belinda was
hospitalized with the severe injuries that Francisco inflicted upon her. Later, she obtained a
protective order against Francisco. The state filed criminal charges against Francisco for assaulting Belinda. The criminal case is
still pending. Francisco is filled with rage and blames Belinda for getting him arrested and
charged with this crime. He has vowed to follow her to the ends of the earth to exact his revenge
upon her. Belinda believes his threats and is afraid that Francisco will hurt or kill her if he ever
comes in contact with her again. If Belinda is forced to return to the Dominican Republic as the only way to obtain her green card
under VAWA, she fears that Francisco will follow her and hurt her. His family knows Belinda,
and Belinda is certain that Francisco could find her easily in the Dominican Republic. Belinda's
restraining order would not keep her safe from Francisco's abuse outside the United States. In
addition, making the trip to the Dominican Republic to get her green card would be a devastating
financial hardship to Belinda. She and her two children are living in a shelter for battered
women and children, and she does not have the resources to finance a trip now or in the near
future. Her protection order awards Belinda custody of their two small children. She has no one
in the United States on whom she can rely to take care of her children while she is in the
Dominican Republic. All of these hardships would make it dangerous impossible for Belinda to
return to the Dominican Republic to get her green card. This case originated in New York. VIOLETA Violeta was born in Trinidad. She came to the United States along with other family members.
While Violeta was living in New York, she met Kurt, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.
originally from Trinidad. Kurt and Violeta fell in love and were married in 1997. Shortly after
their marriage, Kurt began mistreating Violeta. Kurt had an uncontrollable temper. He would savagely beat Violeta for no particular reason.
The beatings were frequent and unpredictable. He would punch her, scratch her, and kick her
repeatedly during these attacks. He constantly threatened to kill her by throwing her out of the
window. Violeta sincerely believed these threats. She knew that it was only a matter of time
before Kurt snapped and beat her to death. He had already begun beating her in front of others,
including Violeta's mother. Kurt's brutal physical abuse of Violeta caused her to miscarry their child in the second month of
pregnancy. At that time, Kurt was unemployed, and Violeta's income from her own job was the
only means of support for the couple. Despite this, Kurt called Violeta's boss to try to get her
fired. It was then that Violeta decided she could not stand to be with Kurt any longer. Even
though she feared what he would do if she left him, Violeta gathered her courage and moved in
with her mother. She applied for and received a restraining order against Kurt and applied for
legal immigration status under VAWA. Despite Violeta's attempts to sever her relationship with Kurt, he has continued to stalk her ever
since she moved out of their house. He calls her on the telephone 10-12 times every night.
Violeta is so frightened of Kurt that she goes everywhere with an escort and always has either
her mother or a friend in the house with her at all times. Her body is covered with scars and
bruises left from Kurt's abuse. She is now undergoing counseling and psychiatric treatment for
the trauma she experienced living with Kurt. If Violeta must return to Trinidad as the only way of getting her green card under VAWA, she
will face possible injury and death at the hands of Kurt. Since her restraining order will not be
valid in Trinidad, she will have no way to protect herself from Kurt, who has maintained his
contacts in Trinidad. He has already vowed to kill her in the U.S., and he continues to stalk her
to this day. Violeta does not doubt that he would follow her to Trinidad, a place where she
would be alone and unprotected. Violeta has no friends or family to rely upon for support and
protection in Trinidad, and she cannot even imagine walking the streets alone, either in the U.S.
or in Trinidad. She lives in a constant state of terror and is in such terrible physical and
emotional shape that she cannot endure a trip to Trinidad. To Violeta, the only place where she
stands a chance at protecting herself from Kurt is here in the United States. If she is forced to
return to Trinidad for any period of time to obtain her lawful permanent residency under
VAWA, she knows she will be a target for violence. This case originated in New York. PILAR Pilar is originally from Mexico. She first entered the United States when she was fifteen years
old. Her parents disapproved of her leaving Mexico to live with her aunt in the U.S. at such a
young age. Consequently, Pilar's family and community in Mexico cut all ties with her. When Pilar was sixteen, she met and fell in love with Roberto, a twenty-year-old lawful
permanent resident of the United States who was originally from Nicaragua. Pilar moved in with
Roberto and became pregnant with their child when Pilar was seventeen. Roberto forced Pilar to
have an abortion, even though this decision was against Pilar's religious and moral beliefs.
Since Pilar was under age at the time of the abortion, Roberto posed as her brother and signed all
the consent papers for the procedure. Pilar still carries severe emotional scars as a result of this
forced abortion. Throughout the next three years of their relationship, Roberto physically and emotionally abused
Pilar. He would punch, slap, and kick her when she displeased or "disobeyed" him. He refused
to let her out of the house and isolated her from friends and family. During the day, Roberto
kept an eye on Pilar by getting her a waitressing job at the same restaurant at which he worked.
He would exercise complete control over Pilar's every movement, often threatening to have her
deported if she did not obey his commands. When Pilar was twenty, she again became pregnant with Roberto's child. Roberto married her at
that time. Soon after this, he tried to make her have another abortion, but Pilar refused. In
response, Roberto beat Pilar severely during all nine months of her pregnancy, regularly
punching her in the stomach so that she would miscarry the child. At the end of nine months,
when Pilar went into labor, Roberto refused to take her to the hospital, and instead told her to
"call a cab." After their baby was born, Roberto did not pick Pilar and the baby up from the
hospital, and Pilar was forced to take a bus home. About a month after the baby was born, Roberto attacked Pilar for the last time. He began
beating her even though she was holding the baby in her arms. He attacked her with such force
that she dropped the baby. Although the baby was not hurt in the fall, the incident made Pilar
fear for her baby's safety. She found the strength to pack her things, go to the police, and enter a
shelter for battered women and children. She left Roberto that day. Since then, she has sought
counsel to assist her in obtaining her green card via a VAWA self-petition. Pilar has lived in the United States since she was a young girl. If she is required to return to
Mexico as the only way to get her green card under VAWA, Pilar will face extreme hardship.
She has no family in the U.S. with whom she may leave her U.S. citizen child while she is
getting her green card. In Mexico, Pilar no longer has ties to her family, who disowned her
when she left for the United States, nor does she have any ties with her hometown community.
Her parents refuse to see her and do not communicate with her. She and her baby would be
shunned if they returned to Mexico, and no one would help and support Pilar there. Because of
the years of abuse that Pilar has suffered in her relationship with Roberto, she now lacks the
emotional strength to confront her family. After all she has suffered, she must not be forced to
leave the United States to obtain her green card. This case originated in New York. LILLY Lilly is originally from Canada. Her mother, an alcoholic named Mary, and her father, a violent,
abusive man named John, mistreated Lilly both physically and emotionally when she was a little
girl. They would belittle her, call her names, and beat her severely whenever they perceived she
had misbehaved. Lilly suffered such tremendous emotional scars from the abuse and neglect of
her parents that she was placed in Child Protective Services by the Canadian authorities. Lilly
was released to her uncle's care in the United States, and she entered the country without
inspection in 1990. Lilly later married a U.S. citizen named Stuart. Unfortunately for Lilly, Stuart was also a
controlling, violent man who abused her just as her parents had. Stuart would insult her and
damage her self-esteem, and he would punch, slap, and kick her when angry. After years of
abuse and terror, Lilly finally escaped to a shelter with her two children, Greg and Katie. After
consulting with a lawyer, Lilly filed her paperwork for a VAWA self-petition, and it was
approved. Lilly's two children are U.S. citizens, and they are both involved in the community and enrolled
in school. Lilly would not be able leave them behind if she were forced to return to Canada to
get her green card under VAWA. Furthermore, she is unable to afford the trip to Canada at all,
considering that she is currently living with her children in a battered women's shelter.
Assuming she did go back to Canada, though, Lilly would face painful memories from her
childhood and severe emotional trauma. Lilly has no other friends or family in Canada aside from her abusive parents. She and her
children would have no one else to rely on for help and support while in Canada. The prospect
of seeing her parents again fills Lilly with fear. Her contact with them has been very limited, but
they still try to control and emotionally abuse her to this day. Her mother has even threatened to
call the police and the INS to have Lilly deported to Canada. Considering her parents'
emotionally controlling nature, Lilly cannot fathom returning to Canada and facing the painful
memories from her childhood after the abuse she has recently suffered at the hands of her
husband. This case originated in New York. JOHANNA Johanna is a citizen of Jamaica who entered the United States in 1991 with a visitor's visa. In
1992, Johanna's landlord introduced her to Irving, a citizen of Jamaica who had gained
permanent residency through his mother. The two dated and lived together for several years, and
had two American citizen daughters. They finally married in 1997. Johanna constantly suffered physical and emotional abuse throughout the course of their
relationship. Irving was extremely possessive and controlling, preventing Johanna even from
picking out her own clothes to wear. Both Johanna and her neighbors reported several incidents
of abuse to the police. Johanna required medical attention for her injuries after several brutal
incidents. It was not uncommon for Irving to punch Johanna in the face and slap her. Specific
incidents of abuse include shaking her violently while she was pregnant with their daughter,
slapping her while she was holding their child in her arms, and hitting her in the head with a
ceramic mug. The worst incident of abuse Johanna suffered was in June of 1997, when Irving invited his
mother to move in with the couple and their children. Johanna told Irving this was not a good
idea because the apartment was already very crowded. Enraged, Irving punched her in the ears,
grabbed her, and pushed her up against the wall and then down onto the floor. Johanna's ears
were seriously injured from this abuse and rang for two weeks after this incident. Soon after this episode, Johanna escaped the home with her two daughters and moved to a
shelter for battered women. Irving never filed a spousal petition for Johanna's green card, and
Johanna has now filed a self-petition. However, she is afraid to return to Jamaica to receive her
green card. Irving knows he could abuse her there without legal consequences and would likely
follow her there to do so. In addition, she cannot afford to take her children to Jamaica for an
indeterminate length of time, but has no one with whom to leave them. Johanna has no support
system left in Jamaica to aid and protect her while she is there. It is necessary that Johanna be
allowed to remain in the United States to become a lawful permanent resident in order to protect
her safety. This case originated in New York. SIMA Sima is a citizen of Pakistan who entered the United States on a student visa in 1981. She met
her future husband, Rashid, in 1985. The couple dated for many years, and eventually married
in September of 1997. Rashid, a citizen of Pakistan and a lawful permanent resident, refused to
file a spousal petition for Sima. Rashid became both physically and emotionally abusive to Sima immediately after they were
married. He would often tell her she was no longer attractive, and that he no longer wanted her.
On one occasion, he shouted curses at her and spit toothpaste on her several times. Rashid first
hit Sima in the face in November of 1997. Having sustained extensive bruising, she went to the
police after this incident. Subsequently, physical violence such as hitting, pushing, and slapping
took place about once a month, and verbal abuse took place almost every day. During one
incident, Rashid slapped Sima and pulled her by the hair. Sima called the police, which only
further enraged Rashid. He exacted revenge by threatening Sima's friends and family and
spreading malicious lies about her in their close-knit community. In December of 1997, Sima's husband started forbidding her to answer the phone, and denied
that they were married to many of the couple's friends and acquaintances. Rashid would also
constantly threaten to have Sima deported. Throughout the marriage, women would call the
couple's home and harass Sima by telling her that they were Rashid's lovers. In October of 1998, Sima came home to their marital residence to find the locks had been
changed. She later found that Rashid had put half of her possessions in storage and the rest in
garbage bags. After a warrant for her husband's arrest was issued due to the history of domestic
violence culminating in the illegal lockout, Rashid wrote letters to Sima's family in Pakistan
threatening to have Sima and her family members killed. Rashid then served Sima with divorce
papers. Sima is currently staying with friends while awaiting space so she can move into a shelter for
battered women. She has filed a self-petition for residency, but she is frightened to return to
Pakistan for visa issuance. She has no doubt that if she returns home Rashid will follow through
with his threats to kill her and her family. Once she leaves the United States, Sima will no
longer be protected by the American criminal justice system that has, for now, brought a halt to
the physical violence if not the threats. Sima will face grave danger in her tumultuous home
country where husbands have full legal right to control and abuse their wives. Since Rashid is
also a Pakistani citizen and maintains contacts in Pakistan, he knows this and will be able to
carry out his threats. Sima must be allowed to remain safe within the boundaries of the United
States, and not be required to return to Pakistan in order to become a lawful permanent resident. This case originated in Texas. CARMELA Carmela is originally from Mexico. She moved to Texas in 1988, after both her parents died in
Mexico. She met Jed, a United States citizen, in 1995 through a mutual friend. She and Jed
began dating, and eventually they moved in together in El Paso. A few months after they moved
in together, Carmela found out that Jed had a drinking problem. He was arrested for causing an
accident while driving under the influence, and when he was released from jail, he begged
Carmela to help him quit drinking. Carmela thought he was a good person and was in love with
him, so she told him she would try to help. They were married in 1996, when Jed became sober.
Carmela believed that he would not drink again. The first month of their marriage was happy; however, soon after that, Jed began coming home
drunk. When Carmela confronted him about his drinking, he screamed at her and insulted her.
His verbal abuse of Carmela grew more frequent over time. Jed would yell at Carmela, call her a
prostitute, throw her clothes all over the floor, and kick her out of the house when he would get
angry at her. He began disappearing every weekend, leaving Carmela alone and without
transportation. She began to suspect that he was having affairs with other women. At this time, Carmela was diagnosed with uterine cancer. She had a very difficult time getting
Jed to take her to the doctor, and he refused to give her money to pay the clinic fees. He began
telling her that he wished she were dead. He also began sexually abusing her, and on one
occasion, he purposely urinated inside of her while they were having intercourse. He became
more violent, as well. One evening, he got angry at her while they were at a bar. He smashed
two glasses, insulted her, and drove off without her. By the time she got home, Jed had
destroyed a clock and had ripped the telephone out of the wall and thrown it across the room.
Carmela was very afraid of his violence. After Carmela had an operation to remove the cancer from her uterus, Jed did not bring her food
while she was recuperating, and he abused her physically. About a week after her operation, she
asked Jed to bring her some food, and he became so angry that he pulled her out of bed and
threw her against the sofa. Then he pushed her out the door and refused to let her back in the
house. She separated from him shortly after that incident. First she went to a shelter, and then she
found an apartment of her own. Jed came to her apartment shortly after she moved in, asking
her to let him inside. When she refused, he broke the door down and slapped her so hard that her
gums bled. Then he spat in her face and called her a prostitute. Carmela raced to her bedroom
and called the police. Jed was arrested, and Carmela received a restraining order to protect her
from his abuse. She also obtained counsel to assist her in filing a VAWA petition for residency. Now Carmela will be forced to return to Mexico as the only way of getting her green card under
VAWA. She has lived in the U.S. for the past ten years, since she was a very young girl. She
has no relatives to help and support her in Mexico, and making the trip alone would cause her
great emotional stress. In addition, Carmela cannot leave the U.S. to journey to Mexico because
she is receiving ongoing treatment in Texas for uterine cancer. She pays for her own treatment,
but it is affordable and accessible in the U.S. In Mexico, similar treatment would be too
expensive for Carmela to afford, and the quality of care would not match that of the U.S.
Because Carmela must aggressively treat her uterine cancer through intensive therapies, she
cannot put her life at risk by leaving the U.S. and discontinuing her treatment. This case originated in Texas. LINDA Linda is originally from Mexico. She met her husband, Tom, a United States citizen, while she
was living in Texas. At the time, Linda had a four-year-old daughter from a previous
relationship named Jan. When Linda and Tom started dating, she was pleased to see that he was
very thoughtful and considerate toward her and her daughter. In time, Linda fell in love with
Tom, and she accepted his proposal of marriage. Once Linda and Jan moved in with Tom, his behavior began to change. He controlled Linda's
movements and restricted her phone calls. He made up a schedule of foods that could only be
eaten at certain times and on certain days, and he refused to buy fruit, saying it was "not food."
He also refused to give Linda money to buy groceries, telling her that she did not know how to
shop properly. He enjoyed making her cry and insulting her in public, using foul language and
calling her names like "dummy," "garbage," and "bitch." After only a few months of marriage,
Linda became depressed and lacking in self-esteem. She felt powerless in her marriage and was
very upset when Tom told her that he was "the king" and that she must "always obey him." Linda also suffered sexual abuse at her husband's hands. He would hurt her when they were
having sex, pulling her hair and forcing her to perform acts that she did not want to perform. He
would get angry if she refused to perform these acts, and then he would rape her with much force
and violence. This sexual abuse continued while Linda was pregnant with their child. He raped
her several times in the few weeks before the baby was born, causing her great pain and concern
for her unborn baby's health. Tom was drinking alcohol and getting drunk every day, which only made him more violent. On
one occasion after their daughter, Jodie, was born, he refused to buy milk for the baby and told
Linda that she should give her water instead. When Linda protested, he told her that she should
become a prostitute if she wanted to make money of her own. He then demanded that she have
sex with him, although she had given birth only a few days before. When she declined, he
forced himself upon her, hurting her because she had not yet healed from the child's birth. On
another occasion, he got angry and hit the bathroom wall with his fist, making a hole in the wall.
His growing violence frightened Linda, and she considered leaving him. She separated from him after an incident in March of 1998. He had told little Jan to tie her
tennis shoes, and when she was slow to react, he pulled her by the legs and dropped her on the
floor. Linda told him not to treat her that way, and in response, Tom grabbed Linda and pinned
her arms to the door. Linda told her daughter to call the police, but Tom pushed Jan out of the
way and pulled the phone cord from the wall. Once Tom let Linda go, she raced upstairs to baby
Jodie's room and attempted to pick her up from the crib. Tom followed her and shoved her
against the crib, then he yanked the baby blanket out of Linda's hands, almost causing her to
drop the baby. He put his face close to Linda's and shouted that he was the one to give the
orders in their house. Just then, the police arrived and arrested Tom. Linda obtained a
restraining order against him, and the court ordered him to vacate the family home immediately. Since then, Linda has filed a VAWA self-petition for residency. She remains extremely afraid
that Tom will return to her home and try to abuse her or kill her. He is very angry at her for
having left him, getting a restraining order and calling the police. Considering Tom's violent,
unpredictable nature, Linda must rely exclusively on her restraining order to keep her and her
children safe from Tom. Since Tom is a U.S. citizen, he can cross borders easily, and he is familiar with where Linda's
family lives in Mexico. If Linda were forced to return to Mexico to get her green card under
VAWA, she believes Tom would follow her there and try to hurt or kill her. Linda knows that in
Mexico her restraining order would not protect her, and the Mexican police would not stop Tom
from abusing her. She is also fearful that Tom would try to kidnap her daughters while she was
in Mexico. Because Tom has threatened to take Linda's daughters from her in the past, she
believes he will act on these threats. In order for Linda and her children to be safe, she cannot
return to Mexico to get her green card. This case originated in Texas. ESTRELLA Estrella is a citizen of Mexico. She met Báltazar, a lawful permanent resident of the United
States, while she was in Mexico. They dated for a short while, and Báltazar proposed to her.
Estrella is deaf-mute, and at the time that she married Báltazar, she was only 18 years old.
Nevertheless, her parents approved of the marriage, and Estrella also believed that Báltazar loved
her and would be good to her. The couple immediately moved to Texas, where most of
Báltazar's family lived. Estrella and Báltazar moved in with his mother and sisters. At first, all went well in the
marriage, but little by little, problems arose. Báltazar would leave Estrella alone with his family
for days at a time, and no one would speak or sign to her during those days. She felt very
isolated. When her husband would come home, he would argue with her and become frustrated
with her inability to hear or talk. He would shout at her and shake her violently, then he would
slap and punch her. His family knew that he was abusing her, but they did nothing to stop him. On other occasions, Báltazar would abuse Estrella outside, where the neighbors could see. He
would push her and slap her repeatedly across the face until a neighbor would step in and calm
him down. Because Estrella was deaf and unable to use the telephone, she could not call the
police, nor could she rely on Báltazar's family to help her. Her own family lived far away in
Mexico and could not protect her. Estrella gave birth to three daughters during her marriage to Báltazar. He continued to either
ignore her completely or physically abuse her at every opportunity. On top of that, he ordered
Estrella to give the babies to his mother and sisters to raise, since he thought she would not be a
good mother. After all of her children's births, Estrella was kept from having too much contact
with her them, despite her protests. Her mother-in-law refused to let her feed them or play with
them except on rare occasions. Also, Estrella was not permitted to leave the house, even to buy
groceries. Báltazar's family used the fact that they kept the children from her to qualify to
receive government assistance, food stamps, and WIC. One evening, Báltazar came home and told Estrella that he had a girlfriend in Mexico whom he
wanted to marry. He told Estrella that he did not love her anymore, and that he wanted her to
leave his home and go back to Mexico. If she refused to leave, he would call the police and the
INS and have her deported. Finally, he informed her that when she was deported, he would keep
all three of the children and let his mother raise them. Estrella was horrified. She pleaded with
Báltazar to reconsider, but he just got angry and started beating her. Their three girls watched as
Báltazar punched their mother repeatedly in the stomach with his closed fists. Then he kicked
her with all his strength, grabbed her by the neck, and told her he wanted her to die. He dragged
her by her hair to their bed and smothered her face with a pillow until she passed out from lack
of oxygen. After he left the house, one of the children ran to a neighbor's house to get help.
The neighbor called Estrella's mother-in-law. No one took Estrella to the hospital for treatment of her injuries, even though she was vomiting
blood. Eventually, Estrella's mother contacted Báltazar's family and came to Texas when she
learned that Báltazar had beaten her daughter. It was Estrella's mother who called the police
after seeing the extent of her daughter's injuries. Estrella had been vomiting blood from the
internal stomach injuries, was yellow in color, and had difficulty walking. The police arrived
and helped Estrella obtain a restraining order and get help at a battered women's shelter. The
judge in the restraining order case found that Báltazar had abused Estrella and that he and his
family had also harmed their oldest daughter. The protection order Estrella custody of the
children. Since leaving Báltazar, Estrella has also sought assistance in filing a VAWA self-petition for residency. If Estrella is forced to return to Mexico as the only way of getting her green card under VAWA,
Báltazar would go to court as soon as she left to get custody of their three children, telling the
judge that she had abandoned them. she could lose custody of her three children. Even before
Estrella left Báltazar, he had been trying to have her deported so that he could marry his new
girlfriend. It was his plan to take custody of Estrella's three girls and get rid of Estrella--either
by having her deported or by beating her to death. Now Estrella faces a bitter custody battle for
the three children. She does not want them to grow up with Báltazar or his family, since they all
have mistreated her and would likely mistreat her children. Estrella is a good mother to her
children and believes that only she can protect them. She cannot afford to make the trip to Mexico because she is currently living in a shelter and does
not have the funds to pay for the trip. Even if she were able to travel to Mexico, she would not
be able to leave her children with Báltazar's family without risking losing custody of the children
to them. Leaving the U.S. for any period of time would increase her chances of losing custody,
since she would miss important court dates while she was out of the country. Therefore, in order
to keep her children safe from her husband's violence, she must be allowed to obtain her green
card in the U.S. This case originated in Texas. DOLORES Dolores was born in Mexico. Her boyfriend, César, lived in the same small Mexican town.
When Dolores and César were both 16 years old, they got married. A little while after their
marriage, César found work in the United States, and he eventually became a lawful permanent
resident of the U.S. Dolores was happy in her marriage to César until their first child was born.
It was at that time that César began abusing Dolores. When their baby was only eight days old, Dolores came home from work one evening and found
her husband smoking marijuana and drinking. She said nothing to him and went straight to bed.
He came into the bedroom and started yelling at her, then he slapped and kicked her and pulled
her hair. Next, he demanded that she give him his gun, which she had previously hidden from
him. She refused and ran to hide behind some furniture. She did not call the Mexican police
because they were located two hours from her house, and she knew that they would not help a
woman who was being abused by her husband. Dolores knew that the police would not help
because she had witnessed her own father beating her mother when Dolores was a little girl.
When the police had been called, they never did anything to stop the abuse. César left the following day for the U.S., where he had been working for the past several months.
He moved Dolores and the baby to Texas that same year, and the abuse began again. One
evening, he locked her in their bedroom and started to hit her repeatedly on her head and body
until she was knocked unconscious. Dolores' mother, who was staying with them at the time,
got Dolores' son to call the police and ambulance. On another occasion, César smacked Dolores
repeatedly across the face as punishment for not going to work when she was sick. He never
needed an excuse to beat her. Dolores left César several times, but each time she would return to him out of fear. He often
threatened to kill her if she left him. When she finally separated from him permanently, the
separation followed a horrifying incident involving her young daughter, Amy. One morning,
little Amy woke up with a fever, so Dolores decided not to send her to school for the day. Later
that same afternoon, Dolores had to leave for work, and she left Amy in her father's care. Two
or three days later, Dolores noticed that Amy was very sad. She asked Amy what was wrong,
but she did not get an answer. The school called to tell Dolores that Amy was very upset and
was scheduled to speak to a counselor. Dolores later discovered that Amy told the counselor that
César had done something very bad to her. That same day, Amy confessed to Dolores that her
father had sexually molested her, and that he had told her that if she told anyone about it, he
would kill her mother. Dolores was sick with the news that César had sexually abused their daughter. She called Child
Protective Services, and they conducted an investigation. Now César is serving time in jail for
pleading guilty to the charge of indecency with a minor. Dolores moved out of the house with
her children and sought counseling for herself and her daughter. She also filed a VAWA self-petition for residency. If Dolores is forced to return to Mexico as the only way of getting her green card, she and her
children would face many hardships. She has no family in the U.S., so she would have to
remove her two children from school and take them with her to Mexico. Her daughter is
currently receiving counseling to help her cope with the trauma of being sexually abused by her
father. Stopping this counseling would be detrimental to the little girl's mental health. In
addition, Dolores is afraid that César would hurt or kill her and the children while in Mexico.
Dolores and César are from the same town, so he would know if she were staying in Mexico
with her family. Since he will be released from jail on probation and possibly deported back to
Mexico for his crime, he will be in a position to find Dolores in Mexico and take revenge on her
for reporting him to the police. Dolores knows that she cannot be safe from his abuse in Mexico.
This case originated in Texas, moved to California, and is currently in Texas. VICTORIA Victoria is 39 years old. She is originally from Mexico, where she studied theology and worked
in a church. She met her husband, Beto, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, while
he was visiting family and friends in Mexico near Victoria's home. The two became friends and
began dating. After an eight-month courtship, Victoria and Beto were married in Texas.
Victoria was in love with Beto and was very happy about beginning a new life with him in
Texas. The couple moved in with Beto's mother, and had their first child in 1987. The next year,
Beto's mother died. After this, Beto began physically abusing Victoria. At the time of the first
incident of abuse, Victoria was eight months pregnant with their second child. That day,
Victoria had discovered she was not eligible for assistance from WIC because she was missing a
document from Beto. When she told Beto this, he began to hit her. He proceeded to kick her in
the stomach, pull her hair, and slap her. Beto then kicked Victoria out of the house, and she had
no choice but to return to Mexico to stay with her mother. After a few weeks, Beto followed
Victoria to Mexico and insisted she return to Texas with him. She was about to give birth, and
felt she had no choice. She had the baby in Texas that night. Another serious incident of abuse occurred in 1990, shortly after the birth of their third son.
Beto was injured and told Victoria to clean up his wound. She did, but it was not to his liking.
He became angry with Victoria and started hitting her. Then their infant began to cry, and
Victoria went to pick him up. Beto tried to hit her again, but missed and hit the baby in the lip
instead. Victoria and the two children entered a shelter, and the police arrested Beto. Once Beto
was in jail, Victoria felt it was safe to return to the house. However, Beto's sister bailed him out
of jail and he immediately returned home. Enraged, he ripped out the heating and air
conditioning units and then reported Victoria to INS. But Victoria was not deported, and she
decided to divorce Beto to get away from his abuse. In 1991, Victoria and the children moved to California because one of her sons had serious heart
problems and needed a heart transplant. Beto came to visit and reconciled with Victoria. During
his visit, the couple conceived another child. After her son's operation, Victoria took the
children back to Texas and moved into an apartment. Beto visited often and put pressure on
Victoria to abort her baby since it was conceived out of wedlock. Victoria insisted upon having
the baby, and he was born in 1992. This child also had heart problems. In 1993, Victoria had to
move with the children to a different city in Texas to obtain a heart transplant for her youngest
son. In 1994, Victoria decided to remarry Beto. She thought he had changed, and needed his support
in raising the children. A few months later, they had a fifth son together. A week after this,
their fourth son died of cancer due to his heart medication. This was an extremely difficult time
for Victoria, but she forced herself to keep going for her four other children. Beto only
worsened things for Victoria by abusing her verbally, often in front of the children. He accused
her of sleeping with other men and lied to her to make her angry. When his anger escalated, he
would pull her hair, throw things at her, and throw her against the wall. Beto also often forced
Victoria out of the house without any money or clothes. The beatings continued as well. Beto often beat her in places where her bruises could not be
seen by others, so as to hide the fact of his abuse. On one occasion, however, Beto beat Victoria
so brutally that she had a severe cut under her left eye and her blood pressure dropped
dramatically. Yet Beto refused to take Victoria to the hospital, and ripped out the phone cord so
she could not call the police. Beto increasingly treated Victoria as a slave. He would become livid if his dinner was not ready
when he arrived home, or if it was cold. He also forced Victoria to have sex with him. If she
refused, he would get angry and call her names or beat her. Beto made Victoria do virtually
everything for him, and became enraged when she stopped attending to him to help the children.
He would not let her watch television or sleep late, leaving Victoria little personal freedom. The
telephone was also restricted from Victoria, preventing her to keep in touch with her family.
Victoria's and Beto's oldest son began treating Victoria as his father did, demeaning her and
ordering her around. When Victoria tied to punish the son, Beto would beat her. Beto also beat
the children when they did not obey him. The spankings would become beatings, and Victoria
would intervene to protect the children, and be further beaten herself. The last incident of abuse occurred when Victoria complemented their pastor on his new suit. A
jealous Beto became furious and beat Victoria brutally. She wanted to call the police, but they
were in a hotel room and did not have access to a phone. That night, Beto made Victoria sleep
on the floor and would not even give her a blanket. The next day, Victoria decided she had
suffered enough abuse, and called the police to take her and her children to a shelter. She then
obtained a restraining order, began learning English, and filed a VAWA self-petition for
residency. Victoria and her children are receiving counseling to help them overcome the effects
of the violence. Law requires that Victoria return to Mexico to obtain her green card based on her VAWA self-petition. If she is forced to return, Victoria will face the fear and danger of being stalked by her
abusive husband in Mexico. Beto has already followed Victoria to Mexico once before. He
knows exactly where she would be staying in Mexico while getting her green card, and he would
take advantage of the fact that her restraining order would not be valid in Mexico and would
offer her no protection from his abusive attacks. Further interrupting ongoing therapy sessions
for Victoria and especially for her boys when they travel to Mexico would have severe
consequences. In addition, Victoria would be unable to return to Mexico to get her green card because it would
put her child at serous medical risk. Her six-year-old son Bobby has a heart condition which is
life-threatening and requires constant, specialized medical attention. If Victoria is forced to go
to Mexico to get her green card, she would have to take Bobby and her other four children with
her, since she has no family or friends in the U.S. whom she trusts to care for her children, and
who can keep the children safe from Beto's violence. Taking Bobby with her to Mexico may
worsen the child's heart condition and put him at risk of illness and death, according to doctors.
Mexico does not have the facilities, specialized medical care, and resources to adequately treat
Bobby's heart condition. Consequently, Victoria must be allowed to remain in the United States
to get her green card. Forcing her to return to Mexico will put her and her children at risk of
abuse at the hands of her husband, and discontinuing her son's medical care in the U.S. will
jeopardize his health. This case originated in Texas. LISA Lisa is a 37-year-old woman from Mexico. She met her husband Manrique in Mexico, and they
got married in 1982. The couple had three children together while living in Mexico. In 1992,
the family moved to the United States when Manrique became a lawful permanent resident.
However, he never petitioned for the residency of his family. Lisa's marriage to Manrique was plagued from the outset. Manrique began verbally and
physically abusing Lisa shortly after their wedding. Sometimes he would abuse her every day
for a week, and sometimes he would go for weeks without abusing her. Manrique's
unpredictable nature caused Lisa to live in constant fear. She had to go to a clinic in Mexico
three times because of the severe beatings and mental cruelty inflicted upon her. She developed
symptoms of anxiety and mental distress and had to take medication to calm her nerves. One incident of abuse occurred when their oldest child was ill. Lisa was quite concerned and
knew the child needed medical attention. However, Manrique refused to take their daughter to
the doctor. He instead began to scream at Lisa, blaming her for the illness of the child. He then
began to beat Lisa. When he delivered a hard blow to her face, it knocked her unconscious. She
also suffered a large cut on her eye as a result. Once, when the beatings became especially severe, Lisa tried to go to the Mexican police for
help. However, she discovered that no one would take her seriously. She said that they refused
to prosecute her claim because she could not provide them with a large sum of money. Domestic
violence reports are ignored in Mexico, because it is socially accepted for men to beat women.
Lisa's mother-in-law had no sympathy for Lisa, telling her that real women can take the abuse. When the family moved to Texas in 1992, the beatings continued. Manrique also started beating
the children. However, he knew he could be punished for abuse more easily in this country. He
began hitting his family in less obvious places and in ways that would not leave a mark. For
example, he would hit their son in the back and drag Lisa across the floor by her hair. Manrique would not let Lisa talk to anyone or have any friends. He said they would only put
ideas in her head. If anyone visited the house, he would yell and throw them out. He wanted
absolute control over Lisa's life, and was able to use her residency status as a way to control her.
He threatened never to file papers for her if she did not do as he said, or if she did not forgive
him for abusing her. Manrique also refused to support his family. He worked, but said that
whatever money he made was his to keep. There was never any money for food or clothing, and
the children did not even have shoes. Lisa tried to make some money by selling cold drinks and
sewing. Sometimes Manrique would forcefully take what little money Lisa made. He said she
was responsible for paying for his expenses. As far as the children were concerned, Manrique
insisted that they should get jobs to support themselves. Of course, they were much too young to
work. In the spring of 1998, Manrique again beat Lisa, causing her nose and lip to bleed. However, she
was too afraid to call the police. A few weeks later, Manrique again abused Lisa. He saw her on
the street near their house, forced her into the car, and started beating her. Lisa jumped out of
the car and ran into a restaurant, where the police were called. Manrique was arrested and served
a few days in jail. Manrique had always been unfaithful to Lisa throughout their marriage, but his infidelities have
recently become more flagrant. On one occasion, he and a girlfriend tried to take the children
with them to Chicago so that Lisa could not find them. Another time, he brought a different
girlfriend home with him. This one was pregnant with his baby. Manrique tried to make Lisa
lick this woman's dirty shoes, telling Lisa she had to because his girlfriend was a "real woman." Lisa grew most concerned about the welfare of her children. Manrique was cruel to them,
especially their son. He beat and screamed at his son frequently. Lisa has tried to shield her
children with her body to protect them from getting hurt. One day, when the entire family was
in the car, Manrique kept swerving off the road threatening to kill them all. The children were
terrified and begged him to stop. Lisa is quite worried about the way Manrique has affected the
children. They are all afraid of their father, and the boy suffers from some behavioral and
learning problems as a result of the abuse he has suffered at home. The two girls are also afraid
and angry and often act out. They feel powerless to stop the violence. The eight-year-old was so
scared that she asked her teacher to help them find counseling. The older of the two daughters is
afraid of men. Lisa ultimately decided to free herself and her children from Manrique's torment and abuse, and
they have entered a shelter. She has filed a self-petition for residency under VAWA, but is
terrified of returning to Mexico for consular processing. Lisa believes that Manrique "would
definitely come and find us and seek retribution against us for leaving him." He has already
located the shelter and gone there to harass Lisa, and could easily travel to Mexico to find her. As recently as January 1, 1998, Manrique traveled to Mexico to threaten Lisa's parents. He said
that once Lisa returned to Mexico, she would never receive her immigration papers, and he
would take the children away from them forever. As Lisa has discovered previously, Mexican
law enforcement will not protect her against Manrique's abuse. She also fears Manrique's
parents in Mexico, who are abusive as well. She refuses to take the children into this dangerous
situation, but has no one with whom she can safely leave them behind. Additionally, Lisa cannot
afford a journey for four to Mexico, and does not want to uproot her children from school and
therapy for a period of weeks or months. Lisa and her children would have no help or support in
Mexico, and would be isolated and endangered. It is therefore imperative that Lisa be permitted
to remain in the United States to receive her green card, and not be required to return to Mexico
for any reason. This case originated in Texas, moved to Arizona and California, and is currently in Texas. DORIS Doris is a 33-year-old citizen of Mexico. She moved to the United States in 1985, living briefly
in Texas, and then moving to Arizona. In Arizona, Doris worked as an aide to the elderly.
There she met Nelson, an American citizen who lived nearby. Doris and Nelson met in 1988,
dated for two months, and then moved in together when Doris became pregnant. She did not
realize until a year later that Nelson was already married. Nelson finally obtained a divorce in
1992. Although Doris and Nelson were together for many years, they did not marry until 1997.
Together they have three children, a nine-year-old son, an eight-year-old son, and a seven-year-old daughter. After four years in Arizona, Doris and Nelson moved to California for a six months, and then
settled in Texas in 1992. The relationship was plagued with abuse from the beginning. Nelson
verbally abuses Doris every day, beginning as soon as he awakes in the morning. He curses at
her and calls her obscene names, telling her she is better off dead than alive because she is
worthless. Nelson says that because he is a citizen and Doris is not, he can do whatever he wants
with her. He makes these remarks in front of the children, and often directs such remarks to
them. Nelson's actions are also extremely cruel. When Doris was pregnant with their youngest
child, she became violently sick one night. She was on the floor of their bedroom, doubled over
in pain, begging for Nelson to help her and to call an ambulance. Nelson simply ignored her.
Eventually, the apartment manager heard Doris's cries and called an ambulance. Doris was
hospitalized for three days, but not once did Nelson visit her or even acknowledge she was ill. Nelson has subjected Doris to constant physical and emotional abuse for the past eight years.
The first time Nelson abused Doris was in 1990, during her pregnancy with their youngest child.
Nelson came home and told Doris that the house was not clean enough, and proceeded to hit her
in the head with his fists. On another occasion, Nelson lashed out at Doris because she had taken
the car to buy groceries. He had forbidden her from driving, saying she was too stupid, but the
children needed food. When she came back from the store, Nelson was waiting for her. He
grabbed her by the hair and pulled her out of the car. She landed on the ground, and Nelson got
in the car and tried to run her over. This was Nelson's first attempt to run her over with a car.
Again, in 1998, Nelson pushed Doris out of their moving truck in front of the children, saying he
did not love Doris or the children enough to give them money to eat. Nelson also frequently
grabs Doris by the shoulders, shaking and pushing her, pulls her hair, kicks her in the legs, and
hits her in the head. Nelson often takes Doris's personal belongings and throws them away or hides them. For
example, Nelson did not like the fact that Doris went to church on Sundays. To prevent her from
going, he took away her only pair of nice shoes, knowing she would be uncomfortable going to
church in tennis shoes. Another time, Doris had borrowed some books from a friend, but Nelson
disapproved of her reading. He found the books and threw them at her when she arrived home
one day. When Nelson was working, he would make Doris perform humiliating acts in order to receive
money from him to buy food and clothes for the children. He would make her get down on her
knees to put his shoes on for him, and to take them off when he arrived home. Once when the
couple was in a restaurant, he demanded that Doris tie his shoes for him in front of everyone.
Doris had no choice but to get down on the floor and do this for him, and she recalls it as one of
the most embarrassing moments of her life. Nelson would also demand sexual acts from Doris, especially acts with which she was
uncomfortable. Doris preferred to sleep with the children, but Nelson would frequently drag her
into his room and demand that she perform all types of sexual acts. Doris would cry and fight
him off, but Nelson said that it was her duty as his wife, and that it was the only way he would
give her money for the children. Sometimes he would take the children's food stamp card away
from Doris, only giving it back in exchange for sex. Once when Doris was taking a bath, Nelson
broke the lock on the bathroom door and raped her. Since that time, Doris has had no choice but
to give in to Nelson's sexual demands, because he constantly threatens to kill her if she does not
do what he says. He tells her that he will break her neck and put her in the dumpster where no
one will find her. On one occasion Nelson put a knife to her throat and told her that if she
divorces him, he will send her back to Mexico in a coffin. Doris has no doubt that Nelson's
threats are in earnest. He once told her that he beat his ex-girlfriend so badly that she was in the
hospital for several weeks. In early 1994, an especially violent incident prompted Doris to enter a shelter. Nelson came
home and saw that Doris and the children were eating dinner. Nelson was furious, saying he
should be the first to eat. Doris tried to explain to him that it would be better to eat after the
children finished, when it would be quieter. He then became enraged, and began to punch and
kick the walls. He overturned the table, sending dishes and food all over the kitchen. A piece of
glass ricocheted off the floor and became lodged in one of the children's legs. Then Nelson left,
and came home drunk much later. He tried to force Doris to have sex with him, but she was able
to fight him off. The next morning, Doris took the children and entered a shelter. Doris and the children eventually returned home to Nelson, because Nelson was working at the
time. Doris could not support herself and the children on her own and she saw no other options.
Although Nelson was a U.S. citizen, he never filed papers for Doris to obtain lawful permanent
residency and a work permit, and he threatened to take the children from her. On this occasion
and others when she sought to leave him, Nelson threatened to turn her in to INS. In November of 1994, another violent incident caused Doris to return to a shelter. Nelson had
been drinking at home and ran out of beer. He asked Doris where she had put the money he had
given her earlier. Doris explained that she needed the money to pay bills and buy food, but he
did not care. Doris gave him half the money, hoping he would believe that was all there was,
and he left to buy beer. He returned home to drink the beer, and then left for a bar. He then
returned home again looking for the rest of the money. Doris and the children were eating lunch
when he stormed home, tore off the door to the closet, and threw its contents all over the floor.
Nelson then took Doris's purse and emptied it on the floor. He grabbed Doris by the hair and
punched her in the face, giving her a black eye and bloody lips. Next he picked Doris up by the
shirt and dragged her into the backyard, where he kicked her in the ribs with his boots on. Three
days later, Doris took the children and again entered a shelter. While there, she became
extremely ill and was taken to the hospital twice, but she was not properly treated because she
lacked insurance. Nelson began to call the shelter and threaten its staff, saying he would burn
the entire building down. The shelter asked Doris to leave because of Nelson's threats, and
offered to move her to a shelter in another community. But Doris felt she had to return to
Nelson at this point, for the safety of those helping her was compromised, and Nelson promised
her things would be different. However, nothing changed between the two. Doris had begun counseling through the shelter,
but Nelson forced her to stop going. In 1996, Nelson woke Doris up in the middle of the night
and pulled her by the hair into the living room. He started to argue with her, and then threw an
iron at her. Doris put her hands up to prevent the iron from hitting her face. Her fingers were
injured and badly bleeding. She ran out of the house and someone called the police, but Nelson
begged Doris not to press charges. He said it would ruin his chances for a job, which Doris
knew he needed to support the family. He spent less than 24 hours in jail. Beginning in 1996 or 1997, Nelson began working only intermittently. In 1997, Doris began
working as a housekeeper. One day, she was outside hanging clothes up to dry when Nelson
demanded money to buy beer. When she told Nelson they needed the money to buy groceries,
he picked up a brick and threw it at her. After this, Doris again entered a shelter and again felt
compelled to return to Nelson after a few weeks. Nelson promised to change, and they moved to a different city so he could get a job. Once they
arrived, they moved into a homeless shelter because Nelson was not working. Nelson refused to
do his chores at the shelter, and verbally and physically abused Doris and others at the shelter.
When he did work, he spent all his money on alcohol. He was asked to leave, but Doris joined
up with him again when he found a job. However, Nelson lost the job before long, and Doris
had to begin work at a restaurant to have money to buy food and clothing for the children, and to
pay rent. In July of 1998, Doris wanted to see a movie with some friends. Nelson refused to let her go,
threatening her with a wire hanger in front of her friends. Later that night, Doris awoke to find
Nelson standing over her bed with the hanger, telling her he was going to kill her. He put the
hanger around her neck and tried to strangle her. Doris ultimately fought him off, but he
threatened that next time she would not be so lucky. The next month, Nelson began to argue
with Doris, and kicked her twice in the leg. He told her she had until 6:00 the next morning to
get out of the house, because he had called INS. Doris again fled to a shelter, this time filing a self-petition under VAWA, because she has found
a lawyer to help her file. She also applied for a protective order against Nelson, and filled out a
police report to have Nelson prosecuted for the incidents with the wire hanger and the knife.
Nelson continues to follow her everywhere, so once again, prior to receiving her protective
order, Doris returned to live with him for the time. When the protective order was delivered to
their home, Nelson became livid. He yelled at Doris and kicked her while she was in bed. He
then jumped on top of her and beat her head with his fists. Calling her a prostitute, he said he
was going to buy a gun and kill her. He said he would put her dead body in the creek behind
their apartment. Their seven-year-old daughter awoke and jumped on Nelson's back, trying to
stop him. Doris put her daughter back to bed, at which point Nelson began to chase Doris
around the house. When she went into the kitchen, Nelson broke dishes and glasses in front of
her. Doris tried to run out, but Nelson blocked the door. There was no phone in the apartment
to call for help. He kicked Doris several times, until she was finally able to lock herself in the
bathroom. He then threatened to shoot Doris and hurt her lawyer, saying that if he shot Doris
nothing would happen to him because he was a U.S. citizen and she was illegal. The next
morning, as Doris was leaving to take the children to school, Nelson tried to push her down the
concrete stairs to the sidewalk. Doris again entered the shelter for a few days, but returned to
Nelson out of fear and desperation. Doris's self-petition has been approved and she is now ready to become a lawful permanent
resident, which would empower her to leave Nelson and his abuses behind. However, because
she did not learn about self-petitioning until 1998, she will now be required to leave the country
to get her green card. Returning to Mexico for consular processing would pose severe hardship
for Doris and her children. Every time Doris has tried to leave Nelson, he has stalked her and
forced her to return to him. She will only be able to fully free herself and her children from his
abuses if she can obtain her green card and work legally. Doris knows that Nelson would follow
her to Mexico so that he could harm her without legal consequences. Her protective order
against him would not be valid in Mexico, and the Mexican police would be of no assistance to
her. In addition, Doris feels her U.S. citizen children would suffer hardship if forced to travel to
Mexico for an indeterminate period. Of course, she cannot leave them safely behind. None of
her children speak Spanish or are familiar with Mexican culture. One child is extremely
developmentally delayed and could not receive proper care in Mexico. Being uprooted from
school and routines would be detrimental to the fragile emotional states of all of Doris's
children, who have suffered tremendously by being raised with such abuse. Finally, Doris has
no place to stay in Mexico, and no one there will support her. Her abusive father does not
approve of Doris or her lack of tolerance for her husband's abuses. Doris's mother has also
suffered years of physical abuse at the hands of Doris's father, who abused Doris and all of her
siblings as well. Her parents still live together because Mexico had no shelters her mother could
go to, and when called the Mexican authorities would do nothing to help her. Doris's mother
works and her abusive father is always home. Doris cannot return to that home with her children
where all would fall victim to abuse by her father. It is essential to the well-being of Doris and
her children that she be allowed to remain in the United States to become a lawful permanent
resident. This case originated in Texas. INA Ina is originally from Mexico. She came to the United States in April of 1996 in order to visit
relatives. While in Texas, she was introduced by her brother-in-law to a U.S. citizen named
Seth. Ina found Seth to be educated, polite, and always smiling. She started dating him, and
eventually they fell in love. After two months of dating, they became engaged. Ina suggested
they postpone the wedding for a while so that they could continue getting to know one another. A couple of months later, Ina became pregnant with Seth's child. After that, Seth's behavior
began to change. Even though he said he wanted to support Ina and the baby, he stopped visiting
Ina and taking her to the doctor for pre-natal visits. Ina felt very sad and confused at his sudden
lack of attention. She wondered whether he still wanted to marry her, and he said that he did.
On their wedding day, he showed up at the church two hours late and drunk. Ina was upset, but
she figured he was just nervous about the wedding. After their marriage, Ina moved in with Seth. She continued to feel depressed and lonely, since
Seth would leave her in the house all day, and then he would go out with his friends at night and
not return until the following morning. He began drinking quite heavily, which he had never
done while he and Ina were dating. After weeks of being ignored and abandoned, Ina finally left
the house one afternoon to go shopping with her sister. While Ina and her sister were at Wal-mart, Ina saw Seth standing in the aisle and holding hands with another woman. Ina felt
humiliated. She felt a pain in her stomach that she had never felt before. She went home and
cried all night, suffering from all the emotional abuse that Seth had put her through. She
eventually decided to continue living despite the pain and humiliation, telling herself that needed
to be strong for her unborn baby. The baby was born premature. Ina tried to reach Seth because he had told her he wanted to be at
the hospital when the baby was born. When he answered the phone, he said he was busy and
would not come to the hospital until the following day. This hurt Ina immensely and made her
feel depressed. He eventually visited that very afternoon, but he said that the only reason he
came was because his boss ordered him to visit. After the baby's birth, Seth promised Ina that he would come to visit their son and would bring
clothes, food, and money to help support the baby. Ina waited for him to come, and despite his
repeated promises, he rarely came to visit the baby, and he did not provide any support for the
baby's care. When Ina asked him to be more involved in the baby's life and provide for some of
the baby's necessities, Seth shouted at her and insulted her, calling her "stupid" and blaming her
for everything that had gone wrong in his life. The last time Seth had contact with Ina was when he served her with divorce papers and asked
her for the baby's social security number so that he could claim the baby on his own tax return.
Ina felt so abandoned and emotionally and verbally abused by her husband that she sought help
and counseling at a legal aid clinic for battered women. With the help of an attorney, she filed a
VAWA self-petition for residency, which was approved. To obtain lawful permanent residency based on her VAWA self-petition, Ina must return to
Mexico. Her U.S. citizen son is only a year old, and he relies exclusively on Ina for his care. He
frequently becomes ill, due to complications that arose from his premature birth. If Ina were
forced to return to Mexico to get her green card, she would have to take her baby with her, and
this would jeopardize her son's health and safety. He cannot get the necessary level of care in
Mexico. Furthermore, his medical care in the U.S. is covered by Medicare, since he is a U.S.
citizen. By contrast, if he were to require pediatric care while in Mexico, even in the event of an
emergency, this care would be too expensive for Ina to afford, and he could risk developing a
severe illness or dying. Since Seth has never paid child support to Ina for his son's upbringing,
Ina is barely able to support her son, let alone find extra money to pay for the constant medical
care her baby would require in Mexico. For these reasons, Ina must be allowed to stay in the
U.S. to get her green card. This case originated in North Carolina and is currently in Texas. LOLA Lola was born in Mexico. She first came to the United States in 1993, when she visited her
relatives in North Carolina using a visitor's visa. While in North Carolina, she attended a dance
at which she met Larry, a U.S. citizen. Lola returned to Mexico later that same month, but she
and Larry continued to communicate with one another over the phone and through letter-writing.
She came back to North Carolina to visit him the following year, and they continued to date
long-distance until December of 1997, when they were married. Lola came to live with Larry in North Carolina. They did not see one another for the first seven
months of their marriage, since Larry was in the U.S. Navy on a seven-month tour of duty.
When he returned home, he and Lola began having disagreements. On one occasion, Lola
locked herself in a room, but Larry kicked the door open and went to the closet, throwing all of
Lola's clothes on the floor in his fury. He ordered her to give him the $1400 she had earned
while working over the past seven months, saying he needed it to pay for their church wedding.
When Lola told him that she did not want to marry him in the church, he grabbed a knife and
told her he would kill himself if she did not marry him. After he cried and begged for the next
few hours, Lola calmed him down and agreed to marry him in the church. They had a church
wedding the next day. Two months later, Larry began physically abusing Lola. He began yelling at her, and when she
tried to leave the room, he pushed her to the floor and dragged her by her arms back inside the
room. He then locked her in the room for hours. On other occasions, he verbally abused her,
insulting her and telling her that she wasn't good for anything and was stupid. More abuse
followed after Lola started working and Larry demanded that she hand over to him her
paychecks. He would beat her with his fists until she would beg him to stop and would hand
over her checks. One evening, when he took her out to get ice cream, he punched her in the nose
after she told him that she was not hungry. Her nose turned blue and bruised from the blow, and
her mouth bled. Lola considered leaving Larry, but then she became pregnant with their child and felt that she
should try to keep the family together. Larry continued to hit her during her pregnancy, usually
in the head. A few months into her pregnancy, he pushed her off the bed, pulled her hair, and
kicked her in the head. He also did humiliating things to her while she was pregnant, such as
push her into the shower when she was fully clothed and soak her with cold water. When she
was a couple of months away from having the baby, he got angry with her and pushed her
outside into the snow. Another time, he pushed her into the metal corner of the air conditioning
unit, creating a large, bloody cut on her lower back. She still bears the scar on her back. After Lola gave birth to their baby, Larry told her he wanted to take the baby to Texas to
introduce him to his parents. Lola wanted to come along, especially since she was breast-feeding
the baby, but Larry told her to stay home. She always followed his orders because she feared
that he would hurt her or kill her if she did not. Larry told her that he and the baby would only
be gone for a week, but when they arrived in Texas, Larry did not call. Finally, Lola got in
contact with Larry's father, and he assured her that the baby was all right. A week later, Larry
convinced her to move to Texas with him. In Texas, Lola moved in with Larry's parents. Larry continued to abuse her, refusing to let her
leave the house or give her money to do laundry. He beat Lola on the head with a sandal one
afternoon when the baby was sleeping comfortably in her lap. On another afternoon, Larry came
home from work as Lola was bathing the baby. He told her that he preferred that his father bathe
the baby and told her to stop. When Lola insisted on bathing the baby herself, Larry slapped her
and pulled her hair. He picked up the baby and put him in the next room, then he returned and
grabbed Lola by the arms with such force that they became streaked with bruises. He pushed her
into their bedroom and threw her to the floor. He kicked her in the left knee, and when she
raised her hands to protect herself, he kicked her hands. When she tried to leave the room, he
told his brother to stand at the door and prevent her from leaving. She could not get to a phone
to call the police. Lola gathered her courage and left her husband after she discovered that he was abusing their
baby. First she noticed her father-in-law hitting the baby when he thought she was not looking.
Next she saw Larry hit the baby twice to try to make him stop crying. She decided she had to
escape before Larry killed her and the baby. One evening, she told Larry she was going to the
store with the baby. To her surprise, he let her leave the house alone. She fled to a battered
women's shelter and has been in hiding ever since. Since leaving Larry, Lola has filed a VAWA self-petition for residency. If Lola is forced to
return to Mexico as the only way of getting her green card, she would have no family to support
or help her there. Lola's parents and siblings all live in the U.S. In addition, she is afraid that
Larry would find her in Mexico and abuse her there. He has family in Mexico and has visited
several times in the past. He would be able to travel to and from Mexico very easily, since he is
a U.S. citizen. Lola knows that the Mexican police would not protect her from Larry's abuse,
and that without her own family to protect her, Larry would probably kill her in Mexico. In addition, Lola is worried that Larry will kidnap their child while she is in Mexico getting her
green card. Lola would have to leave her baby with her family in the U.S. if she were forced to
return to Mexico. Larry knows where her family in the U.S. live, and he would not hesitate to
hurt or kill her family members in order to kidnap the baby. For these reasons, Lola needs to
remain in hiding. She cannot risk placing her family and baby in danger by asking them to care
for her baby while she goes to Mexico. Lola must remain in the United States to get her green
card in order to be safe. This case originated in Texas. PAMELA Pamela is originally from Mexico. She is college-educated and comes from an upper-middle
class family. At the time that she met Tobias, a lawful permanent resident of the United States,
Pamela was working as the administrative manager of her father's company. Tobias was a
Mexican police officer, assigned to the narcotics division of the force. He told Pamela when
they began dating that he was also working for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, a story
which later proved to be false. Pamela found Tobias to be a good, hardworking man, but she
was often disturbed by how easily he would become angry and shout or throw things. She
assumed that his difficult and dangerous job caused him stress and led to these angry outbursts. Tobias and Pamela were married in Mexico and lived in Mexico City as husband and wife.
While in Mexico, Tobias continued to lose his temper in front of Pamela, and over time, he
began directing his anger at her. He would throw objects at her, scream at her, and insult her
viciously. At that time, Tobias also began using marijuana and cocaine in front of Pamela, and
his behavior grew more violent. He ended arguments by kicking her, punching her, and pulling
her hair. Once he took his gun and placed it on Pamela's temple, threatening to kill her. After
enduring several of Tobias's attacks, Pamela tried to report Tobias's abuse to the police. To her
dismay, the police told her that they could do nothing to help her because Tobias was a police
officer himself. A little more than a year after their marriage, Tobias informed Pamela that they were moving to
Texas. He told her that the move was job-related, so she believed him and agreed to move. She
only discovered later that Tobias had wanted to leave Mexico because he had been fired from the
Mexican police force and was being investigated for his role in murdering a drug trafficker. By the time Pamela moved to the United States, Tobias's abuse of her had become a regular
occurrence. She contemplated leaving him, but because of her negative experience with the
unresponsive police force in Mexico, Pamela assumed that the U.S. police would not protect her
either. One evening, Tobias beat Pamela on her face and body, leaving her bruised and lying in
a heap on the floor. Pamela went to the hospital to be treated for her injuries, and there she
learned of the services available to battered women in the U.S. She obtained a restraining order
against Tobias and separated from him, despite the fact that she was pregnant with her second
child and without family in the U.S. to rely on for support. Since her separation, Pamela has been the sole caretaker of both of her children. Even though
she has obtained a court order which obligates Tobias to pay child support, Tobias has not paid a
penny toward his children's expenses. Without any financial assistance from Tobias, Pamela has
supported herself and her children on the funds she saved while working as a professional in
Mexico. She is currently enrolled in a community college in El Paso and is trying to enhance her
academic qualifications so that she may obtain a professional job in the United States. Both of
her children are enrolled in school and are completely integrated into American culture. Pamela has filed a VAWA self-petition for residency, which has been approved. If she is forced
to return to Mexico as the only way of getting her green card under VAWA, she will suffer many
dangers and hardships. First of all, Pamela has no family in the U.S. with whom to leave her
two children. In order to make the trip to Mexico, Pamela would have to remove the children
from their courses of study in their public schools and take them with her to Mexico. This would
jeopardize the children's educational opportunities dramatically. Second of all, Pamela fears that
Tobias will discover that she is in Mexico and follow her there. Tobias's family members in
Mexico are very supportive of him, and Pamela fears that they will keep him informed of her
movements and help him track her down. She knows that Tobias still has friends on the
Mexican police force and that the police would not help her if she reported Tobias's abuse.
Tobias has threatened to kill her in the past, and he would have the perfect opportunity to do so
if she were in Mexico, away from the protection of her restraining order. Furthermore, Pamela
continues to be afraid that Tobias or his family will hurt or kill her own family in Mexico, as a
way of seeking revenge on Pamela for reporting Tobias's abuse. Finally, Pamela believes that
Tobias is capable of kidnaping the children in Mexico, especially if he has his family and friends
on the police force to help him. She knows that the only way to ensure that she and her children
remain safe is by allowing her to obtain her green card in the U.S. This case originated in Illinois. PAULINA Paulina was born in Mexico. While living there, she met Ernesto, who was working as a security
guard in the same department store as Paulina. Ernesto is a lawful permanent resident of the
United States. Paulina and Ernesto soon began to date and quickly fell in love. They were
married a few months later in Mexico. Just after Paulina got pregnant with their first child, Ernesto began to hit her. He would slap her
across the face without warning, even doing so in front of his mother. On one occasion, he
kidnaped their child for three days, not telling Paulina where the child was or if she would ever
see her baby again. Eventually Ernesto returned home with the child, and Paulina began to fear
his irrational anger. She believed him capable of taking her child away from her if she ever
displeased him. Soon after this incident, Ernesto announced to Paulina that he was going to look for work in the
United States. He left soon after and did not contact Paulina again for two years. He never sent
her money or inquired after his child. It was only after two years had passed that he sent for
Paulina. They all moved in together in an apartment in Illinois. Paulina and Ernest had six children throughout the course of their marriage. Paulina always
wanted to use birth control, but Ernest never allowed her to do so. He would make her have sex
with him against her will, and he told her that having sex with him was her only useful function.
Meanwhile, Ernest continued his physical and verbal abuse of Paulina. He would often beat
Paulina on her face and body, then he would take off with the children for several hours. Each
time he did this, Paulina feared she would never see her children again. Ernest used the threat of
kidnaping the children as a way to make Paulina stay with him. He would also threaten to have
her deported to Mexico so she would be separated from her children forever. Ernest's violence became worse. He began abusing the children, and he purchased a gun, which
he would wave in Paulina's face as he threatened to kill her. He would disappear for weeks at a
time, not leaving Paulina money for food or rent. Eventually, Paulina and the children were
evicted from their apartment, and they sought refuge at a church member's home. Ernest
somehow tracked them down and parked his car outside the church member's house, waiting.
Paulina feared that he would use his gun to shoot her or the children. Recently, Paulina has received assistance in filing her VAWA petition for residency. She would
be unable to return to Mexico to get her green card under VAWA because she cannot afford the
trip for herself and her six children. She is supporting all her children on her own in the U.S.,
and she cannot leave them with anyone here. If she somehow managed to take them all with her
to Mexico while she was obtaining her green card, she would have no one in Mexico to rely on
for support and money during her stay. In addition, she is very afraid that Ernest's parents will
help him kidnap her children while she is in Mexico. Ernest has threatened on several occasions
to kidnap the children when Paulina "least expects it," and he has often said that he wants the
children to live with his mother in Mexico. Paulina believes his threat, especially since he has
kidnaped the children before. For all of these reasons, Paulina cannot return to Mexico to obtain
her green card under VAWA. This case originated in Illinois. VALERIAN Valerian is a 22-year-old Mexican native. She moved with her parents to Chicago and began
work at a restaurant. There, she met Randall, a United States citizen, and the two started dating.
Three months later, in February of 1997, they were married. Valerian was 20 years old. Randall was respectful toward Valerian and treated her well throughout their courtship, and
during the first two months of their marriage, when they lived with her parents. However, once
the couple got an apartment of their own, problems began. Randall began pestering Valerian to ask her parents for money so that he could buy a car. He
said he wanted a car so that he could find better work. Randall was concerned about finances
because Valerian was a high school student and could not work full time. Valerian had missed
three years of school due to a kidney transplant, but had a strong desire to graduate. She was not
comfortable asking her parents for money, because she knew they did not have any to spare. She
gently declined Randall's requests, but each time this happened he became more and more angry. The abuse escalated when Valerian and Randall were visiting his parents. When it was time for
dinner, everyone was called into the dining room to eat except Valerian. Randall went in to eat,
but did not invite Valerian to join them. When Randall finished eating, Valerian remarked to
him that it was impolite that she was not invited to dine with everyone. Randall became enraged
at this, and began poking Valerian hard in the face and swearing at her. Valerian slapped
Randall in self-defense, which only increased his anger. He grabbed her by the neck and pushed
her onto the sofa, choking her. He then started kicking her, and threw her school bookbag at her.
No one in the house attempted to stop Randall, and Valerian became fearful and ran out of the
house. Randall followed her and chased her down the street. A woman in a car saw Valerian
was in danger and stopped for her, giving her a ride to the subway. After this incident, Valerian moved back in with her parents, and Randall moved in with his.
Before long, Randall began asking Valerian for another chance. She finally relented, upon the
condition that he find them their own apartment. She did not feel comfortable returning to
Randall's parents' house. Randall never found an apartment, but he continued to pursue Valerian. In July of 1997, he
found Valerian and her mother on the street on their way to the supermarket. Valerian's mother
went into the store, while Valerian and Randall talked outside in the car. Valerian told Randall
she would prefer that he come to her house to speak with her, rather than follow her around
town. Randall grew angry and said "you're going to listen to me, bitch," slapping her hard on
the face twice. Valerian got out of the car, but Randall ran after her. He grabbed her arms and
pushed her against the car, and she fell down. Bystanders witnessed this take place and came
over to help, and the store's security called the police. Before the police arrived, Randall became
even more violent, holding Valerian back. The police ordered Randall to let go of her, but he
would not. Three squad cars arrived, and eventually Randall surrendered. An ambulance then
arrived to take Valerian to the hospital. Randall was convicted of domestic battery, and Valerian received a protective order. The
protective order has worked and Valerian has had no recent contact with Randall. She is in the
process of obtaining a divorce. Valerian wishes to remain in the United States with her family,
but cannot return to Mexico to obtain status as a lawful permanent resident. First, her order of
protection against Randall would be invalid in Mexico, giving him license to seek revenge upon
her without legal repercussions. Moreover, as a result of her kidney transplant, Valerian needs
consistent medical treatment for the rest of her life. She would not be able to receive this in
Mexico, and her health would be gravely endangered even if she were only there temporarily.
There is no indication of how long she would have to remain in Mexico for consular processing.
In addition, all of her family are in America, and she would have no support system in Mexico to
assist her financially, medically, or emotionally. Finally, traveling to Mexico for an
indeterminate amount of time would be too great a financial hardship for Valerian, who would
have no means of sufficiently providing for herself while there. In this light, it is imperative
Valerian be allowed to obtain legal immigration status without leaving this country and the
security it provides. This case originated in Illinois. JULIA Julia, a Mexican citizen, met Luis in Mexico in 1985. They dated, and were married in February
of 1986. They lived in Mexico and went on to have two children. Shortly after the birth of their
second child, Luis told Julia that he wanted to move to Chicago, where his parents live. Julia did
not want to move because she had a good job in Mexico. Luis traveled back and forth between
Chicago and Mexico until he finally persuaded Julia that living in Chicago would be best for the
family. Luis became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in August 1995, through his
parents. Julia and her daughters joined Luis in Chicago in 1996. Julia always intended to return
to Mexico eventually, but once she got to Chicago, Luis said he would not let her leave and take
the children. He threatened to have her deported. Julia had been trying to separate from Luis since before they moved to Chicago. He ignored and
mistreated his family and behaved irresponsibly. He was also violent toward Julia since the
beginning of their relationship. Whenever Julia and Luis got into an argument, Luis would
become enraged and hit Julia. She was afraid of Luis, but wanted to remain in the relationship
because she believed it would benefit the children. Julia ultimately separated from Luis in December 1997 when she could no longer stand his
violent physical abuse. She rented an apartment in Chicago for herself and her daughters.
However, Luis continued to threaten and harass Julia, constantly appearing at her apartment to
say he would take the children and have her deported. In May of 1998, when Julia was dropping
off the children at Luis's house, he came out to her car and started arguing with her. Grabbing
Julia out of the car, he punched her in the chest and threw her down into the street, all in front of
the children. After this incident, Julia received an order of protection against Luis. She is now
pursuing a divorce. There are several reasons why Julia now needs to remain in the United States, instead of
returning to Mexico as she once planned. First of all, her order of protection against Luis would
not be valid in Mexico, and once she left this country she would have no way to protect herself
against him. Also, Luis is attempting to receive full custody of their daughters. Julia needs to
stay here for lengthy court proceedings to ensure her children are not taken from her by an
abusive man. Finally, Julia and her daughters are currently benefitting from therapy in Chicago,
learning about domestic violence issues and how to break the cycle of abuse. Julia wishes to become a lawful permanent resident, but cannot return to Mexico to receive this
status. Luis could easily follow her to Mexico, where there would be no consequences for his
abuses. She is afraid to leave the country and the security of the protective order which has kept
Luis away from her. In addition, Julia cannot afford to take her children with her to Mexico, nor
does she want to take them away from their schooling and therapy for an indeterminate amount
of time. However, leaving them in the country would jeopardize their safety. Luis has made it
clear that he wants sole custody of the children, and has taken them from her before in violation
of court orders. If Julia leaves, she will most likely be detained for a lengthy period for the
processing of her paperwork. In this time, Luis could claim that Julia has abandoned the
children and receive full custody. Julia needs to be able to receive her lawful permanent resident
status without facing the dangers involved in returning to Mexico. This case originated in California and is currently in Illinois. CAROLINA Carolina is 35 years old, and is originally from Mexico. She met her husband Rico in Mexico
through friends in 1980, when she was 16. Soon after meeting, they ran off together to live
together, and then got married. Carolina came from an unhappy home and wished to escape
from her parents' fighting. The couple had two children in Mexico, in 1981 and 1985. In 1986, Rico decided to go work in the United States until he had acquired enough money to
buy a house in Mexico. Carolina was bored and lonely after Rico left, and her parents would not
let her work, claiming it inappropriate for a married woman. She took the children and left for
California to live with Rico in 1988. They lived in California for four years, both working as
migrant farm workers. They had two more children during this time. In 1991, the family moved
to Chicago so Rico and Carolina could find better jobs. Rico had received status as a lawful permanent resident in 1990 through an amnesty program for
agricultural workers. Although Carolina also qualified, Rico told her she did not need to file on
her own because he would file a petition to get the same status for Carolina and their first two
children. However, this never happened. The couple found good work in Chicago; Carolina babysat and Rico worked in a factory. The
couple bought a house and were able to live comfortably. However, the extra money led Rico to
drink more frequently and excessively. When he came home drunk he would shout at and insult
Carolina, and often he would hit her. When Carolina threatened to call the police, Rico said they
could not do anything to him because she was not a legal resident and he was. He believed that
because of this he could abuse Carolina without consequences. Over time, Rico's drinking worsened, and the couple fought about it constantly. Rico always
promised to quit drinking, and this made Carolina stay in the relationship. However, he never
quit. In March of 1998, Rico came home drunk in the middle of the night. He unplugged and hid the
phones, and then entered the room where Carolina was sleeping with her daughters. He began
shouting at Carolina, and then pushing her. He punched her in the arm and in the face. He
refused to leave and continued arguing until he finally passed out. A few days later, when
Carolina found the phones, she reported the incident to the police and received an order of
protection. Carolina then separated from Rico. Rico soon came back in violation of the protective order, furious with Carolina for having him
arrested. He again said that nothing would happen to him because he was a legal resident and
Carolina was not. Carolina called the police again, and Rico was arrested and convicted of
domestic battery. It would be dangerous for Carolina to have to return to Mexico to obtain status as a lawful
permanent resident of the United States. For now at least, Carolina's protection order and the
criminal case of domestic battery seem to be offering her and the children some protection from
ongoing abuse. Rico has demonstrated, however, his willingness to violate those court orders.
Carolina fears that if she is forced to return to Mexico for any period of time to get her green
card, she will be in grave danger. Rico can follow her there and Mexican law will offer her no
protection. Further, much of the hardship revolves around the safety of the children. There is no
indication of how long Carolina will be forced to remain in Mexico for consular processing. If
she leaves the children behind when she travels to Mexico, Rico could claim she has abandoned
them and obtain full custody of them. However, if she takes them, she will be violating Rico's
court-ordered right to see the children every other weekend. Carolina's children are thriving in
American schools and benefitting from domestic violence counseling which they would not be
able to receive in Mexico. Carolina must be able to achieve lawful immigration status without
leaving this country to ensure the safety of her children and her rights to protect them. This case originated in Illinois. MELANIE Melanie was born in Jamaica, and moved to Chicago in 1980. Her mother had died at age 36
two years earlier, and Melanie had no other family left in Jamaica. Shortly after she moved to
Chicago, she met Rodney, a lawful permanent resident also from Jamaica. Melanie was alone
and grieving, and it was comforting for her to meet someone from her country. After a year of
dating, the couple was married. Melanie worked as a live-in employee, and could only stay with Rodney on the weekends.
However, in 1985, Melanie became pregnant and had to stop working. In this extra time she had
at home, she began to realize that Rodney was seeing other women. When she confronted him
about this, he became violently angry. As the baby's due date approached, Rodney spent less and less time at home. When Melanie
went into labor, Rodney was nowhere to be found. He had not come home the night before and
left no indication of where he was. Melanie had no one to help her, and was forced to deliver
her baby herself at home in the early morning. Rodney's anger and violence only increased during the years following the birth of their son
Ezekiel, and he spent more and more time away from home with other women. Finally, Melanie
decided that she and her son deserved better, and they went to stay in a shelter. However,
Rodney fought to have Ezekiel live with him, and Melanie was forced to relent. She still has
weekly contact with her son, and hopes have him live with her soon. She feels Rodney's affairs
and violent temper make him a poor example for her son. Melanie wishes to become a lawful permanent resident of this country where she has lived for 18
years. Rodney refused to petition Melanie during all that time, but now she plans to self-petition
for residency under VAWA. However, returning to Jamaica for consular processing would
present hardship for Melanie. Rodney could follow her there, where he could again violently
abuse her without consequences from American law enforcement. Also, leaving the country for
an indeterminate length of time could adversely affect her custodial rights to Ezekiel. Melanie
therefore must be allowed to remain in the United States to receive her green card. This case originated in Illinois. CELESTE Celeste was born in Mexico. She met her husband, Ronaldo, a lawful permanent resident of the
United States at a party in 1991. They immediately began dating and fell in love. Four months
later they decided to get married, and Celeste moved with her husband to Chicago. For the first five months things went well. Celeste became pregnant and soon after things began
to change. Ronaldo seemed to change for no apparent reason and without warning. He suddenly
became unpredictable and controlling. A year later, Celeste discovered that at this time Ronaldo
had begun having an affair with another woman. He began screaming at Celeste in front of other
people, embarrassing her and making her feel ashamed. When she tried to discuss things with
Ronaldo he would just tell her that if she wasn't happy she should leave. During an argument, when she was eight months pregnant, he hit her for the first time. Celeste
ran into another room crying. Ronaldo came in apologizing and promised to never hurt her
again. Soon after the baby was born, Ronaldo came home drunk one night and became violent.
Celeste was holding the baby and Ronaldo pushed them both into the wall causing her to fall
with the baby. Ronaldo left them both on the floor crying. Celeste thought about leaving but
was afraid to because she was not in the country legally and feared for her son's safety. Ronaldo
had promised to file a visa petition for Celeste when she came to the U.S. but then refused to
unless she paid him a lot of money. After her son was born, Celeste began working in a factory to support her child. This made her
husband angry and jealous. The insulting and verbal abusing continued, as did the physical
violence. When their son was about a year old, they went to visit friends. Ronaldo became
drunk and began screaming vulgarities and insults at Celeste in front of everyone. He then tried
to hit her, but one of his friends grabbed him and stopped him. Another time on the way to her
sister-in-law's house, Celeste asked Ronaldo to go to the doctor's office because the baby was
sick.. He became angry and began hitting her in the car. She ran out of the car into her sister-in-laws house with Ronaldo chasing her. Her sister-in-law put her in a room so that Ronaldo
could not get to her. After that Celeste decided to leave Ronaldo. With the help of her sister-in-law Ronaldo was persuaded to move out of the apartment and stay with his brother. While they
were separated , Ronaldo would often call threatening both physical harm and telling Celeste he
would turn her over to INS and she would loose her son. He would appear without warning and
take their son at times other than what they had agreed upon. About seven months after the incident at the sister-in-law's house, Ronaldo began to change. He
began attending meetings at Alcoholics Anonymous regularly and his behavior toward Celeste
improved. He wanted to move back with Celeste. After four months of improvement and
sobriety, Celeste was convinced that Ronaldo wasn't drinking. She decided to try again and
Ronaldo moved back in. Soon Celeste became pregnant. As before, once she became pregnant,
Ronaldo began verbally abusing her again. Ronaldo decided to go to Mexico for a couple of
months. While he was gone, their son became very ill. Celeste called Ronaldo many times
asking him to return to help care for their son. He responded by telling her to stop bothering him.
He ended up staying in Mexico for five months. Later, Celeste discovered he had been
vacationing with another woman. When Ronaldo returned from Mexico, he was drinking again, and the abuse continued. When
Celeste would try to call the police, Ronaldo would disconnect the phone. One night, Ronaldo
returned home when Celeste was sleeping, and Ronaldo poured a can of soda on her to wake her
up. Celeste wanted to leave, but didn't know how to with two small children and without
immigration papers. Several months later, Celeste learned that the woman Ronaldo had gone to
Mexico with was pregnant. Celeste confronted him with this information and asked him to
leave. He lost control and began beating her. He punched her in the face and began beating her
all over. Her body was covered with bruises. She left Ronaldo and moved into an apartment
with her two small children. Following this incident, Celeste obtained a protective order and learned that she can call the
police if Ronaldo threatens her or the children. Celeste wants to get a divorce and demand the
child support that she feels her children deserve. She is afraid she would lose custody of her
American born children if she had to return to Mexico. She also fears for her safety and their
welfare if she were to return to Mexico for any period of time. Her husband has threatened to
follow her to Mexico and harass her and even take the children from her because he knows
Mexican laws and authorities will not protect her. Her children were born in this country and
she wants to be able to raise them here, and to be able to receive child support that they would
not be able to receive in Mexico. This case originated in Illinois. TAMARA Tamara was born in Mexico in 1951. She and her husband, David, grew up in neighboring
towns. When she was sixteen they became engaged. The following year, they married and
moved in with his parents. A year later, in 1969, David decided he wanted to go to the United
States. David did not want Tamara to go with him because he wanted her to stay and care for his
parents. Tamara was pregnant and David was not with her when their son was born. David
became a lawful permanent resident and would live in the United States most of the year,
returning to Mexico at Christmas for two or three months. During the first few years, David
would send money to help support Tamara and the three children they now had. Then he began
sending less. In order to support her family, Tamara sold things she had such as shoes and
clothes. When David learned of this he became angry and stopped sending money altogether.
When Tamara became pregnant with their forth child she did not want to have any more
children, but her husband did. At the time in Mexico, Tamara could not get birth control pills
without her husbands consent so they continued to have children. Tamara first visited David in the United States in 1986. She was pregnant again and she came to
the U.S. hoping to persuade David to support her and her son during her pregnancy. Tamara
wanted to stay with her husband but he told her she had to return to Mexico to care for his
parents. Tamara visited David in 1990, 1993, and 1994. Each time he insisted she return to
Mexico to care for his parents. In 1995, when Tamara came again, David was even more
abusive toward Tamara and the children. On evening one of the children did not want to take his
medicine. David got angry and grabbed a large metal spoon intending to hit his son. Tamara
intervened and David hit her in the face with the spoon knocking her into the wall. Their son
was so scared that he hid under a chair in the kitchen. Tamara went to the phone to call the
police but was afraid what would happen if she did. Tamara continued to stay in the house with
David and the children because she had no where else to go, but would not sleep with him.
Several weeks later David dragged Tamara into the bedroom and raped her. This is how Tamara
became pregnant with their youngest child. Tamara continued to live in the United States with her children. David stopped supporting
Tamara or the children. He would leave for long periods. Several months ago he just left and
has not returned nor contacted anyone. The oldest sons help support Tamara and the younger
children. The youngest child, who is an American citizen, was born with Downs Syndrome. He
requires physical therapy every week and is being treated for developmental problems and
hearing concerns. Tamara and two of her daughters provide continual care for him at home. All of Tamara's children are living in the United States except for the oldest daughter who
moved back to Mexico to get away from her father after he physically abused her. Three of the
eight children are United States citizens living in this country. The two oldest boys have
approved visa petitions--the only family members David would petition for--and plan to
immigrate to the United States. Tamara and her two daughters would suffer extreme hardship if they had to return to Mexico for
consular processing. The family would be split apart. They have no place to live in Mexico nor
any way to support themselves for the period of time they would be required to remain in
Mexico to get their lawful permanent residency status under VAWA. There no family members
who can help assist them. The only people who would help them are family members of David,
on whom she cannot rely. Her youngest child, who has Downs Syndrome would also suffer.
His mother and sisters are his primary care givers. If he returned with them, he would not be
able to get the care and services he needs which are not available for him in Mexico. All the
progress he has made through the efforts of his mother and sisters and the doctors and
rehabilitation specialists would be lost. If he remained in the United States while his mother and
sisters were forced to leave the country for visa processing, his only source of care would be
from public agencies. This case originated in Illinois. NANCY Nancy is the wife of Jesus, a lawful permanent resident of the United States. They have five
children together. They met in Mexico in 1969 and were married two years later. Eight days
after they were married Jesus began physically abusing Nancy. He would become angry and
start punching her. When she told her family of the abuse, her father responded that it was the
man who lays down the law and she had to stay in the marriage. She continued to live with Jesus until he went to the United States to work. Nancy was three
months pregnant at the time. Jesus returned when he learned that Nancy was having a difficult
pregnancy and stayed with her until their daughter was born. He then returned to the U.S. to
work. Jesus would stay in the United States most of the year returning to visit once a year for a
month or so. For the first few days he would by happy, but then he would get angry and begin
beating Nancy. Nancy had another child. When their son was about one-and-a-half years old, Jesus beat Nancy so severely that she lost
feeling in her face. She went to the Red Cross for x-rays and treatment. The Red Cross
provided her with documentation to take to court, but the court in Mexico refused to provide any
protection for Nancy or to impose any type of penalty on her husband. Nancy had tried to
protect herself on this occasion. When Nancy's family heard of this incident, Nancy's father
reacted with anger when he learned she had tried to protect herself. They continued to live in this manner for years. Nancy cared for the children in Mexico while
Jesus lived in the U.S. When Jesus was in the U.S., he rarely sent money to help support the
children. In order to support her family, Nancy took a job as a house cleaner and her oldest
daughter got a job at a taco stand. Nancy asked Jesus to submit petitions for herself and the children so they could join him in the
U.S. He responded that she should not tell him what to do. Finally in 1994, he submitted
petitions for Nancy and their five children. In 1995, Nancy decided that either Jesus should live
with the family or that they should separate. The family moved in with Jesus in Illinois. Jesus
continued to beat Nancy, often punching her in the face. In September 1997, Nancy obtained an
emergency protective order. The next month she had to call the police because Jesus was
threatening her and the children. Three months later, Nancy again had to call the police because
Jesus was again harassing and threatening herself and the children. Nancy's oldest son is now in high school. He suffers from severe depression as a result of the
constant violence that has taken place in his home. His father continues to abuse and harass him
on the phone in violation of the court order. His father had always forbidden him from having
any friends or even leaving the home. He also feels the pressure to assist his mother in paying
the bills because his father refuses to support the children. He has been diagnosed as being in
need of long term counseling for his depression. The other children have also been severely
effected by their father's long term abusive behavior. They exhibit behavioral problems and are
also in need of long term counseling. Nancy and her children would suffer extreme hardship if she had to return to Mexico. She
currently lives near her sister, a lawful permanent resident and her brother-in-law. They have
supported Nancy and her children both emotionally and financially throughout Nancy's ordeal
with Jesus. Most of Nancy's relatives live in this country. Her father and seven brothers and
sisters are all lawful permanent residents. Her mother is in the process of immigrating to this
country. Nancy has no relatives in Mexico who can support her. If they were forced to move to Mexico, Jesus could continue to harass and abuse Nancy and the
children with impunity. Nancy has already tried to obtain protection from Jesus through the
courts in Mexico, but to no avail. In this country, he consistently violates the protective order by
making harassing phone calls, but at least the physical violence has abated. In Mexico, Nancy's
children would not have access to the counseling services they desperately need as a result of
their fathers abusive behavior. Additionally, Nancy would be unable to get the court-ordered
child support that her children deserve from their father. This case originated in California. MARINA Marina is a 33-year-old woman from Mexico. She became a single mother of two small children
when she was widowed in 1986. In 1992 she came to the United States seeking a better life for
herself and her children. She began dating Gerardo, a lawful permanent resident of the United
States, and the two moved in together and eventually married in early 1997. Marina and Gerardo
went on to have two children together. When Gerardo first asked Marina and her children to live with him, she was surprised and told
him she needed some time to think. Gerardo demanded an answer on the spot. Marina relented
because he insisted that he would provide for her and her children so that she could stay home
and take care of them. They moved into Gerardo's brother's house and lived under very poor
conditions. Marina thought it would only be for a few days while they looked for a house of
their own, but they stayed for three years. Marina and the children slept in the living room.
There was no privacy, and Gerardo's five nephews did not treat Marina's children well. About one week after they moved in together, Marina went to the store with her children to buy
detergent. Gerardo found out and became enraged, saying Marina must never leave the house
without him. He threatened to beat her and her children if they ever did it again. He also kept
complete control of the finances, and never let Marina have any money. Gerardo purchased
food, but refused to buy the children clothing or other items they needed. He prevented Marina
from having friends and being a part of the community. She was forced to stay in the house all
day, constantly facing criticism from Gerardo's nephews. They did not like Marina and told her
they preferred another woman with whom Gerardo had previously lived. However, Marina did
not leave because she had become more and more frightened of Gerardo. Gerardo took Marina out to his car when he wanted to have sexual relations, because they did not
have their own room. Marina hated this indignity. He also forced her to have oral sex with him,
and to be intimate with him in ways she did not like. He told her it was her responsibility
because she was his woman. Sometimes Gerardo would want to have sexual contact while in the
same room with the children, which made Marina extremely uncomfortable. They finally moved out of Gerardo's brother's house when his eighteen-year-old nephew beat
up Marina's thirteen-year-old son. Marina's problems with Gerardo worsened when they moved
into their own apartment. Marina was not permitted to leave the apartment, even to walk her
daughter to school. The children had instructions to come directly home after school. Moreover,
Gerardo began drinking heavily, and was abusive on a daily basis. He insulted Marina and the
children using foul language, threatened to beat them, and ran them out of the house. He beat
Marina and her children on several occasions. Gerardo first beat Marina when she intercepted a
blow intended for her son. He hit her twice in the face with a closed fist. He frequently used his
fists to beat Marina and the children, and he also kicked them. Marina's children were miserable and pleaded with Marina to take them away from Gerardo.
The children did not have legal immigration papers because Gerardo never filed for them. In
October of 1998, Marina's twelve-year-old daughter Consuela confessed to her mother that her
stepfather Gerardo had been sexually molesting her. He began by spying on her in the bathroom
through a hole in the wall. This escalated when he grabbed her from behind and pulled her
shorts down. He did this many times, instructing her not to tell anyone and threatening to beat
her if she did. Consuela said Gerardo attacked her every time Marina left to do laundry. On one
occasion, Gerardo hit Consuela with a closed fist on the lip and shoulder. He then pulled her by
her hair into the bedroom, threw her on the bed, and covered her mouth. Consuela tried to fight
him off, but she was only eleven years old and her strength did not match Gerardo's. After hearing this, Marina immediately reported her husband to the police and cooperated with
the investigation and court process. In December, her husband was sentenced to sixteen years in
prison for committing two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child. Marina and her children have
taken important steps to regain control of their lives. Marina and Consuela are now in therapy,
which is crucial to their emotional well-being and ability to regain self-esteem and healing
following the physical and sexual abuse they suffered. Consuela in particular cannot be
separated from her therapist for any period of time without suffering additional unnecessary
harm. Marina has self-petitioned for permanent residence pursuant to VAWA, and has included both of
her children born in Mexico in her application. Marina and her children would suffer great
hardship if forced to endure consular processing as the only means of obtaining lawful
permanent residency under VAWA. Marina is the sole protector and provider for her four
children. If she must return to Mexico to obtain lawful permanent resident status, her family will
face hardship. If she takes the children with her, she must uproot them from their schools,
activities, and therapy for an indeterminate amount of time. If the process is slow, Marina may
lose her job while she is away. Yet leaving the children behind is not a viable option, as she is
solely responsible for their care and well-being. The support and security that Marina and her
family have established in the United States should not be jeopardized by requiring her return to
Mexico. This case originated in California. FATMA Fatma, a citizen of Bangladesh, met her husband Mohammed while visiting her sister in
California in June of 1997. Mohammed is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, also
originally from Bangladesh. Fatma grew to like Mohammed, and she found him polite,
charming, and quiet. They were engaged by the end of the month, just before she had to return
to Bangladesh. In September, Fatma resigned from her job as a flight attendant, and came to the
United States to be married. Soon after they were married, Mohammed's attitude toward Fatma changed completely. He
became possessive, controlling, and abusive. He informed Fatma that she must do as he told her
and never question him, or else she would not be allowed to leave the house, and he would make
life very difficult for her. He frequently called her obscene names, referred to her as "crazy" or a
"mental patient" and made degrading remarks about women. Mohammed then stopped Fatma from visiting her ill sister unless he was present, and would not
allow her to work or go anywhere on her own. She was forbidden from talking to the neighbors,
using the phone, driving, and even knowing how to get to their apartment. Fatma only left the
house when Mohammed took her to the grocery store. A college graduate, when Fatma
indicated she wanted to work, Mohammed told her she could only work as a maid. He said that
once he started a business, she could work for him for $4 per hour. The abuse escalated when Mohammed refused to allow Fatma to religiously observe the
anniversary of her father's death. When she protested, he pushed her down in the bathroom,
where she hurt her arm. On at least three other occasions, he grabbed her hair, lifted her up by
her neck and choked her, and threw her against the wall or to the corners of the room. Often he
would attack her sexually, forcing her to participate in acts with which she was uncomfortable.
Once he squeezed her breast so hard that she could not lift her arm or sleep on her side for over a
week. One morning, Mohammed complained Fatma was disturbing his sleep, and he got up and threw
her across the room. Fatma screamed for Mohammed's mother who was nearby, and when she
arrived, she encouraged Mohammed to beat Fatma more. He grabbed Fatma by the neck and
slammed her against the wall. Then he threw her across the room again and threw a chair on top
of her. Fatma suffered injury and bruising to her shoulder and ankle and had trouble walking for
several days. When Fatma threatened to call the police, Mohammed laughed and said if she even
tried to touch the phone she would be dead, because he would "cut her into little pieces." He
said if she called the police they would take her away because she was not a citizen, and he
repeatedly threatened to kill her. Fatma was not aware that Mohammed's abuses against her
were illegal. Fatma stayed with Mohammed both because she feared his violence and for the
sake of the marriage. Furthermore, due to the strict socio-cultural and religious practices that
Fatma was accustomed to, it was very hard for her to decide to leave him or report him to the
police. Fatma's family also expected her to stay with her husband and try to make the marriage
work because it was expected of her as the wife. Eventually, Fatma left the house and fled to her sister's house. Mohammed found her there and
threatened to harm not only Fatma, but also her sister and her sister's husband. Fatma's sister
helped her enter a battered women's shelter. Fatma obtained a protection order and Mohammed
was arrested on three felony counts. Fatma filed for relief under VAWA, and the couple is now
divorced. She obtained equal work authorization through VAWA, now has a full time job, and
is continuing her education in the United States. If Fatma is required to return to Bangladesh to obtain her lawful permanent residency under
VAWA, the safety she has found will be jeopardized. In Bangladesh, the police are not called
for domestic violence situations, and a man is never punished for beating up his wife, whereas a
woman is severely ostracized by the society for leaving her husband or taking any actions against
him. According to the Islamic law that co-exists with the government laws, a woman is nothing
but a property of her husband. In a male-dominated, gender-biased, and religiously sensitive
society, there is no place for a woman who dares to leave her husband's house. Even her own
family members hesitate to give her shelter or help her in any way. Such a woman is seen as an
embarrassment to her family and friends and is treated more poorly than a prostitute.
Mohammed's family members continue to threaten Fatma's family members in Bangladesh, and
they plan to seek revenge on Fatma for getting Mohammed arrested. Mohammed has applied for
dual citizenship in Bangladesh to have greater accessibility there, so that he could follow Fatma
to Bangladesh where she would not be protected by her restraining order or by the law. In
addition, Mohammed's family is very powerful and influential in their country and can
manipulate government officials to act against Fatma. His family members are in high ranking
positions in the police department, they are rich, own industries, and use the laborers to do
"anything and get away with it," according to Mohammed. Fatma's family in Bangladesh
consists of her widowed mother, a very ill sister, and two younger brothers, so they could never
afford a clash with Mohammed's powerful family. Finally, because of the country's male-dominated culture, the society of Bangladesh condemns Fatma for taking action against
Mohammed, and not even her own family will protect her or provide her with shelter. For these
reasons, it is extremely dangerous for Fatma to be required to return to Bangladesh as the only
way to obtain lawful permanent resident status based on her approved VAWA self-petition. This case originated in California. MELISSA Melissa and Javier met at a business school in Mexico. After dating for a time, they decided to
marry in 1983. Even in the beginning of their relationship, Javier caused unhappiness for
Melissa. Twice Melissa became pregnant. Despite her pleas to keep the child, each time Javier
forced her to have an abortion. The second time almost cost Melissa her life. Finally, Melissa gave birth to a son. Soon after, she became pregnant with a daughter. It was
then that Javier migrated to America and became a lawful permanent resident. Two years later,
he sent for Melissa. Almost immediately, she became pregnant with another daughter. Javier
was angry. He tormented Melissa, blaming her and berating her bad judgment. Javier drank a
lot. This was the source of most of the problems in their relationship. When he was drunk,
Javier would hit Melissa, even in front of her cousins. He also had affairs with other women.
One woman whom Javier impregnated suffered a miscarriage. Javier's philandering left Melissa
feeling alone and humiliated. Melissa's sense of entrapment and loneliness grew worse as Javier began to exercise more
control over her. He isolated her from her family. He threatened to take the children because
Melissa's brother is gay. He forbade Melissa and the children to leave the house unless it was
with him. Since Javier worked two jobs, these times were rare. The psychological abuse escalated and Javier began to hit Melissa more frequently. Then Javier
threatened to divorce Melissa. He threw her out of the house and furiously vandalized the
interior, breaking dishes and destroying the TV. It was then that Melissa left. If she believed she would be free of Javier, her hopes were in vain. First he tried to coerce her
into coming back by giving her money. When this failed, he came to see Melissa at her brother's
house. Unaware that he was in a drunken rage, Melissa opened the door. Javier demanded that
she come home with him. When she refused, he unleashed a furious barrage of blows upon her.
While her terrified children called the police, Javier physically hoisted her and threw her from
the porch. Javier is now in jail for domestic violence. But Melissa knows that she and her children are not
yet safe. If his past actions of anger and vindictiveness are any indication, he will certainly come
after Melissa when he is released. In America, Melissa has the advantage of shelters, police protection, and restraining orders. If
she is forced to return to Mexico to get her green card, she will have no such reassurance. Then
Javier will once again have the upper hand. Melissa knows there is no police protection in her
hometown. Here she has relatives to help her. Only her elderly parents are in Mexico--she has
nobody else to turn to there. If she goes back, it will be much easier for Javier to have his way
with her. Worse yet, Melissa fears that he will try to take her children away. Melissa and the children have been living in America for nine years. She has a restraining order
and legal custody of the children. The family's life, school, and church will be disrupted and
traumatized for an unknown period of time if Melissa must leave to get her green card without
her children. Further, she fears that if she leaves without the children, their safety could be
jeopardized by their abusive father if she is not here to protect them. If she is forced to take the
children with her, two of them will have a very difficult time because they barely speak any
Spanish. Javier is a Mexican citizen who is very familiar with Melissa's hometown and family
in Mexico. Melissa is afraid he will follow her to Mexico where he can harm her and take the
children without being subject to U.S. protection orders and custody orders. In short, if Melissa
has to go back to Mexico, their safety in Mexico will be jeopardized, and they will likely have to
face an alcoholic, violent father with no protection. This case originated in California. PHILIPPA Philippa is ethnically Hungarian, but a citizen of Romania. She met her husband William in Los
Angeles in April 1997. William is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, also
originally from Romania. Less than two weeks after they met, Philippa and William moved in together and planned to get
married. William had almost $15,000 in credit card debts, so they began work in their
apartment complex, Philippa as the manager and William as the maintenance man. A week later they were married, and soon the nature of their relationship began to change.
William ignored Philippa's daughter, Martina, and acted cold and distant toward his new family.
When Philippa considered leaving him and moving back to Romania, William apologized and
asked her to stay and try to make the marriage work. Philippa agreed, and they soon moved to a
different apartment complex where Philippa could have a larger apartment management position.
The couple was still deep in debt. In August, William began an affair with his friend's ex-girlfriend, who came to visit from
Romania. He took his girlfriend to the beach, the opera, and restaurants, while he ignored
Philippa and Martina. He became very secretive and never told Philippa when he was going out
or coming home. He began to berate Philippa constantly, and forbade her to answer the phone.
In September, William came home with a prescription to treat crab lice, evidence that proved his
affair to Philippa. Philippa moved out of their bedroom and began to sleep on the sofa. Soon
William began to come to her in the night and force her to have sex with him. She told him "No,
I don't want to do this!" but he forced himself on her every week. He told her "This is part of
the marriage contract." In November, the physical abuse began. When William was preparing dinner, Philippa
attempted to discuss apartment complex repairs with him. He suddenly became angry and
threatened her with a knife, pointing it at her head. Philippa did not call the police because she
was ashamed of what those in her apartment complex would think. In December, after William returned from a trip to Romania with his girlfriend, he informed
Philippa he wanted a divorce, so he could marry his girlfriend. He became verbally abusive, and
threatened to have Philippa deported. During the preceding months, Philippa noticed that William had begun to drink excessively with
friends, and drive drunk. In December, he began to drink alone, and during these times he would
become violent. One night at the end of December, William came home drunk and was angry
because the door was locked. Once Philippa opened the door, he grabbed her by the neck of her
shirt and scratched her throat, leaving bruises on her hands and neck. Martina rushed in and tried
to protect her mother. When Philippa told Martina to call 911, William shoved Martina violently
on the sofa, sending the phone flying. He yelled at Martina "I am going to kill you and your
mother!" When William tried to attack Philippa again, Martina began to call the police, but he
slapped her and threw the phone out of her hand. William left the house, and later the police arrived. They asked Philippa if they wanted him
arrested, but she said no for fear that he would lose his job. She said she felt sorry for him.
Philippa and Martina hid in Martina's room that night, in fear of William and the rifle he kept
behind his pillow. William soon moved out, taking everything from the apartment, including all the furniture,
amenities, and food. Philippa filed for a restraining order, but never followed through because
of scheduling confusion, and for fear of a confrontation with William. If Philippa is required to return to Romania to obtain her lawful permanent residency under
VAWA, the law in Romania will not protect her. Romanian police rarely intervene in situations
of domestic violence, and prosecution of spousal rape is practically impossible. William has
recently traveled to Romania and has threatened to follow Philippa and Martina to Romania and
kill them. He said, "With these two hands I will kill you; wherever in the world you go, I will
find you!" In addition, as a member of the Hungarian minority in Romania, Philippa and Martina
would be subject to ethnic discrimination and oppression and denied such things as rights to
equal education and employment. Philippa wishes to remain in the United States with her
daughter for the protection against ongoing abuse and opportunities she could not receive
elsewhere. To assure her safety, she must be able to obtain her lawful permanent resident status
in the United States and must not be required to return to Romania for any reason. This case originated in the California. ANITA Anita is a citizen of the Philippines whose U.S. citizen parents brought her to the United States
to escape her abusive first husband. She met her current husband Ricardo in February of 1994
while in California. Ricardo is a lawful permanent resident of the United States. The couple
dated and finally married in April of 1995. Throughout their courtship and their first month of marriage, Ricardo was good to Anita. Then
he started abusing her physically. In May, he threw a glass at her, calling her obscene names.
Anita's daughter called the police, but Anita refused to have Ricardo arrested for fear that he
would become more angry. Ricardo began drinking excessively and smoking drugs. In June, Ricardo hit Anita in the face, knocking her down. As she tried to escape, he attacked
her car with a metal bar. Although Ricardo served seven days in jail for this incident, he
pressured Anita into refusing to testify against him. When Anita was 2 ½ months pregnant, Ricardo hit Anita in the face and she fell into the street.
When she tried to leave and remove her things from the car, he started the car and dragged her
down the street. Too scared to call the police, Anita ran away to San Francisco. Each time he would hurt Anita, Ricardo would cry afterwards and beg her forgiveness. He
promised to stop the violence, and to stop drinking and using drugs. Ricardo found Anita in San
Francisco, and things were calm for a few months. In May of 1996, when their son was 2 months old, Ricardo began pushing and shoving Anita
again. He also forced her to take drugs, after which she usually passed out. She does not know
what was done with her during these times, but once she woke up in different clothes. In the next few months, when Ricardo would hit her, Anita would call the police. In April of
1997, he was arrested and served over a year for prior domestic violence and violation of his
probation. Anita began to believe the terrible things Ricardo would say about her and thought about suicide.
She is now benefitting from therapy, where she is learning how to break the cycle of abuse.
Anita fears having to return to the Philippines to obtain lawful permanent residency of the
United States. All of her family members are in the United States. She has no support system in
the Phillippines. Further, Anita is afraid that if she is forced to return to the Phillippines to get
her green card, she will risk being harmed again by her first abusive husband who still lives
there. She believes Ricardo will find her there and harm her and her son, and the laws there will
not protect her. Anita must not be required to leave the protection of the United States in order
to become a permanent resident. This case originated in California. PAOLA Paola is a citizen of Peru, who came to the United States in 1995 as a church volunteer. A
mutual friend introduced her to a lawful permanent resident named Esteban in October of 1995,
and the two dated and fell in love. After two months, they agreed to marry and Paola decided
not to return to Peru. Paola and Esteban were married in January of 1996, and Paola soon
discovered she was pregnant. Esteban's teenage daughter was unhappy about the marriage and jealous of Paola's pregnancy.
She tried to cause problems between Esteban and Paola, and she assaulted Paola while she was
pregnant. Esteban did nothing about the behavior of his daughter and considered leaving Paola
because of his daughter's unhappiness. Their baby was born in April of 1997, and things were
calm for a few months. When Paola found out she was pregnant again, Esteban demanded she get an abortion. When
she refused, Esteban became verbally abusive and threatened to leave her. Esteban's daughter
also became physically and verbally abusive once again. Paola made several trips to the
emergency room during her second pregnancy because Esteban and his daughter tried to hurt her
so she would lose the baby. Paola called the police but did not press charges. One day, Esteban and his daughter began to insult Paola and beat, pushed, and pulled her until
she lost consciousness. Then they left the house, leaving her unconscious with her eleven month
old daughter. Paola entered a shelter for a time, and then returned home. In May of 1998, Esteban and his
brother attacked her and tried to take away her immigration papers. Esteban then filed for
divorce in hopes that Paola would be deported. Paola now faces eviction because Esteban refuses to pay child support for their two young
children. If Paola were forced to return to Peru to obtain lawful permanent resident status for the
United States, there is no indication of how long the Peruvian government would detain her in
Peru. This creates a difficult situation for Paola, because if she leaves her children in the United
States, Esteban my be able to obtain sole custody of them while she is gone. However, taking
them with her poses severe financial hardship, especially in light of the fact that Esteban is not
paying child support. Paola should not be made to return to Peru for any reason, and should be
allowed to become a permanent resident of this country without leaving it. This case originated in California. MARTA Marta came to the United States ten years ago to support her starving parents and younger
siblings who live in a rural village in Mexico. In February of 1993, after a long courtship, Marta
married Carlos, a lawful permanent resident originally from Nicaragua. Almost immediately after their marriage, Carlos began treating Marta abusively. He kept her
isolated from her family and friends, took all her savings, ran up her phone bill, and treated her
like a servant. He constantly yelled at her and threatened to turn her in to the INS if she
complained about the abuse. Within weeks of their marriage, Carlos began living with another
woman, but he continued to bring his dirty laundry home to Marta and required that she wash it
for him. Finally, he ordered Marta to leave their apartment. He forced her into the car, drove
her to her brother's house, and dumped her on the doorstep. The abuse Marta suffered at the hands of Carlos so devastated and humiliated her that she
attempted suicide. She has needed psychological counseling to help her recover from the trauma
of the abuse ever since the suicide attempt. To make matters worse, for more than two years
following Carlos and Marta's separation, Carlos continued to stalk Marta and harass her by
phone. He also threatened to call the INS and turn her in if she refused to sign summary divorce
papers. Marta filed a VAWA self-petition in August of 1995, just before her divorce from Carlos
became final. The INS approved the petition in July of 1996 and agreed to extend Marta's
voluntary departure and employment authorization each year until her priority date became
current, at which time Marta would be eligible to apply for adjustment of status. When the
VAWA regulations were originally issued, INS offices could provide work authorization for
VAWA self-petitioners with approved petitions by granting them either deferred action status or
voluntary departure. However, the new Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
(IRIRA), which passed on September 30, 1996, harmed battered immigrants like Marta who had
received voluntary departure status. The new law reduced the amount of time this status could
last and made it non-renewable. To address this issue, in cases like Marta's, the INS district
office was supposed to grant Marta deferred action status before her voluntary departure expired.
Instead, the INS district office incorrectly instructed Marta to overstay her voluntary departure.
As a result, if Marta is forced to return to Mexico to obtain her green card under VAWA, the
fact that she has overstayed her voluntary departure could bar Marta from reentering the United
States for 10 years. When the INS approved Marta's petition, it determined that Marta would suffer severe hardship
if she were forced to return to Mexico. Marta would endure humiliation and ostracism by her
family as a result of her failed marriage and suicide attempt. In addition, because of the lack of
affordable mental health care in Mexico, Marta would not have access to the psychological
counseling she has needed ever since her suicide attempt following her abusive marriage. Marta
would risk losing her home, her job, her access to mental health counseling, and the life she is
building in the U.S. if she were forced to return to Mexico as her only way to obtain her green
card under VAWA. This case originated in California. VAL Val came wide-eyed and hopeful to America from Thailand on a tourist visa. Eager to learn
about American culture, she took a job as a bartender at a local bar. There she met Ferdinand, a
lawful permanent resident. He was funny and charming, and he was willing to answer Val's
eager questions about American lifestyles. One day Val got into an automobile accident. She was badly injured. Not knowing what to do,
she called Ferdinand because he worked at a hospital. Ferdinand responded immediately. He
took her to his hospital, where he saw to it that Val received a complete and proper examination.
He also helped her deal with the problem of the damaged car. Ferdinand went on to care for Val,
too, giving her door-to-door service to the grocery store and wherever she needed to go while
she was recovering from her injuries. Val was so impressed with his kindness, she fell in love. Ferdinand continued to be gentle and kind as their relationship grew. Val decided to move in
with him and soon discovered that she was pregnant. Val was torn--her tourist visa was soon to
expire, yet she didn't want to raise her daughter apart from her father. Ferdinand came to the
rescue. He wanted Val and the baby to stay, and sincerely proposed marriage to Val. After the marriage, Ferdinand began to change. Beforehand, he would take her out when he
went out. Now that she was well into pregnancy, he would leave her home and not return until
4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. After she had the baby, this pattern continued. Usually, he would
come home wanting sex. If she did not want to have intercourse with Ferdinand, he would push
her, slap her in the face, pull her hair, and kick her in the chest. As Ferdinand's lifestyle deteriorated, his attacks upon Val became more frequent and
unpredictable. He would have friends over to their house, smoking, drinking, and using illegal
drugs. When Val complained that the smoke might be dangerous to their baby, Ferdinand told
her to leave the house. More and more often, he would push and strike her in front of his
friends. Val wanted to call the police, but was scared to for fear of what Ferdinand might do. When Val's mother came over, Ferdinand got violent with Val again. During the argument, he
slapped her in the face. When the mother pleaded with him to stop, he forced her to leave,
saying that it was none of her business and that she had no right to tell him what to do. In
another incident, he came into the bar and struck Val in front of her customers. Ferdinand also
began hitting Val in front of the baby. In addition to the pain and injury to Val, the baby would
cry and shake whenever she saw her mother being abused. One night when Ferdinand's friends were over, the party became so raucous that Val called the
police. Ferdinand fled that night. He later returned, but his behavior became even more
frightening. Not only did the beatings continue, but now he threatened to kill Val. Val knew he
owned a gun. She feared for her life every single time he came home drunk. Over all of this time, Ferdinand never gave Val and the baby any financial support. He often left
them alone for long periods of time. One night, Val thought she heard somebody trying to break
in. Scared, she called Ferdinand. He did not return for several hours, but when he did, he was
drunk. He beat her so violently that she called the police. He was arrested for battery. Val moved out with her daughter, but Ferdinand continued to stalk her. She moved into an
apartment building. One night, Ferdinand buzzed her room, but she refused to let him in. In
fear, she took the baby to her neighbor's room. Ferdinand got past the building security and
pounded on her door, screaming. Val had to call the police from her neighbor's apartment. Val has since filed for divorce. Because of the domestic violence, Val was granted sole custody
of the child, but Ferdinand was given visitation rights. He has already violated his court order
once by drinking while visiting with his daughter. Then he refused to return her to Val. If Val has to return to Thailand to get her green card, she will not have anybody with whom she
can leave her two-year-old U.S. citizen daughter. Even if Val could find somebody with whom
to leave her daughter, the separation could be devastating to such a young child. More
importantly, Val is worried that Ferdinand will snatch her daughter again during visitation. Worse yet, if Val has to travel back to Thailand, she (and her daughter if Val must take her) will
be exposed and defenseless there, especially if Ferdinand follows her. The Thailand Report on
Human Rights Practices states that legal and societal discrimination against women, violence
against children, and illegal child labor persist in that country. It reports that domestic abuse is a
serious problem and that police do not enforce laws seriously. Furthermore, court rules and
procedures are severely slanted in favor of men in domestic law. Val fears that she will become
yet another one of these reported statistics if she is forced to pursue her green card in Thailand. This case originated in California. ROSA Rosa is a twenty-year-old woman from Mexico, who was brought to the U.S. by her mother.
Prior to coming to the United States, Rosa lived with her father and her father's second family in
Mexico, where her stepmother and her stepmother's brother subjected her to three years of both
physical and sexual abuse. Her step uncle sexually assaulted and raped Rosa on a regular basis
when she was between the ages of seven and nine, until her mother's sister found out about the
conditions Rosa was subjected to in her father's house and rescued her from this situation so that
Rosa's mother Carmen could bring her to California. Carmen had remarried John, who was a
lawful permanent resident of the United States and John brought Carmen and Rosa to live with
him. Since 1993, Rosa has lived with her mother, Carmen, her abusive stepfather, John, and her
younger half-sister, Ana. During this time, she has suffered verbal abuse and has lived in
continual fear of physical abuse. John is an alcoholic, and when he comes home drunk and angry, he insults and demeans Rosa
and her mother, calling them sluts and prostitutes, and telling them they are lazy because Carmen
does not work. He is controlling in the home, does not allow Rosa or her mother to speak on the
phone or to have people over to the house, and requires that they ask permission to leave the
house. John is a very violent man, and Rosa has witnessed his violent behavior on many occasions.
Once he found Carmen talking on the phone and he proceeded to yell at her, grabbed the phone
from her, and threw her violently against the door. Rosa's mother had a large bruise on her
shoulder after this incident, but she did not call the police because she believed that John would
have her deported. Another time, he pulled a knife on one of Rosa's cousins, threatening to kill him. John followed
the cousin out into the street, chasing him with a switch blade. When John returned to the house,
he slept with the switch blade under his pillow. A month after this incident, Rosa was cleaning
the house and discovered her step-father's knife under the mattress where John and Carmen
sleep. Rosa fears that when John is drinking and becomes violent, he will use the knife on her
mother or her. John's threats are constant, causing Rosa to live in uncertainty and fear. John's abuse of
Carmen makes Rosa feel angry, but also makes her feel hopeless, because she cannot do
anything to help her mother. She can only watch the ongoing abuse. John, a lawful permanent resident, refused to help legalize Rosa or Carmen's status in the U.S.,
so that they could work. Instead, he threatens that he can call immigration and have them
deported. He says that he can get rid of them any time he wants, so they had better obey him.
He also threatens that by having Rosa and Carmen deported, he will separate their family by
keeping Rosa's half-sister, Ana, who is a U.S. citizen, with him. Despite the abuse that Rosa has experienced, she believes that her life in the U.S. holds more for
her than her native country. She has learned English, graduated from high school, and hopes to
go to college. She has also begun therapy to overcome the years of severe physical and mental
abuse by John and by her step family in Mexico. This type of counseling for victims of rape and
domestic violence would not be available to Rosa if she were to return to Mexico, where there
are also not the same protections of women's rights. Rosa needs to obtain her lawful permanent resident status without being forced to return to return
to Mexico, where she would be separated from her mother and her younger sister, her only close
family who have been her support system. The family she does have in Mexico, her father's
second family, physically and sexually abused Rosa during the years she lived with them as a
child. Contact with these family members upon return to Mexico would present very real
dangers to Rosa. This case originated in California. PAMINA Pamina is a 40-year-old woman from Mexico who has been married to Jorge, a lawful permanent
resident, since 1995. Pamina had one daughter by him, Jessica, who was born in 1992, and has
two previous children, Evelyn and Manuel, who also live with them. Jorge's abuse began in 1992, when Pamina became pregnant with their daughter, Jessica, a few
months after they began living together. Jorge drank more and verbally abused Pamina when he
came home intoxicated, calling her a slut and telling her she was trash and worthless. The
almost daily abuse ate away at Pamina's self-confidence and caused her to become nervous
around Jorge. He was also very controlling, forbidding her to go out, prohibiting her from
seeing her family, interrogating her when she did leave, and asking the neighbors to inform him
when she left the house. Fearing yelling and threats, Pamina never left the house except to buy
food. Jorge did not allow Pamina to speak on the phone, and soon, she lost almost all contact
with her family and old friends. Pamina stayed with Jorge because she still loved him and hoped that their relationship would still
work out. Jorge's abuse mainly occurred when he was drunk, and the next day he would
apologize and promise to change. Pamina forgave him and stayed with him, as she did not want
her daughter to grow up without a father. In 1995, Pamina and Jorge were married. After their marriage, the abuse worsened as Jorge's drinking and drug use increased. Jorge
brought two switchblades home, and put one into a drawer in the kitchen and the other under the
mattress of the bed. He said that they were for protection, but since that day, Pamina did not feel
safe in her own house. Once, he used a switchblade to threaten his brother's wife who was
staying with them, shouting that she had to get out of the house or he would have her taken out
in a box. Pamina had never expected that Jorge would use the knife to threaten one of his own
family members. His loss of control terrified Pamina and she could not sleep that night. On
another occasion, he pulled the knife on Pamina, ordering her to tell the guests at their daughter's
birthday party to leave the house. One time Jorge came home reeking of alcohol when Pamina was talking on the phone. He
became angry and began shouting, and he took the phone and threw it at Pamina. Then he
brutally pushed her into the door, causing bad bruising on her shoulder. Pamina was terrified
that Jorge was going to beat her, or that he would go and get his knife. Another time, Jorge
came home drunk while Pamina was listening to the radio. He ripped it out of the wall and
threw it, shouting that he was going to destroy the radio and that he would destroy Pamina along
with it. He began throwing her things around the room, calling her a slut and shouting at her to
get out of his house. For years now, Pamina has lived in constant fear of Jorge's violent temper, which is worsened by
alcoholism and drug abuse. His controlling behavior has isolated Pamina from her family and
friends, and Jorge has used violence to control her. He has done things to her such as throwing a
telephone at her, badly bruising her by slamming her into a doorway, and threatening her with
the switchblade he keeps in the kitchen drawer. Since Pamina and Jorge got married, Jorge has
steadily become more paranoid and violent. Pamina fears for her life and the lives of her
daughters. Pamina has been trapped in this relationship of verbal and physical abuse, knowing that, without
legal papers, she can not work to support herself and her family alone. Jorge has continually
used the threat of deportation and of taking their daughter, to frighten and control Pamina. If she were to return to Mexico as the only avenue to obtain her green card based on her
approved self-petition, Pamina cannot leave her U.S. citizen daughter Jessica with her abusive
father. Pamina also does not want to subject Jessica to the traumas of uprooting her from her
school and community fro an unknown period of time. Jessica speaks Spanish but has never
been to Mexico. Further, Pamina is in counseling for abused women. This program provides
her tremendous psychological support which she will be severed from if forced to return to
Mexico to obtain her green card. The family Pamina has in Mexico will not support her because
they believe it is a married woman's duty to stay with her husband. Pamina cannot be assured of
how long she will have to remain in Mexico to get her visa, and fears that her children will not
be safe from Jorge if she leaves them in the United States alone for an indeterminate amount of
time. This story originated in California. PATRICIA Patricia is an 18-year-old woman from Mexico, who came to the U.S. in 1988 with her mother,
Eugenia, and her younger brother, Marcos, to join their father. After their father's death, in
1992, Patricia's mother remarried Martino, a U.S. citizen, in 1993. Martino's abuse toward the family began after Eugenia and Martino's baby, Carlos, was born in
1993. Often, Martino struck Carlos, sometimes with his open hand, other times with a belt, a
sandal, or a shoe. Once, Martino flew into a fit of rage, and he hurled a shoe at the baby. On
another occasion, Patricia tried to intervene to protect the baby, and Martino yelled at her and
struck her on the hand. Martino would also get irrationally angry at Patricia for minor things like making too much noise
when she washed the dishes, or not keeping the baby quiet. Martino verbally abused Patricia,
calling her a bitch, a slut, and a prostitute. He controlled Patricia's life, making her come home
right after school to do housework and to sell tamales on the street that Martino had forced
Eugenia to make. Patricia was not allowed time to do her homework or to see her friends.
Patricia's brother, Marcos, suffered the same abuse. Patricia watched her mother, Eugenia, suffering physical and emotional abuse continuously. In
August of 1997, Martino used violence in an argument with Eugenia. He ordered Eugenia to take
the children and leave the apartment. Eugenia refused to leave until she could talk with the
landlord and get her name off the lease so that the landlord would not come after her if Martino
did not pay the rent. Eugenia's refusal angered Martino, and he raised his fist as if to punch her
in the face. Instead, he brutally kicked her in the stomach. The bruises were so severe that they
lasted for two weeks. He then threatened to kill them all with his machete. Eugenia told
Patricia to hide the machete and all the other big knives in the house. Patricia hid the knives that
night, and when Martino found that the machete was missing, he went out of control and
ransacked Patricia's bedroom, searching for the machete and destroying the room. At that point,
Patricia began to realize that Martino might actually carry out his threat of killing them. A week later, Eugenia and Martino got in another argument over the rent money, which she had
hidden so that he would not spend it before the rent was due. Martino threatened to call the
police, who he said would have Eugenia and her older children deported. He said he would take
their American born baby away from them. Then he screamed that once he found his machete,
he would chop Eugenia into little pieces and send her into the dirt to lie with her dead husband.
Eugenia threatened to call the police, but Martino said that he would be released in three days
and come back and kill them. Eugenia called nonetheless. Martino then began to panic,
apologizing and begging Eugenia to tell the police ti was a mistake. But the police did not come
right away, and Martino began to think they would never come. He got angry again and taunted
Eugenia. He grabbed her by the arm and was about to hit her when the police pulled up. The
police took photographs of the bruises still on her stomach from the previous beating and
arrested Martino. After Martino's arrest, Patricia moved with her mother and brother into hiding, fearing that he
would find them and carry out his threats to kill them. They obtained a restraining order
protecting them against Martino. Martino was criminally tried, convicted, and sentenced to jail
for the abuse he inflicted on them. Martino has since been released from prison. Patricia must return to Mexico to obtain her lawful
permanent residency under VAWA, but her protection order will not protect her from him once
she crosses the Mexican border. Patricia has grown up in Southern California since she was
eight years old, and considers the U.S. her home. Her entire support system, her close family,
including her grandparents, and friends, live in the U.S. as well. If she were forced to return to
Mexico, she would leave this support network and have to leave her baby brother with her
mother, who, alone, may not be able to protect him from Martino. Here, Patricia is in counseling
for abuse, an opportunity she would not have in Mexico. She plans to continue her studies and
hopes to be a photographer. After all that she has gone through, she should be able to obtain
relief under VAWA without having to return to Mexico. This story originated in California, moved to Utah, and is currently in California. LINA Lina, a 22-year-old native of El Salvador, came to the U.S. when she was 14 years old. In April
of 1995, she met Juan, a U.S. citizen. In the beginning, they were happy together. One night,
Juan proposed marriage to Lina. She was very happy and accepted. She looked forward to their
coming marriage. Juan got a job, and Lina stayed home and took care of the house. Both Juan
and Lina were very excited about getting married and having a baby. In 1996, they were married
in a civil ceremony in Utah which was attended by some of their close friends. Juan's abuse
began later that year, after the birth of their son, Enrique. He would act violently towards both
Lina and Enrique, later promising to her that he would change his behavior. In 1997, Lina and Juan returned to California seeking better job opportunities for Juan. There,
the violence escalated. One particularly violent outburst occurred one night in September of
1997, when Juan became irrationally angry at the baby for crying. He tried to take Enrique from
Lina's arms, but she didn't let him, fearing that he would hurt the baby. Juan tried to grab the
baby again, hitting the baby very hard when he ripped him from Lina's arms. He threw the
screaming baby into his crib and hit him several times in the face and head to make him stop
crying. Juan's anger then turned toward Lina. He grabbed her and pushed her down on the bed. Lina
could not move because Juan had pinned her down underneath him. Juan started punching her
with a closed fist, punching her in the left eye several times. Lina struggled to get Juan off of
her, and he beat her even harder, hitting her on the back of her head, in her chest, and in her ribs.
He gave her a black eye, and the beatings caused bumps on her head and several bruises. On the following day, after seeing the black eye and hearing the story of the beating, Lina's
mother called the police. Juan was arrested and served three months in prison for child abuse.
Since Juan was released from jail, Lina has had very little contact with him. She is still afraid of
Juan, and she does not want Juan to hurt her or their baby. Juan comes to visit a few times a
month, but Lina does not let him being alone with the baby because she is afraid that he might
hurt him or take him away from her. Lina has lived in the U.S. for nine years and has the support of family and friends living in this
country who provide the support she now needs to keep herself and Enrique safe from Juan's
ongoing abuse. Lina is afraid to return to El Salvador to obtain her green card under VAWA
because she fears that if Juan finds out she has left the U.S. he will follow her there, where she
would have no protection against his violence. This case originated in Maryland. ELISE Elise is a 29-year-old woman from Nigeria. In 1995, while working in Lagos, Nigeria, a friend
of Elise mentioned he knew an American man named Raymond who was hoping to settle down
and wanted to meet her. The friend gave Raymond Elise's address, and he began writing to her.
He requested her phone number, and soon began calling her every day at work. He then traveled
to Nigeria for a three week visit, and the two enjoyed meeting and spending time together.
Three months later, Raymond visited again. He continued to call Elise at work almost every day, telling her to go straight home after work
and not to talk to anyone. Elise believed Raymond's interest in everything she was doing was a
sign of love. In the summer of 1996, Elise and Raymond were married in Nigeria, and shortly
thereafter Elise realized she was pregnant. Later that year, Elise moved to America to live with Raymond. Elise worked with Raymond at
his business, and things went well for the first few weeks. Elise then began to experience
hostility from an office manager at the business, and at first thought little of it. Then one
morning this woman called their home and hung up upon hearing Elise's voice. When Elise
mentioned to Raymond she thought this was odd, he flew into a rage, screaming that anyone
could call him any time about anything. Elise tried to clarify what she said, but Raymond would
hear nothing of it, and continued to curse, slam doors, and accuse Elise of trying to ruin his
business. Elise was saddened and depressed when Raymond became angry, but this only made
him angrier. He said she had no right to be depressed and that he did not care about her feelings.
He would not permit Elise to look sad or to frown. After this incident, Raymond forbade Elise
to pick up the phone. Raymond frequently forced sex upon Elise, and consistently wanted to have sex in positions with
which Elise was uncomfortable. When she mentioned that he was hurting her, he would get
angry and curse at her. He would also yank her head down and force her to give him oral sex.
She was never allowed to say no. Elise learned that Raymond was in relationships with several other women. Often these women
would call during the day and she would speak with them. When Raymond came home and
found out that Elise had answered the phone and had learned of his affairs, he hit her hard on her
face with the back of his hand. He said one of the women would kill Elise, and he would get in
trouble for it. Elise began to cry, but this only made Raymond more angry. Throughout her pregnancy and afterwards, Raymond discouraged Elise from making friends and
talking to anyone, even his family. He accused her of trying to get people to like her more than
they liked him. Raymond also stopped bringing Elise to work; because her pregnancy often
made her tired and sick, he claimed she was no good and useless. She was not allowed to go
anywhere without Raymond, and was forbidden to find a job of her own. Elise was a lawyer in
Nigeria, but Raymond would not let her take the bar exam in America. He also disparaged her
pregnancy by saying he could not sleep at night because it was disgusting to sleep with a
pregnant woman. He had demanded Elise have an abortion, but she refused. When she suffered
from morning sickness, he would yell at her, saying she made him sick. During a routine prenatal exam, Elise received a precautionary HIV test and was horrified to
discover it was positive. When Raymond arrived, he refused to be tested. When he took Elise
home, he acted sweet and tender to her, explaining that a former girlfriend claimed she was HIV
positive, but he had not believed her. He told Elise not to worry, and that he would take care of
her. Their daughter was born in 1997, in a C-section procedure. When Elise's stitches became
infected, Raymond would not take her to the hospital, claiming he had better things to do. Often,
Raymond would not pick up Elise's HIV medication in order to punish her for not obeying him. In July of 1997 they moved to Maryland, where Raymond started a new branch of his business.
When Elise began to become concerned about her immigration status, Raymond lashed out at
her. He hit her repeatedly with a closed fist, and then began kicking her, knocking her onto the
bed on top of the baby. Elise picked up the baby to protect her, hoping Raymond would not
attack her while she was holding the baby. He tried to grab the baby back, and Elise gave her to
him because she did not want him to pull on the baby's body. Raymond accused Elise of
marrying him for her green card. He then put the baby on the bed and yanked Elise by the hair
into the bathroom. When Elise accidentally scratched his face in self defense, he made her kneel
on the floor. After this incident, Elise was in so much pain that she could not get out of bed for
two days. By January of 1998, Elise began to become desperate for the HIV medication Raymond was
withholding. She was also concerned about her immigration status, and mentioned to Raymond
that she heard an immigration law was changing that month. Raymond became angry and
violent, hitting Elise with the back of his hand and pushing at her face. He said he would have
her deported and maybe kill her. He said one night that he was going to shoot Elise in her sleep.
She was afraid to mention immigration papers again. She considered calling the police, because
Raymond's family had warned her that he had been jailed for beating a girlfriend before.
However, Raymond told Elise she was stupid, and that his family was just manipulating her to
get his money. Raymond began traveling for extended periods, meeting with other women around the world.
When Elise dared to confront him about this, he became enraged. He left, and soon after Elise
began to receive threatening phone calls from his family. Later he and a few family members
showed up to force Elise to apologize for her indignance. Intimidated, depressed, and trying to
placate Raymond for the sake of the baby, Elise apologized. Later that night, Raymond came
upstairs and began yelling for Elise to take her clothes off. He yelled that she was an idiot, and
grabbed her mouth and twisted it. When he started pulling and punching Elise, the baby started
to cry. Elise tried to lay down with the baby to comfort her, but Raymond continued to pull off
her clothes. Elise got up and ran to the door, but Raymond grabbed her and pulled her panties
down, trying to assault her from behind. He then yanked her into the bedroom and started to hit
her. Neighbors heard the commotion and called the police, but Raymond assured the police it
was only a small domestic matter. The police informed Elise that she could take Raymond to
court, and the next day she went to court and obtained a protective order. Elise wishes to remain in the United States to raise her daughter, who is an American Citizen. If
she were forced to return to Nigeria to become a lawful permanent resident, she would face
extreme hardship. Raymond, who has significant contacts in Nigeria, could easily follow her to
there, where her U.S. protective order would not protect her. Under Nigerian law, since Elise is
Raymond's wife, he would be able to control her in any way he saw fit including perpetration
and abuse, and there would be no one she could turn to for protection. Raymond is also bound
by court order to stay away from Elise, to obey the order granting her custody of the child, and
to financially support Elise and their daughter. During the time Elise and their daughter are
detained in Nigeria, her protection order is not enforceable. Further, Elise is now receiving ongoing treatment for her HIV infection here in the United
States. Raymond transmitted this HIV infection to her. While her daughter shows no signs of
being infected yet, she must continue to be monitored medically. Neither Elise nor her daughter
would be able to receive the medical care they require while in Nigeria. It is necessary for Elise
to obtain her green card without leaving this country, as this is the only way to ensure her the
rights and safety. This case originated in Arizona. PALOMA Paloma is originally from Mexico. She has a thirteen-year-old son from a prior marriage named
Tomás and a seven-year-old daughter from her current marriage named Margarita. Paloma's
current husband is named Pedro. Paloma and Pedro met and fell in love eight years ago. Pedro
is originally from Mexico, but he is now a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Paloma, Pedro, and little Tomás settled in Arizona several years ago. A little while after Paloma
and Pedro married, Pedro started abusing Paloma. He would hit Paloma repeatedly. He would
insult and demean her often. On one occasion, Pedro struck her with such force on the side of
the head that she lost her hearing for an entire day. The beatings were regular and severe. Pedro
also physically abused Paloma's son Tomás from the time the boy was five years old. Pedro
would beat Tomás with a belt as punishment whether or not Tomás had done anything wrong.
He imposed arbitrary rules on the child and would punish him severely if the rules were ever
broken. He would also impose grueling physical torture on the boy for the smallest acts of
misbehavior. For example, if Tomás ever displeased Pedro by talking too loudly or leaving a toy
on the floor, Pedro would punish the child by making him kneel against the wall holding heavy
books in each of his hands. Tomás would have to raise the books over his own head and hold
them there for long periods of time. If the kindergartner ever let his arms droop down from the
weight of the books, Pedro would increase the length of the punishment. Paloma soon became pregnant with Margarita. While she was pregnant, Pedro continued to
physically and emotionally torment her. Once, he placed a sharp kitchen knife against Paloma's
pregnant stomach and threatened to kill her. He whispered in her ear that if he killed her, no one
would ever find out. Paloma believed his threat: she had no friends or family to whom she
could turn for help in the U.S. She was completely dependent on Pedro for food and money for
her son and new baby. She felt helpless and trapped in the abusive relationship. After Margarita was born, Paloma decided to save herself and her two children from Pedro's
violence. Since she had no support or family in the U.S., she and her children fled to Mexico to
seek solace with her parents. She believed she was finally safe from Pedro. Unfortunately,
though, Pedro followed her across the border. When Paloma was hospitalized briefly with an
illness, Pedro seized the opportunity to kidnap Margarita from Paloma's parents' home. Pedro
crossed back into U.S. territory and then filed for divorce and sole custody of Margarita. Paloma was frantic at the thought of losing her daughter to her abuser. It took Paloma six
months to apply for and receive a visitor's visa to reenter the U.S. and begin defending against
Pedro's motion for custody. She had to leave Tomás in Mexico with her parents when she
returned to the U.S., and she has been separated from her son ever since. Meanwhile, the
custody battle between Paloma and Pedro has dragged on, and the court has ordered Paloma to
keep to a particular schedule for visiting Margarita. Pending final resolution of the case, she has
shared custody with Pablo. However, if she misses even a day of visitation, Paloma believes that
Pedro will report this to the court and move for termination of her custody and visitation with
Margarita. Paloma has received approval of her VAWA petition for residency. If she is forced to return to
Mexico as the only way to get her green card under VAWA, Pedro has already demonstrated his
willingness and ability to follow her there. If she is forced to go to Mexico, she may never see
her daughter Margarita again. One of two things will probably happen. Either Pedro will
petition the court for termination of Paloma's custody and visitation rights on the grounds that
she abandoned Margarita and returned to Mexico, or he will simply kidnap Margarita again and
disappear with her somewhere in the U.S. Paloma wants nothing more than to be reunited with
her two children and build a safe, happy life for them away from Pedro's abuse. She risks all of
this by returning to Mexico to get her green card. This case originated in Arizona. SUSANA Susana is originally from Mexico. She met her husband, Manuel, in Mexico six or seven years
ago. Manuel is a lawful permanent resident of the United States originally from Mexico. The
two married after four years of dating and courtship. They later came to live in the United States
and eventually had a child, who is a U.S. citizen. Susana also has two children living with her
from a prior relationship. Throughout their marriage, Manuel subjected Susana to severe physical and emotional abuse.
Susana did not report many of the beatings to the police because she was afraid that Manuel
would treat her more cruelly in retaliation. Susana's fear of Manuel continued to grow
throughout the two years of their marriage. Eventually, her fear of Manuel overcame her fear of
calling the police. As soon as Susana began calling the police to help her, Manuel found himself facing charge after
charge of domestic assault and battery. Susana called the police and had Manuel arrested after
he held her at gunpoint in their home for an entire day. On another occasion, Manuel set fire to
the bed while Susana and her sister were sleeping in it. He was charged with arson soon
afterwards. The violence and fear in Susana's household reached breaking point when Manuel
subjected Susana to an intense, bloody, and horrible beating for which he was later convicted of
domestic assault and battery and placed in jail. Following this beating, Susana attempted
suicide. She was so depressed and fearful of Manuel that she saw suicide as the only way out of
the constant beatings, threats, and violence. Susana finally decided to flee the U.S. and Manuel and return to her family in Mexico. She
escaped with her children to her sister's home in a small Mexican town and attempted to rebuild
her life there. Manuel followed her. He had been in jail in the U.S., serving out his sentence for
domestic violence against Susana. The moment Manuel received a temporary work release from
jail, he seized his opportunity to immediately cross the border to Mexico find Susana. He knew
exactly where she lived. Once he located Susana in her sister's home, he attacked and injured
both Susana and her sister and trashed Susana's sister's house. Susana called the Mexican
police, but they did nothing to protect her. The police did not even take Manuel into custody.
Realizing that the only country with laws to protect her from domestic violence was the United
States, Susana and her children fled back to Arizona. There, Susana obtained an enforceable
restraining order against Manuel. Susana consulted a lawyer when she returned to the U.S. and filed a VAWA self-petition for
residency. Though her visa petition has been approved, Susana remains fearful about the next
step in getting her green card. Under the current law, Susana will be forced to return to Mexico
as the only way of getting her green card. Once she returns to Mexico, Susana has no doubt that
Manuel will follow her and hurt or kill her. Susana knows from experience that the Mexican
police will not protect her from Manuel's violence and abuse. Therefore, the only place where
Susana can be protected from injury, torture, and death at the hands of Manuel is the United
States. Outside U.S. borders, Susana's restraining order is unenforceable, and Susana faces
grave danger, and possibly death if she is forced to leave. This case originated in Arizona. ELENA Elena is originally from Mexico. At a young age, she met and married Pablo, also a Mexican
citizen. Pablo subjected Elena to years of physical and emotional abuse and terror. She tried to
get police and family members to help her, but no one could keep her safe from Pablo in
Mexico. Police never arrested Pablo for constantly beating her, and the laws of Mexico did not
hold Pablo accountable for spouse abuse. Eventually, Elena divorced Pablo. This did not end
the violence, though. Pablo continued to stalk Elena even after the divorce, and he attempted to
kill her on one occasion. Fearing that Pablo would kill her in Mexico and knowing that she
could not be safe in that country, Elena fled to Arizona. In Arizona, she met a man named Kevin, who was a United States citizen. After two years of
dating, she and Kevin married. To Elena's shock and dismay, Kevin soon began to mistreat her.
He had a drinking problem that continued to worsen. He would lose control and go into rages of
destruction and violence. Along with damaging household property and shouting threats and
obscenities at Elena, Kevin also attacked her. He would pull her hair, grab her wrists, and chase
her out of the house. Once Kevin violently attacked Elena when Elena was in her seventh month
of a delicate pregnancy for which she had spent the previous month hospitalized and bedridden.
Luckily, the baby was not hurt following Kevin's violent assault on Elena. Elena called the police more than once during her marriage to Kevin. She ultimately succeeded
in obtaining a restraining order against him, granting her legal custody of the child and allowing
her to separate from Kevin. Now that she has completed her VAWA petition for residency, she
faces the horror of returning to Mexico as the only way of obtaining her green card under
VAWA. Elena originally entered the U.S. because she was fleeing her violent, abusive ex-husband, Pablo.
This man stalked her for years, and he attempted to kill her. He is still waiting in Mexico for her
to return, and he knows exactly where she would stay if she returned to get her green card.
Elena knows that the Mexican police are ineffective at protecting battered women from their
violent husbands--their ineffectiveness forced Elena to leave Mexico in the first place, since she
was not being protected there by the Mexican government. Elena left Mexico alone, without
friends, family, or money, out of sheer terror. She fled in order to save her own life. She has
made friends in Arizona and has a support system of friends and service providers helping her
and her young child. Now, if she must return to Mexico, the laws of the United States will not
protect her, and her life will be in peril once more. This case originated in Arizona. MERCEDES Mercedes is originally from Mexico. She married Scott, a United States citizen whom she met in
Mexico. Scott brought Mercedes to live with him in the United States. Scott seemed like a
charming, loving person when Mercedes dated and fell in love with him. After they got married
though, Mercedes discovered that Scott had a serious substance abuse problem and an inability to
control his temper. He began physically and emotionally abusing Mercedes. Scott kept Mercedes isolated in their home. He monitored her movements very closely, refusing
to let her leave the house without him. She was not allowed to talk with others on the telephone
or make friends of her own. She wanted to work to help support the family, but Scott refused to
file a petition to obtain Mercedes's legal immigration status and work authorization.
Consequently, Mercedes was left alone in the house, completely dependent on Scott for all her
necessities. Because of Scott's drug and alcohol addictions, he was often fired from jobs.
During the three years of their marriage, Scott and Mercedes were frequently homeless, with
Scott unemployed and hooked on drugs, and Mercedes unable to work because Scott would not
file for her immigration status. Scott and Mercedes had a child, Alison, who brought much joy to Mercedes's life. Otherwise,
Mercedes was absolutely miserable in her marriage. Scott had begun punching, slapping, and
kicking Mercedes on a regular basis, and she was very afraid of him. He would go into rages,
beating her severely and destroying furniture within their home. Whenever Mercedes would try
to call the police, Scott would threaten to have her deported and to take Alison away from her.
Nevertheless, Mercedes reported Scott's abuse to the police three times. Each time, the police
intervened, and Scott was jailed and prosecuted for domestic violence. Mercedes fled her home and entered a battered women's shelter after Scott brutally raped and
beat her one evening. She consulted with attorneys about initiating a VAWA self-petition. Once
her petition is approved, she will have to return to Mexico as the only way of getting her green
card under VAWA. This would pose a very grave danger and hardship to Mercedes and her
daughter. If Mercedes is forced to return to Mexico, she will have no one with whom to leave her daughter.
She is very afraid that Scott will try to take Alison away from her, either by filing with the court
for custody or by kidnaping the little girl. Mercedes cannot afford to make the trip to Mexico,
but if she had to return, she would have to take Alison with her. Scott knows where Mercedes would be staying in Mexico, and she is afraid that he would follow
her and take their child away from her. He is a U.S. citizen, so he can enter and leave Mexico
easily. He has done so in the past. Mercedes feels that if he found her in Mexico, he could have
the opportunity to physically assault her and then take their child. Mercedes would not be safe
from Scott's abuse if she were forced to return to Mexico to get her green card. This case originated in Arizona. MARIA Maria is 41 years old, originally from a small village in Mexico. In Mexico, Maria was a single
parent. Her daughter's biological father never took interest in providing emotional or financial
support for them. Maria, who has a degree in veterinary medicine, worked for a cooperative
farm. She went to Arizona eight years ago, when her daughter was eleven months old, to visit a
brother who lived in Nogales, Arizona, and her sister and father, who owned property and lived
in Tucson. At a gathering at her sister's house, she met Jim, an American citizen. Maria said
Jim "seemed real nice," and when they started dating, he "treated me and my daughter so nice."
She said, "I felt so special. I never thought things would change." Two months after their wedding, the abuse began. The couple lived with Jim's parents for the
first four months of their marriage. Jim and his family drink excessively. When Jim was not
drinking, Maria found him to be in a bad mood. During their first argument, Jim grabbed Maria by the neck. His parents pulled him away, but
his aggression toward Maria only intensified after this incident. While Jim assured Maria when
they married that he would help her file for immigration status, he soon changed his attitude.
Jim did the initial filing, but was too drunk to attend the interview meeting. He also began to
accuse Maria of marrying him for her papers. Whenever Maria has attempted to call the police
or involve his family in their private affairs, Jim has threatened to report her and have her
deported. Maria is a veterinarian, but Jim has forbidden her from working in her field. She now cleans
hotel rooms to make ends meet. Maria's young daughter Rosa stays with Jim during the night
while Maria is at work. Often Jim wakes Rosa up in the middle of the night to go out and buy
alcohol for him, or to make him something to eat. Maria is subject to many types of abuse from Jim. A large and powerful man, he abuses her
physically and has flung her across a room into a wall. He insults and threatens her, refuses to
support the family financially, and forces her to perform sexual acts against her will. Rosa, now
eight years old, has been witness to it all. Maria often takes refuge at her sister's house, but Jim always finds her. He has threatened to kill
her if she attempts to leave again. She is afraid to enter a shelter, because she would have to
change jobs in order for Jim not to find her. This is impossible due to her current immigration
status. Now, four years into the marriage, Maria has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and is
under medical treatment. When she speaks of her experience, she cries and her body shivers as
in a trance. This handsome, charismatic man double her size is so different from the man she
originally met. Rosa's behavior has also been affected due to her witnessing the abuse of her
stepfather. Recently, the situation has begun to worsen for Maria and Rosa. Jim has begun to
experience blackouts and Maria has had to drag him into the apartment on several occasions.
Because of his large size and her fear of being seriously injured from an attack, Maria has made
arrangements with a neighbor who will call the police when she hears fighting. Although Maria has filed a self petition without Jim's knowledge, she is unable to return to
Mexico to obtain her green card. Jim monitors her whereabouts and will not let her leave; he has
threatened to find her anywhere and kill her if she leaves again. In addition, Rosa came to this
country as an infant, and it is the only home she knows. Maria cannot uproot Rosa from school
and activities for an unknown amount of time to return to Mexico. However, she is, of course,
afraid to leave Rosa with Jim. Finally, because she only works as a maid and is the sole
supporter of the family, she cannot afford a trip to Mexico. She may have to be there for several
months, and has no family, friends, or support system there. For these reasons, Maria should be
allowed to obtain her green card here in the United States. Once she has obtained it she will
possess the power necessary to leave Jim and end his abuses. This case originated in Iowa. AYESHA Ayesha is originally from Lesotho, a kingdom surrounded by South Africa. She fled to the
United States along with her three children after her husband, Omari, was murdered by the head
of a counterfeiting gang. The gang had been harassing Omari, who was the paymaster of a mine,
for over a year. They had wanted him to switch the real currency of the mine with counterfeit
currency. After a year of threats and intimidation, Omari still refused to switch the currency, and
the gang shot and killed him in the street. After his murder, police asked Ayesha to assist them
in catching those responsible for the crime. As a result, the gang leader and his supporters
discovered that Ayesha knew about their schemes. They threatened her life and her children's
lives and forced them to seek refuge in the U.S. While living in the U.S. and taking classes at a state university, Ayesha met Todd, a lawful
permanent resident of the United States. Todd helped Ayesha deal with the pain of losing her
husband and leaving her country. Soon, Todd and Ayesha became friends and started dating.
They later married and settled in Iowa. Just after they were married, Todd started treating Ayesha and her children cruelly. He would
insult the children and scream at them, and most often he would simply neglect them. He would
also push and slap Ayesha whenever he would get angry at her. This violence only escalated
throughout their marriage. Todd's alcoholism soon affected his ability to work. He quit working full-time, and Ayesha was
forced to assume all his work responsibilities and entirely support the family. She and her
children were treated as slaves by Todd, always doing the cooking and cleaning for him. As
time passed Todd's behavior only grew more violent and erratic. On one occasion, he punched
Ayesha in the face as she was driving the car, causing her to lose control of the car and veer off
the road. On other occasions, Todd would wake the entire family up in the middle of the night,
ordering all the children to gather around him and listen as he insulted their mother and called
her "an awful whore." In May of 1998, Todd unleashed his rage on Ayesha for the last time. He kicked her leg
repeatedly, causing a deep wound and an infection called "cellulitis." Ayesha still limps to this
day and suffers leg pain as a result of Todd's abuse. Following this incident, Ayesha called the
police and received a no contact order from the court, requiring that Todd stay away from
Ayesha and the children. Todd eventually plead guilty to the charge of domestic violence for
attacking Ayesha. A month later, he was arrested again for violating the no contact order by
calling Ayesha's daughter and threatening Ayesha and her family with physical violence. He has
threatened to kill Ayesha for having him arrested. After separating from Todd, Ayesha consulted an attorney and filed her VAWA self-petition for
residency. Now she must return to South Africa as the only way of getting her green card. Such
a return to South Africa will put Ayesha and her children at serious risk of injury or death for
several reasons. First, the counterfeiting gang that murdered Ayesha's first husband is eager to
retaliate against Ayesha for assisting the South African police in the investigation. They have
threatened to kill Ayesha and her family. Second, there is a current political crisis in Lesotho,
accompanied by a military invasion from South Africa, which has contributed to instability in
the region. Because of the instability, Ayesha and her family are even more vulnerable to
terrorist attacks by the counterfeiting gang. Third, Ayesha fears that Todd will travel to South
Africa and try to hurt her or kill her. Law enforcement in South Africa does not believe it is their
job to intervene to protect victims of domestic violence, and will do nothing to enforce Ayesha's
no contact order. Further, there is a general lack of resources available for battered women in
Lesotho. Because of all these reasons, forcing Ayesha and her three children to return to
Lesotho as the only avenue to obtain her green card under VAWA puts her at risk of torture and
death. This case originated in Iowa. ALLEGRA Allegra is originally from Mexico. She came to the United States with her family when she was
in high school. Just after graduating from high school, she met Diego, a lawful permanent
resident of the United States. The two courted and dated for a year-and-a-half, and then they
married in a church before family and friends. It was only a week after the wedding that Diego began to change. He became very possessive
and would not allow Allegra to see her family. Allegra found herself completely isolated from
the outside world. She was not allowed to have visitors come to visit or speak to people she
knew at church. Eventually Diego forced her to move with him to another state where she knew
no one. They stayed at his sister's house where she was often denied food. In time, Diego began
sexually abusing her, making her have sex with him against her will. He would rape her so
brutally that she suffered bleeding and internal injury. After one of these incidents, Allegra fled
to her brother's house, and Diego followed her. He threatened her brother's life, and he told
Allegra that unless she came back to him, she would never see her brother again. Someone in
Allegra's family called the police to the scene. When they arrived, the police only spoke with
Diego, since he was the only English speaker in the group. To Allegra's amazement and horror,
the police left without arresting Diego. A few months later, when Allegra was pregnant with their first child, Diego almost killed her.
Allegra was sick with a high fever and the flu. Diego had refused to take her to a doctor, telling
her that since she did not have a social security number, she would be deported if she sought
medical treatment. As the night wore on, Allegra became cold and asked Diego to turn up the
thermostat in the house. When Diego refused to do this, Allegra got up and tried to do it herself.
That was when Diego pushed her back to the bed and began to suffocate her. He picked her up
by her neck and punched her repeatedly. Then he slammed her head against the door. There
was no phone in the house, so she could not call for help. Allegra screamed loudly, and Diego
threw her back on the bed and covered her mouth forcefully with his hand, until he drew blood
from her mouth. Finally, he raped her and left her there on the bed. The next day, Allegra miscarried their child. All that day, she begged Diego to take her to the
hospital, as she was bleeding profusely and was sick with fever. He told her to stay in bed and
responded, "our problems are private ones." Towards the evening, though, Diego finally called
Allegra's parents, who came to pick her up and take her to a doctor. Allegra has not had contact
with Diego since that day. Allegra filed a VAWA self-petition for residency on the basis of her abusive relationship with
Diego. She has been receiving mental health counseling since her separation from Diego, and
she is trying to rebuild her life and make plans for attending college. She wishes to become a
teacher. If Allegra is forced to return to Mexico to get her green card under VAWA, she will face serious
danger. Diego knows her address in Mexico and has already called her family members in
Mexico, threatening to hurt Allegra if she returns. Allegra knows that Diego has a gun and
would not be afraid to use it to kill her. She is certain that Mexico lacks the laws and services to
protect her from Diego's abuse. She is also terrified that if she returns to Mexico, Diego will
follow her there and finally kill her for leaving him. This case originated in Iowa. MARISIA Marisia is a citizen of Mexico. She met her husband, Nicolo, in Mexico when he was visiting his
family there. Nicolo was living in California at the time and was a lawful permanent resident of
the United States. Nicolo and Marisia began a long-distance relationship which lasted for the
next six years. At the end of that period, Nicolo proposed to Marisia, and the two married in Las
Vegas the next year. After the wedding, Marisia noticed Nicolo's behavior changing. He was almost never home, and
he forbade her from leaving the house or making friends. Marisia was required to stay in the
house at all times, so if there were no food in the house, Marisia would not eat. In fact, she lost
20 pounds in the first month of their marriage. She was incredibly depressed and lonely, and she
was also entirely dependent on Nicolo for all her necessities. When Nicolo did come home, he was usually drunk or high on marijuana or cocaine. He would
yell insults at Marisia and demean her in front of others. When she was pregnant, he would not
allow her to see a doctor for check-ups. He also became physically abusive when angry, often
pushing her or grabbing her roughly by the arms and leaving welts and bruises on her skin. Marisia finally decided to leave Nicolo after the birth of their second child. She had grown
increasingly fearful of Nicolo and depressed at his mistreatment of her. She received a
restraining order against him, but he violated it often. He would come by the house to talk to
Marisia and try to convince her to come back to him. He has continued to call her repeatedly to
harass and threaten her, even after she received a permanent restraining order. Although he
continues to harass and threaten her, the restraining order has made him reduce his physical
violence. Marisia is certain that the restraining order is the only thing keeping her safe from
Nicolo. Marisia believes that if she must return to Mexico to get her green card, Nicolo will follow her
there. He remains in contact with his family in Mexico. Marisia is afraid that he will try to hurt
or kill her there, since her restraining order will not be enforceable outside the jurisdiction of the
United States. In addition, Marisia is fearful that Nicolo will try to kidnap the children while she
is in Mexico. He has already threatened to do so. Marisia is trying desperately to rebuild her life after her marriage. She and her children are
receiving counseling at a shelter in Iowa. In addition, Marisia's restraining order grants her
temporary custody of the children and requires Nicolo to pay child support. Marisia intends to
file for divorce, and she knows that Nicolo will "fight her forever" for custody of the children.
Once a custody battle ensues, Marisia will not be able to leave the United States to get her green
card in Mexico. If she does leave, she will risk losing custody of her children because she will
not be able to comply with any visitation orders while she is out of the country. For these
reasons, to be safe, Marisia needs to obtain her green card in the U.S. This case originated California, moved to New Mexico, and is currently in Iowa. CONCHITA Conchita is a 30-year-old woman from Mexico. She entered the United States with her parents
at age 4. She attended school in California, and in high school she began dating Simon, an
American citizen. When she was 18, Conchita became pregnant, and she and Simon got married
and dropped out of high school. Six months after their marriage Simon became physically abusive. He frequently punched,
kicked, hit, and choked Conchita. He was extremely controlling, and verbally and emotionally
abusive as well. If Conchita did not abide by Simon's "rules," she was beaten. She was not
allowed to leave the house or yard alone; if Simon could not accompany her, he would send one
of his siblings. She could not even walk to the corner to buy milk for her child. Simon isolated
Conchita from her family, and she was not allowed to visit or call them. Her family did not try
to make contact for fear that Simon would attack them or beat Conchita. Conchita and her family were unaware of her rights and options. She did not want to have any
more children, because she feared bringing anyone else into this abusive situation. However,
Simon forbade her to take any contraceptive measures, threatening to take their child away from
her because she was not a citizen. When Conchita became pregnant with her second child,
Simon began to get involved in drugs. This made his violence worse, and she never knew what
to expect from him. Conchita was in despair, and her children were the only reason for her to
continue living. When she was seven months pregnant with her third child, Simon found out that
Conchita's mother was secretly meeting with Conchita and giving her money to buy food for the
children. He became enraged at Conchita, and pushed her onto the couch and sat on her
stomach, strangling her until she could not breathe. By 1994, Conchita could not take any more abuse. One day while Simon was out buying drugs,
Conchita called her parents to come get her and the children. She was able to hide from him
even though he harassed her friends and family. Conchita hid in California and then took the
children to New Mexico. However, Simon tracked her down and found her in New Mexico,
where he continued to abuse and harass her. She obtained a protective order and often had it
enforced. Then Simon began to stalk her, and he would break into the house while she was gone
to hide and attack her unexpectedly. He also began abusing the children. Conchita and the
children entered a shelter in New Mexico, and then moved to Iowa to be with her sister where
her protection order continues to be enforceable. Conchita wants to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States so that she can
provide for her three children. However, returning to Mexico for consular processing could be
extremely dangerous. Simon could track her down again, this time in a place where her
protective order could not be enforced. Additionally, Conchita cannot afford a trip to Mexico,
especially with her three children. Yet if she leaves the children behind, Simon could take them
away or abuse them further. Conchita came to the United States as a young child, and her
children are American citizens and half Caucasian. There is no one in Mexico to provide them
with shelter or support, and they are unfamiliar with the language and culture. Conchita must be
able to receive her green card within the United States in order to ensure the safety and welfare
of herself and her three children. This case originated in Iowa, moved to Kansas, and is currently in Iowa. TATIANA Tatiana came to the United States from Mexico to visit her sister and parents in Iowa. While
there she met Antonio, a lawful permanent resident. He was very respectful to her family's
traditions and asked her parents for permission to date her. Tatiana had her visitor's visa
extended, and she and Antonio dated and eventually married. Immediately after their marriage, Antonio became extremely abusive. When Tatiana expressed
her unhappiness, Antonio promised to change and said he would kill himself if she left him. One
day she went to talk to her family at the restaurant they owned, because she was considering
leaving Antonio. While she was there, Antonio came into the restaurant waving a gun. He
threatened to kill her family if she did not leave that moment and go to live with him in Kansas.
Naturally she left with him. The police were unable to locate him. Antonio's behavior only worsened once they were in Kansas, especially since he succeeded in
isolating Tatiana from the world. He would not allow her to call her family or talk to the
neighbors. She obeyed him out of fear for what he might do to her. Tatiana became pregnant,
but lost the baby when Antonio threw her up against the wall during an argument. After this
incident, she escaped the apartment and called her sister in Iowa. She returned to Iowa with her
sister and obtained a protective order against Antonio. Tatiana is now receiving counseling in Iowa, and looks forward to living independently and
supporting herself. However, returning to Mexico to receive her green card would be dangerous.
Her protective order would not be valid there, and Antonio could find her in Mexico and abuse
her without fear of legal repercussions. For her own safety, it is necessary that Tatiana be
permitted to remain in the United States to become a lawful permanent resident. This case originated in Michigan. YAA Yaa is a 36-year-old mother of two. She is originally from Nigeria. She met her first love,
Martin, while he was visiting family in Nigeria. Martin is a lawful permanent resident of the
United States. Martin and Yaa courted for a long period of time, after which Martin persuaded
Yaa to marry him and join him in the United States. They married according to the customary
traditions in Nigeria. Following their marriage, Martin assisted Yaa in obtaining a visitor visa to
come to the U.S. He promised to support Yaa in her desire to further her education in the U.S.
and to petition for her residency. Yaa trusted her husband completely. When Yaa arrived in the United States, Martin took her passport and assured her that everything
would be fine. They celebrated both court and church weddings in the U.S. Immediately after
the wedding, Yaa discovered that she was pregnant. She wanted to go to school, but Martin
refused to let her go. Martin's behavior towards her seemed to be changing before her eyes. He
would not let her leave the house alone for fear that other men might find her attractive and
"steal her away." In fact, he refused to file immigration papers for Yaa and threatened her with
deportation if she ever dared disobey his orders. Martin began physically abusing Yaa after the birth of their first child. He would slap her when
she would question his authority or inquire about her immigration status. He would frequently
spit on her if she refused to have sex with him. He also used a hidden recording device to tape
record all of her telephone conversations. As a result, Yaa felt more and more like a prisoner in
her own home. A very severe incident of abuse occurred when Martin beat Yaa with his fists and a bottle of
alcohol. Yaa suffered such severe facial injuries that she was rushed in an ambulance to a local
hospital for treatment. The police arrested Martin and charged him with domestic violence. He
was prosecuted and convicted of this crime. Following this conviction, Martin decided to punish
Yaa by refusing to pay the house mortgage or buy food and other necessities. He also shut off
the telephone and the gas. Yaa became desperate and sought assistance from her best friend.
She moved out of her and Martin's home and found a job. Martin's family in Nigeria dislikes Yaa and blames her for Martin's arrest and conviction. They
called Yaa from Nigeria and threatened to have her deported because she "brought shame" to the
family. They also threatened to take her children away from her. Despite all these threats, Yaa
has remained strong and sought legal counsel to help her file a VAWA self-petition for
residency. The petition has been approved, and Yaa has received a permanent restraining order
against Martin. It is clear that if Yaa is forced to return to Nigeria in order to obtain lawful permanent residency
under VAWA with her two U.S. citizen children, she will face retribution from Martin's family.
They know where she lives in Nigeria, and they have threatened to hurt her and kidnap the
children. Yaa would have to bring the children with her to Nigeria because she has no family
she can leave them with in the U.S. She is very afraid that if she sets foot in Nigeria, Martin's
family will cause her great bodily harm and may even kill her. This case originated in Illinois and is currently in Michigan. BEATRIZ Beatriz is originally from Mexico. She met Rafael, a lawful permanent resident of the United
States, who was originally from Mexico. They began to live together in Illinois, then Rafael was
transferred to Michigan by his employer. Beatriz discovered she was pregnant and Rafael
invited her to join him in Michigan, where they were married. Their relationship was not always a physically violent one, although Rafael would often insult or
yell at Beatriz in front of other people. Only two days after they married, though, he told her he
would not help her with her immigration papers. He said he preferred to use her unlawful
immigration status as an insurance measure, so that Beatriz would not be tempted to leave him.
He often threatened to call the INS and have her deported if she ever left him. In the early months of their marriage, Rafael would slap Beatriz when he became angry with her.
On one occasion, when Beatriz confronted Rafael about an affair she suspected he was having,
he shoved her so hard, she fell out of bed. She was six months pregnant at the time. Other
times, Rafael would get drunk and pull Beatriz's hair and punch her in the face. About three weeks after their son was born, Rafael came home very late and began hitting and
shouting at Beatriz. She ran out of the apartment building, and Rafael followed her, trying to
force her back inside the building. Rafael pushed her down, and she fell, scraping her knees and
elbows. Finally, a neighbor called the police, and Rafael was jailed for the night. Beatriz was
taken to the hospital for treatment of her injuries. The next morning, when Rafael was released
from jail, he violated the court's stay away order and returned home to Beatriz. Although she
did not want him at home, she was so frightened of what he might do to her that she could not
ask him to leave. Later, when Rafael had to appear in court to answer charges of domestic
violence, he threatened to kill Beatriz and take their son away from her unless she told the judge
that she wanted Rafael to return home. The judge did not speak Spanish and Beatriz did not
speak English, and there was no translator, so the judge allowed Rafael to translate. Beatriz had
no independent way to communicate with the judge and was terrified to do anything but agree
that she wanted him back. Beatriz told the judge exactly that, and Rafael returned home to
continue his abuse of Beatriz. Soon after this incident, Beatriz made a trip to Mexico with their son to have him baptized.
Rafael came with them. When Rafael had to return to his job in the U.S., he promised to send
Beatriz money and come back for her and the baby in a month or two. After a while, he stopped
sending money, and when Beatriz called him, he said that he did not want her to return to the
U.S. Beatriz and the baby were left stranded, without money or food, in Mexico. A cousin in
Illinois offered to take Beatriz and the baby in, and thus they re-entered the U.S. If Beatriz is forced to return to Mexico to get her green card under VAWA, she will lose access
to the mental health counseling she is currently receiving. Beatriz desperately needs regular
sessions of counseling in order to help her understand and cope with the severe physical and
emotional abuse she endured in her marriage to Rafael. Mexico has no such mental health
services for battered women. In addition, Beatriz is the sole caretaker of her U.S. citizen son. If
she leaves for Mexico, she will lose her job, and she will not be able to support her child or make
enough money for the trip back to the United States. Further, Beatriz fears that traveling again
to Mexico for even a short time to get her green card will be harmful to her son. When they
were in Mexico, her son had severe gastrointestinal problems due to the food and water that the
doctors could never fully treat. Beatriz should be allowed to stay in the United States to adjust
her residency status, so that she may continue to strengthen her mental health, protect her son's
health, and build a new life of her own, free from Rafael's control and abuse. This case originated California and is currently in Utah. MILAGROS Milagros, originally from Mexico, met Milton in California. Milton is an American citizen from
Utah who was working at a religious mission in California when he met Milagros. The two
became friends, began dating, and eventually became engaged. They were married in Utah in
April of 1998. On the way home from their honeymoon, the couple was in a terrible car accident. Milton was
not seriously injured, but Milagros suffered severe injuries to her spine, knee, ankle, and face.
She underwent an operation and was incapacitated for a time. She had a difficult time taking
care of herself while Milton was at work all day, unable to perform such tasks as bathing and
preparing food. When Milton arrived home at night, he ignored Milagros and would not even
talk to her. He often came home drunk. Milagros soon discovered that Milton had a drug and
alcohol problem. Milton began to resent Milagros for her injuries, complaining that she used up too much
electricity, water, food, and gas without making a financial contribution to the household.
Milagros was physically unable to work, but Milton showed no signs of sympathy for her
condition. One night, Milton came home drunk and began to argue with Milagros about
finances. He became furious with Milagros and hit her. After this incident, Milagros informed
Milton's parents that he was abusing drugs and alcohol and that he had hit her. His parents
talked with him about his problems, but he became only more enraged at Milagros for telling
them. Milton began to hit Milagros more frequently. In July of 1998, Milagros's physical therapist
noticed extensive bruising on Milagros's arm. The therapist urged her to call the police, but she
was too afraid that Milton would have her deported. Milagros knew that if she were deported,
she could not get the medical attention she needed. One night in August, Milton began verbally abusing Milagros. Milagros left the apartment to
give Milton the opportunity to calm down, but his temper was no better when she returned. She
tried to use the phone, but Milton promptly disconnected the line. When she tried to leave again,
Milton took her shoes from her and threw them away. Milagros began to cry, but this only
further angered Milton. He threw her down on the bed and slapped her face repeatedly, and then
threw water on her. Milagros again tried to leave, determined to get help. Milton then grabbed
her by the hair and pulled her back, and grabbed her backpack and threw it to the floor.
Eventually, she was able to call a friend for help, and she reported Milton's behavior to the
police. Milagros has since separated from Milton, and has filed a VAWA self-petition for residency.
However, returning to Mexico for consular processing would be detrimental to her health and
safety. Milton could follow Milagros to Mexico, where he could abuse her without legal
consequences. Also, in Mexico, Milagros would not have access to the advanced medical care
she needs to recover from her severe injuries. Her family in Mexico is not able to support her,
and she would not be able to get a job there because of her disabilities. For these reasons,
Milagros must be permitted to remain in the United States to receive her green card. This case originated in Florida. FELICIA Felicia, originally from Honduras, traveled to Florida six years ago to visit her aunt. Peter, an
American citizen, was newly divorced and renting a room in her aunt's house. The two began
spending time together and soon moved in together. They were married four years later. The couple's problems began when Felicia first discovered she was pregnant. Peter did not want
her to have the child, and ordered her to have an abortion. Felicia refused, and Peter hit her and
then forced her to have sex with him. Felicia was three months pregnant at the time. The next
month, Peter took her to an abortion clinic, but she protested. She said she wanted to have the
child, and if Peter did not, he could leave. Peter accepted this, but he did not leave. Instead, he began to resent Felicia, and frequently hit
and insulted her for no reason, often in front of other people. He found fault in everything
Felicia did, especially in her cooking. Peter also refused to let her leave the house, even though
he routinely stayed out until 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. Even after the baby was born, Peter ignored his
family and continued to go out every night. Although Peter physically abused Felicia from the beginning of the relationship, she was afraid
to say or do anything about it at first. However, she realized she could not continue to tolerate
the abuse when she observed its effects on her son Justin. He cried a lot, often retreating to hide
in the corner, trembling and sobbing. Felicia began to call the police when Peter abused her, and
the neighbors also called the police when they heard fighting. The police were called during one incident in December of 1993, when Peter became jealous of a
male neighbor he thought was interested in Felicia. He punched Felicia in the chest and arms
with his fists, and bit her right arm. A neighbor overheard the noise and called the police, but
Felicia asked them not to arrest Peter. During another incident in 1995, Peter became enraged
and pushed Felicia against a wall, breaking her nose in two places. Felicia ran out into the street
covered in blood, and someone outside called for an ambulance. The next month Peter beat
Felicia again, first grabbing her hair and banging her head against the wall. Then he hit her,
kicked her, and punched her in the face, causing her nose to bleed. Incidents such as these were
frequent throughout Peter and Felicia's relationship. On one evening in September of 1997, Peter was drunk when Felicia got home from work. He
insulted her and screamed at her, and told her to hand over the car keys because the car was in
his name. While Felicia had paid for part of the car, Peter would not let her use it, even if she
had to go to work or to Justin's school. Felicia slept in Justin's room that night and locked the
door. Peter tried to force the door open with a knife but did not succeed. The next morning,
Justin awoke before Felicia and opened the door to his room. At that moment, Peter ran and
kicked the door open completely, and then began to struggle with Felicia. He grabbed her wallet
and removed the money from it, and then grabbed her hand and bent her long nails all the way
back. Felicia's nails all broke and were bleeding profusely. Peter then grabbed her by the neck
and said he was going to kill her. Felicia got loose and went into the other room to call the
police, but Peter came after her and grabbed the telephone out of her hands, throwing it to the
floor. He then took her beeper and threw it to the floor as well, where it broke into many pieces.
Felicia quickly picked up Justin, who was yelling and crying, and called out to people on the
street to call the police. She then got dressed and left, taking Justin, and went to stay at a friend's
house. Felicia decided she could not tolerate any more abuse and refused to move back to the house.
When she returned briefly to retrieve her belongings, Peter insulted her and tried to hit her. He
began to call her at her friend's house, insulting and threatening her over the phone. In October,
he showed up at Justin's babysitter's house and cursed and threatened Felicia there. He said he
was going to crash his car into Felicia's. A few weeks later he showed up there again and began
to argue with Felicia. He again pulled her nails back, making them break and bleed. He also
threatened to shoot Felicia. When she called the police, he fled. Felicia was frightened by his
threats and obtained a restraining order against him. The restraining order made Peter even more
livid. Shortly after it was filed, Felicia found that the passenger window of her car had been
smashed while she was at work. Two days later, the rear window had been broken. The next month, Felicia noticed that Peter was following her while she was shopping. She told
him to leave her alone, but he kept following her. Finally, she left the store to get away from
him. While she was opening the car door, Peter grabbed her hair and pulled on it. He began to
punch her on the face and body, and he bit her on the left arm. A bystander called the police,
and they arrived and arrested Peter. Felicia was taken to the hospital and treated for head trauma
and face contusions. Felicia has filed a self-petition but is afraid because returning to Honduras for consular
processing would be extremely dangerous. Peter is enraged over her restraining order. Despite
the order, Peter has kept stalking her. Only Peter's arrest has offered any relief. Felicia fears
that Peter will continue stalking her and follow her to Honduras where the order would not be
valid. The law in Honduras would not protect her from Peter's abuses. Felicia also faces the
hardship of the trip's expense, especially if she took Justin along. However, if she left him
behind, Peter could obtain full custody of him in her absence. Felicia must be permitted to
remain in this country to obtain her green card, and must not be forced to return to Honduras for
any reason. This case originated in Florida. EMILIA Emilia is a 41-year-old Costa Rican national. She arrived with a visitor's visa to the United
States in 1983. In 1984, she met Denis, a lawful permanent resident of the United States from
Costa Rica, and later moved in with him. Emilia had two children from previous relationships,
one of which was a United States citizen. She had two more children in America with Denis.
After nine years of living with Denis, Emilia married him in 1993. Eventually they separated, but in 1996 they decided to move in together again and give the
relationship another try. Denis insisted that Emilia and the children move into his neighborhood,
away from their schools and friends. He was very jealous, and wanted to isolate Emilia from her
social circle. Denis did not permit Emilia to have any male friends or to smile at or greet any
man, including the neighbors. Denis was especially jealous of the boyfriend of Emilia's oldest daughter Janet. He frequently
visited their home to see Janet, and Emilia would often entertain him if Janet had not arrived yet.
One day, after he had called looking for Janet and had spoken with Emilia, Denis became furious
with Emilia and accused her of having an affair with this young man. He called the young man
and told him never to return to their house or call again. He told him he did not want his wife
talking to other men. Then he came into the bedroom to find Emilia and began yelling at her.
He grabbed her by the throat and poked her hard in the eye. Emilia called the police, and Denis
waited for them because he didn't think he did anything warranting an arrest. However, the
police saw evidence of Emilia's injuries and arrested him. Another incident occurred on Halloween in 1997. Denis had lost his job, and Emilia did not
have money to buy her son a Halloween costume. She was able to borrow some money from a
neighbor, however. That morning at 7:00 a.m. Emilia's pager sounded, and Denis demanded to
know who was calling her. Emilia did not recognize the number, and when she called it she
discovered it was the neighbor from whom she borrowed the money. Denis was enraged, and
grabbed the phone from Emilia, shouting at the neighbor that he better come and pick up Emilia
because she would no longer have a place to stay. He then slammed the phone down and
accused Emilia of having an affair with the neighbor. When she denied it, he became livid and
grabbed her. Denis slapped Emilia and banged her head against the wall. Their three-year-old
son Alex watched everything in terror. Emilia went to call the police, but Denis blocked her
access to the phone. Determined, Emilia took Alex and walked to the police station. Denis was
fearful of being arrested and followed her. He told the police he did not hit Emilia and there
were no marks to prove it. An officer then asked Alex if he saw his dad hit his mom. Alex said
yes, and Denis was arrested. Emilia eventually obtained a protective order against her husband, and has separated from him.
However, if Emilia is required to return to Costa Rica to legalize her status, she will again face
danger. The protective order she has against her husband will not be valid in Costa Rica, and
Denis, who is also from Costa Rica, can easily travel there. If Denis follows Emilia there, she
will not be protected by the law. Denis could try to harm her again, and this time perhaps kill
her. She has no support system in Costa Rica to aid her financially, and could not afford the
journey or the stay, especially with her children. Yet, it is not an option for Emilia to leave them
behind, as Denis could kidnap them or try to obtain custody of them in her absence. Emilia must
not be required to return to Costa Rica for any reason, and must be allowed to remain in this
country under the protection of American law. This case originated in Texas and is currently in Florida. VERONICA Veronica is a 23-year-old woman from Mexico. She entered the United States in December of
1992, and met Timothy, an American citizen, in 1994. The two were introduced by Veronica's
employer in Texas, and began dating. Although they were busy working, Veronica and Timothy
spent most of their free time together enjoying various activities. Veronica got to know
Timothy's family well, and was quite comfortable around them. Timothy never showed signs of
anger or violence at this stage, but he was always jealous and did not trust Veronica at all. The couple moved in together in July of 1995, and Veronica soon realized she was pregnant.
When she was seven months pregnant, Timothy began to argue with her. He became furious and
kicked Veronica out of the house, literally throwing her out on the street. She had nowhere to
go, and turned to her employer, who gave her a place to stay. Three days later, Timothy tracked
Veronica down and asked her for $100 to buy a refrigerator. After that, he apologized for
kicking her out of the house. Veronica was pregnant and alone, and returned to Timothy out of
desperation. Timothy soon began threatening to report Veronica to immigration. His family joined in as well,
constantly insulting and humiliating Veronica about her immigration status. They told her to get
out of the country, and became especially hostile whenever they saw Veronica with something
she bought. Timothy's father was adamant in his threats against Veronica, always shouting at her
that she had better not hurt his son. This behavior continued for the next two months, until Veronica gave birth to twins. She had
medical complications in childbirth, and as a result will be unable to bear more children. No one
accompanied her to the hospital to give birth, or came to visit her during her stay. Once she was
discharged, she went to stay with a friend. A week later, Timothy learned she had given birth
and came looking for her, demanding to see the children. When Veronica expressed outrage at
his behavior, he promised to change and insisted they get back together. Again, Veronica felt
she had no other options and returned to live with Timothy. Timothy began taking his little girl
out frequently, showing her to all his family and friends. However, he ignored the male twin.
He insisted the boy was not his, and would not believe Veronica when she explained the children
were twins. Timothy would not allow Veronica to work, nor would he give her any money. Veronica was
forced to sell many of her belongings to have money for necessities. He began to prevent her
from socializing and making friends, and she was quite lonely. She was only allowed to see
Timothy and his family, all of whom were cold and rude to her. In February of 1997, Timothy awoke in the morning enraged at Veronica. He had been using
drugs the night before and was still under their influence. Veronica was making breakfast when
their little girl began to cry. Timothy shouted for Veronica to quiet the baby. Then out of
nowhere, he grabbed Veronica and started hitting her in the head. He always hit her on the head
because he said that if she tried to go to the police, her hair would cover the bruises. He said he
would then tell the police she was a crazy illegal and try to get her deported. Later that day, Timothy began to hit Veronica again, all over her body. He also bit her neck,
which caused severe bruising, looking as if she had been hung with a rope. He then grabbed her
by the hair. Veronica insisted that he let go of her, and he did. But he threatened to kill her and
take away the children, and never allow her to see them again. He grabbed the children and took
them to his mother's house, warning Veronica that if she called the police they would arrest her
and deport her, and she would never see the children again. That evening, Timothy returned but
left the children with his family. Veronica was in excruciating pain from the earlier beatings,
and could barely talk or move. However, Timothy made a sexual advance on her, and then pried
her legs apart and forced her to have sex with him. Veronica did not protest because she was
terrified that he would start hitting her again. In May of 1997, Timothy took Veronica to a movie, but got angry with her while they were
there. He left her outside the theater, and although she was very far away, she had no choice but
to walk home. When she finally got back to the apartment, Timothy refused to let her in. He
gave her their son, saying he was only interested in keeping their daughter. Tired and defeated,
Veronica sat on the doorstep and cried. Timothy yelled for her to take the boy and go away, but
she had nowhere to go. Her son was crying and asking her for food, but she had nothing.
Having been prevented from making any friends, Veronica had no one to turn to, and she and her
son spent the night in a park. The next day Veronica went to Timothy's aunt for help, but she
turned Veronica away. Veronica went to live in a shelter, eventually with both of her children. However, in December
Timothy took the children. Veronica was desperate, but could not find them. In January,
Timothy contacted Veronica and told her that if she wanted to see the children, she had to get
back together with him. Veronica pleaded with Timothy to bring the children back to her, and
threatened to involve the police. Timothy said the police could do nothing, because he had taken
the children out of the country. He made Veronica agree not to tell anyone he had brought the
children to Mexico, and in exchange, he would allow her to see them again on condition that she
got back together with him. Veronica had no choice but to agree. Shortly after the family was reunited, they moved to Florida and stayed in a homeless shelter.
Timothy worked at night, and began to arrive home drunk and under the influence of drugs. He
always woke Veronica up when he got home, and one night he began to yell at her. He told her
she was crazy, and grabbed her, pulling her over to the door. Veronica was holding one of the
children, and so Timothy could not hurt her and left. Later he apologized and promised to
change, and said he wanted to marry Veronica to formalize their commitment. After they were married, the shelter enrolled Veronica in an English class, but Timothy said it
was a crazy and unnecessary idea. He told her that if she wanted to continue being his wife, she
should simply ask him everything because he had all the answers. One morning, Veronica told
Timothy she planned to start English classes that day. He immediately went after her and
grabbed her by the hair. He hit her on the top of the head, screaming at Veronica that she should
not even think about taking the classes. The social workers at the shelter overheard the abuse
and helped Veronica enter a battered women's shelter. Veronica is now learning to survive on her own, she has filed a self-petition and wishes to create
a safe and secure life for herself and the children in the United States. In order for her to become
a lawful permanent resident, Veronica would have to face the danger of returning to Mexico for
consular processing. Her primary fear is that Timothy would find her there. He had taken the
children to Mexico to force her to return to him in the past and he has hunted her down and
found her so many times before. He could physically abuse her there without legal
consequences, and Veronica believes he may even try to kill her. Furthermore, he could easily
take the children from her while they were in Mexico. He has taken them before, and is
determined to do it again. If Veronica were able to remain in the United States to obtain her
green card, she would have the consistent protection of American law enforcement against
Timothy's violence and threats. For this reason, Veronica must not be required to return to
Mexico for any reason. This case originated in Massachusetts. MONA Mona is a native of Poland who entered the United States in 1993 on a visitor's visa with her
first husband Darius, also a native of Poland. After visiting family members in Massachusetts,
Darius and Mona decided to stay in the U.S. In late 1993, Mona had her first child, Nora, who is
a U.S. citizen and now five years old. Although Darius had exhibited an explosive temper prior to their marriage, it was nothing
compared to the violence he unleashed upon Mona after they came to the U.S. During her
pregnancy with Nora, Mona endured much abuse at the hands of Darius. He would push her out
of bed and shove her to the floor. He also began slapping her when he would get angry, often
pushing her to the floor and sitting on her chest or strangling her. His abuse ended with an
incident in early 1995, when he fractured several of her fingers, leading her to get a restraining
order and divorce him later that year. After her divorce, Mona stayed with her family members in the U.S. Her family and friends
provided her with strong emotional and financial support during this difficult time. Sometime in
1996, with her family's encouragement, Mona began to date Ronald. Ronald was a lawful
permanent resident of the United States and also a native of Poland. Mona and Ronald fell and
love and were married in 1997. In early 1998, they moved in together after Ronald found a job
in the community where Mona was living. Almost immediately after they moved in together, Mona's new husband began to insult, swear,
and yell at Mona's daughter, Nora. He began to drink heavily, and when he did, he would
behave extremely inappropriately in front of little Nora. He would watch pornographic videos
and look at pornographic photographs from the Internet in the child's presence. Mona was very
upset about Ronald's behavior, and when she confronted him about it, he would respond by
screaming at Mona and frightening her with his verbal abuse. Some months later, Mona became pregnant with Ronald's child. Ronald tried to force her to
have an abortion, but Mona refused. This only made Ronald more uncontrollable and angry.
Only a couple of months later, Ronald became violent during an argument and grabbed Mona by
the throat. He tried to strangle her to death, and Mona struggled against his hands as they
crushed her windpipe. She fought for her and her unborn baby's lives and finally managed to
free herself from Ronald's grasp and call the police. Her husband was later arrested and
convicted of assault and battery, and Mona obtained a restraining order against him. Since then, Mona and her daughter have moved out of the house and are staying with close
family and friends. Mona has been receiving counseling for the past seven months to help her
recover from the horror of being abused by her husband. She has also filed a VAWA self-petition for permanent residence and has obtained a referral to a family law attorney who is
assisting her in obtaining custody of her two U.S. citizen children and a divorce from her abusive
husband. When Mona's priority date becomes current, she will be required to return to Poland as the only
way of getting her green card under VAWA. If Mona is forced to return to Poland, she will face
great danger and also the possibility of losing custody of her children. Mona is very afraid that
her ex-husband Darius or her husband Ronald will follow her to Poland and abuse her there. She
has restraining orders protecting her against both Darius and Ronald, but these restraining orders
would not be valid outside the United States. Darius has already threatened to follow Mona to
Poland and hurt or kill her when she arrives. Mona believes his threats and knows that he will
have an easy time harming her in Poland because she has no family, friends, or restraining order
to protect her from his violence in that country. Furthermore, Mona's current husband, Ronald
is facing a domestic violence conviction which is a deportable offense. It is therefore highly
likely that he will be deported to Poland in the near future. If this happens when Mona is in
Poland getting her green card, she will face the threat of Ronald stalking her and taking his
revenge on her for reporting the assault that led to his deportation. Mona knows that he is very
angry at her and fears that he will kill her if she returns to Poland. The other reason why Mona must not return to Poland to get her green card is because her
children's custody is still at issue. Mona simply cannot leave the country while the matter of the
children's custody is in dispute; otherwise, she will face losing custody of her two children.
Considering all the emotional trauma Mona has suffered at the hands of her ex-husband and
current husband, it is also clear that being separated from her young children for the time it takes
to get her green card will cause Mona great emotional distress. She could be separated from
them for a potentially long period of time while she is getting her green card. This will be
detrimental to both Mona and the children, since the children rely upon Mona as their sole
caretaker. Coupling this fact with the added threat of physical violence Mona faces at the hands
of Darius and Ronald in Poland, Mona must be allowed to adjust her residency status in the
United States. This case originated in Massachusetts. SONYA Sonya is a 20-year-old native of Guyana. She entered the United States for the first time when
she was thirteen years old to visit her aunt. She later began attending school in the U.S., where
at the age of sixteen she met Felix. Felix was a native of Guatemala and lawful permanent
resident of the United States. The two began dating and became girlfriend and boyfriend. Felix
proposed to Sonya the following year, and they were married the next month. Following their wedding, Sonya began to realize that there were many things she did not know
about Felix. First of all, he began to bring his friends over to the house to drink and use drugs
until the early morning hours. Seeing Felix and his friends drunk and high on drugs made Sonya
upset and frightened, especially since Felix would become aggressive and verbally abusive
toward her at these times. When Sonya became pregnant a few months later, Felix became
irrationally jealous and began accusing her of having relationships with other men. He would
become angry with her and push her across the room with great force. On one occasion, he
pushed her backward when she was several months pregnant, and her pregnant belly crashed into
the side of the bed frame. Although the baby was not hurt after that incident, Sonya became
afraid of Felix and considered leaving him. After the birth of their daughter, Katrina, Felix continued his abuse of Sonya, screaming and
yelling at her whenever he would get drunk or angry. He began having an affair with another
woman, whom he brought into the family home. It was not until May of 1997 that Sonya
contacted a school teacher of hers for help. Felix had threatened her life during an argument,
and Sonya feared that he would kill her. She called the police and received a restraining order
against Felix. She then left him and went to live with her family. Three months later, Felix begged her to take him back and give him another chance. She hoped
that he had learned his lesson and had changed his behavior, so she moved in with him again.
Unfortunately, he had not changed at all. He punched Sonya in the chest when he became angry
and jealous one evening. Sonya moved out immediately and consulted an attorney who helped
her file a VAWA self-petition for residency. Despite her decision to separate from her husband, Sonya also felt it was important for her
daughter to maintain a relationship with him. Sonya arranged for Felix and Katrina to have
weekend visits. Sonya reconsidered this visitation in July 1998 after Felix pushed Sonya to the
ground and threatened to kill her after dropping their daughter off at Sonya's house. In the fall
of 1998, Sonya was forced to cut off these visits entirely after Felix attacked her when he came
to pick up Katrina. Sonya had asked a male friend to escort her and protect her when she went to
pick up her daughter after Felix's visitation session. When Sonya and her friend approached
Felix, he lunged at both of them with a knife, slicing Sonya's neck and slashing her friend's face.
Both Sonya and her friend had to be rushed to the hospital, and Sonya nearly died from the
severe wound and bleeding from her neck. Sonya is now cooperating with state prosecutors to
convict Felix of attempted murder for that attack. He will be deported following this conviction. As a result of her traumatic experiences during her marriage to Felix, Sonya has been receiving
counseling services from a domestic violence service agency. She is trying her best to raise her
daughter on her own and complete her own schooling. She has been receiving financial and
emotional help from her family, all of whom live in the U.S. If she were forced to return to
Guyana to get her green card pursuant to VAWA, she would have no one there to help and
support her. She is very young and has not visited Guyana since she was a little girl. She is
unfamiliar with the country, the language, and the laws of Guyana. After all the emotional
turmoil she has experienced in her life, she cannot imagine how she would survive in Guyana
without support from her family. Furthermore, she is extremely afraid that Felix will travel to
Guyana and attempt to kill her once he is deported. He has sworn revenge on Sonya, and indeed
he almost succeeded in killing her once before. In Guyana, Sonya would be alone and
unprotected, out of the jurisdiction of her U.S. restraining order. She would be vulnerable to
Felix's attacks there, and her life would constantly be in danger if she were forced to leave the
U.S. to get her green card. This case originated in Massachusetts. CELIA Celia is a 26-year-old citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. She entered the United States in 1989 on
a visitor's visa. After her arrival, she met her husband, Ali, who was a friend of her cousin. Ali
is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. originally from Trinidad. Over the next year, Ali and
Celia became romantically involved. Ali proposed to Celia in late 1990, and in the spring of
1991, they moved in together. After they began living together, Ali began to manipulate and control Celia's movements. He
had not acted this way before, and Celia was surprised at the change in him. He began to stay
out until the early morning hours and would yell at her and insult her when she would inquire
where he had been. He would also become angry whenever Celia would want to spend time with
her family or friends. He preferred her to stay in the house and visit no one. Whenever she
would disobey his orders or question his decisions, he would corner in a room and scream at her,
insulting her and calling her a slut. He would also threaten to turn her in to the INS for her
disobedience. One evening, Celia confessed to Ali that she was so afraid of him that she considered calling the
police to arrest him for abusing her. This made Ali so angry that he held a gun to Celia's head
and threatened to shoot her. On another occasion, after a family party during which Celia
refused to speak to Ali, he drove her home and began yelling at her and hitting her all over her
body with his fists. The following year, Celia became pregnant with their son, Caleb. She gave birth to Caleb in
early 1993, hoping that the birth of their child would make Ali change his ways and stop abusing
her. Unfortunately, Ali only became more violent. He continued in his physical and emotional
abuse of Celia, yelling at her daily and calling her a whore. He also hit her in the face once with
the telephone receiver. Celia would always forgive him when he would apologize after each
incident of abuse. She married him the following year mainly because she wanted her son to
have a father and a chance at having a family. After the marriage, Ali began staying out all night. Celia thought she smelled marijuana on his
clothes when would come home, and she also suspected that he was having an affair. When she
confronted him about this, he punched her in the eye in front of their son. After this incident,
Celia left Ali and she and her son moved in with a family friend. Since her separation from Ali, Celia has received support from her friends, family, and a
domestic violence counselor, all of whom have helped her face and begin to recover from her
abusive experiences. Her son is now attending kindergarten in the public school system. Celia
has worked hard to build a life for herself apart from Ali. Her VAWA self-petition for residency
was recently approved, and now she awaits her priority date. Under the current laws, Celia will be forced to return to Trinidad as the only way of getting her
green card. Leaving the U.S. will put Celia in great danger, since Ali has the ability to travel to
Trinidad and abuse her there, away from the sanctions of U.S. laws and law enforcement. Ali
has family in Trinidad and is familiar with the country. By contrast, Celia has no family or
friends in Trinidad who can support her or protect her from Ali's violence. She has not been
back to Trinidad since she was fifteen years old, and she is very afraid of returning to a country
that is completely foreign to her. She would be physically and emotionally unable to make the
trip without help and resources in Trinidad, none of which are available. Considering the fact
that Ali has threatened to kill Celia on several occasions, Celia's return to Trinidad would put her
at grave risk of injury or death at the hands of her abuser. This case originated in Massachusetts. DONNA Donna is a nineteen-year-old citizen of Ethiopia who fled to the United States in 1992 after her
father was murdered in her country. Donna's father was murdered because of his association
with a prominent political party in Ethiopia. In 1994, while staying with her family in New
York, Donna met Saul, who was a lawful permanent resident of the United States and also a
native of Ethiopia. Donna and Saul began dating and seeing one another on weekends during the
summer months of 1994. At the end of the summer, Saul proposed to Donna, and the two were
married in December when Donna was sixteen years old. After the wedding ceremony, Donna moved to Saul's home in Massachusetts and began
attending high school. During the first year of their marriage, things were good between them.
However, during the second year of their marriage, Saul began drinking and gradually began
verbally abusing Donna. He would yell at her and insult her when he would get drunk and
angry. He also began coming home later and later each night, often forcing Donna to have
sexual relations with him against her will. He began controlling Donna, making her completely dependent on him for money and telling her
how to dress. He would also accuse her of being involved with other men, and he would push
her against the wall and tell her to "shut up," if she tried to defend herself. The abuse escalated
over time. Saul began pushing and shoving Donna whenever he would get angry. One evening
in 1996, he struck her with the telephone, causing her severe injuries. She left him after that
incident. Since leaving her husband, Donna has been living with a close family member and has been
receiving counseling as a victim of domestic abuse. She is still very young, a recent graduate of
high school, and already she has suffered a great deal in her life at the hands of her abusive
husband. She has filed a VAWA self-petition for residency, which was approved in December
of 1998. Unfortunately, Donna will be forced to return to Ethiopia to get her green card under VAWA.
She will face severe emotional trauma and perhaps persecution and death if she returns. Because
her whole family fled Ethiopia after Donna's father was murdered, Donna no longer has relatives
or friends to rely on in Ethiopia for help or support. She left when she was only thirteen years
old, and the painful memories of her father's murder would resurface in her mind if she were
forced to return to Ethiopia. In addition, she is young and unable to find her way around
Ethiopia on her own. She is unfamiliar with the language and customs of Ethiopia, since she has
spent so many years growing up in America. The assassins who killed Donna's father may still be looking for Donna and members of her
family. Because of this, Donna is very frightened of returning to the place where she and her
family fled political persecution only a few years before. She firmly believes that her father's
political enemies would relish the opportunity to harm or kill her if she returned unprotected to
Ethiopia. Donna is physically and emotionally unable to endure the pain and fear of returning to
a country that is foreign to her, especially after the abuse she has endured for the past three years
at her husband's hands. She needs the support and protection of her family in the U.S., and she
needs to continue the domestic violence counseling she is currently receiving in Massachusetts.
For all of these reasons, Donna must be granted the opportunity to obtain her green card within
the United States. This case originated in Delaware, moved to Pennsylvania, and is currently in Delaware. TERESA Teresa is a 22-year-old citizen of Mexico. She was married to Leo, a lawful permanent resident
of the United States, for seven years. Leo is also originally from Mexico. Teresa and Leo met
and fell in love in the United States when they were both very young. Teresa was 15 years old at
the time she gave birth to their first child, a little girl named Beth. Leo held all the power in the relationship. He isolated Teresa from her own family by refusing
to let her contact them. He did not allow her to leave the house on her own or make friends. He
refused to install a telephone in their home. The situation gradually worsened as Leo stayed
away from home for long periods of time, only coming to the house with food or money every
once in a while. Along with this emotional abuse, Leo also subjected Teresa to brutal physical abuse throughout
their marriage. Leo was an alcoholic who would go into unpredictable rages. He would kick,
punch, slap, and pummel Teresa without cause. Leo continued to beat Teresa severely, even
when she was pregnant with their second child, Ana. Leo blamed Teresa when Ana was born
with a cleft palate, and he subjected Teresa to abuse and humiliation as punishment for Ana's
disability. To make matters worse, Leo refused to take Teresa and Ana to doctor's appointments
to treat Ana's cleft palate. He also began physically abusing both Ana and her sister Beth, much
to Teresa's horror. Teresa attempted to leave Leo twice. Both times she fled with her girls to battered women's
shelters. Both times Leo followed Teresa, found her, and forced her to return home with him.
Leo even crossed state lines to follow Teresa to a shelter in Pennsylvania the second time she
tried to escape his abuse. Teresa left Leo for the final time after she sought help and advice from
a shelter and from legal counsel. She submitted her application for residency under VAWA and
filed for divorce from Leo. Soon after he was served with divorce papers, Leo disappeared from
Delaware and has not attempted to contact Teresa since that time. Teresa is the sole custodian and caretaker of both of her U.S. citizen daughters. Both children
are little girls under the age of seven. Teresa has no one else to rely on in the U.S. to help her
support and raise her daughters. If Teresa is required to return to Mexico as the only way to get her green card under VAWA, her
daughter Ana will suffer extreme medical hardship and trauma. Ana must undergo a series of
complicated operations to her teeth, jawbones, and mouth in order to correct her cleft palate.
She must also undergo several plastic surgeries following these procedures. Although Ana is a
citizen, these surgeries are not entirely paid for by Medicaid. Luckily, Teresa has secured
several donations from charitable organizations to help cover the cost of Ana's operations. Ana
has already had one operation on her teeth and jaws, and she requires extensive follow-up
examinations and care in between each subsequent operation. If Teresa returns to Mexico to get her green card, she will be forced to interrupt Ana's medical
treatment and take both of her daughters with her to Mexico. Interrupting Ana's medical
treatment would be detrimental to Ana's health. The treatments are not available in Mexico.
Also, if Ana abandons her current medical regime, even for a short time, she will probably lose
the privately donated funds to cover the cost of her medical care. These funds were extremely
difficult to obtain, and once lost, they will be irretrievable. Requiring Teresa to return to Mexico
to get her green card is tantamount to discontinuing her daughter's medical treatment and
subjecting the child to a life of pain and disfigurement. This case originated in Indiana. CONSUELO Consuelo was born in Mexico. She has lived in the United States for the past eight years, and
she has two children, both U.S. citizens. Three years ago, Consuelo met her U.S. citizen
husband, Jake, and the two started dating and becoming friends. They soon fell in love and were
married. Consuelo was excited about beginning her life with her new husband. She did not
know that Jake had hidden from her the fact that he was addicted to marijuana and alcohol. Jake's drug and alcohol addiction became evident after he and Consuelo were married. She
witnessed him spending all of their money to buy drugs and alcohol, and he would not give
Consuelo money to buy food and clothes. He kept her locked in the apartment all day and
refused to apply for her immigration status so that she could get a job. Jake, on the other hand,
was fired from job after job because of his drug addiction. After their first child, Nick, was
born, there was never enough food in the house to feed the family. Jake completely ignored
Consuelo and even refused to take her to the store to get food. One day, when Nick was a year old and Consuelo was three months pregnant with their second
child, Jake agreed to take Consuelo to the grocery store to buy food. He gave her $40 and told
her she was only allowed a few minutes to shop. Once they were in the car, Jake became angry
because the baby was crying, and he told Consuelo that he would not take them to the store after
all. Consuelo begged him to take her, since there was no food in the house. Jake refused and
grabbed the $40 back from Consuelo. He then began punching, kicking, and shoving her, trying
to knock her out of the car through the open passenger-side door. Consuelo fell out of the car
onto the sidewalk, bruised and fearing for the health of her unborn baby. Then Jake grabbed
baby Nick from the back seat and sat him on the sidewalk a few feet away from Consuelo. Jake
threw the baby's diaper bag out of the window, scattering baby clothes and diapers all over the
street, and sped away in the car without looking back. On another occasion, Jake kidnaped Nick to punish Consuelo for accepting money from her
sister. He left with the child and did not bring him back for the entire day. Consuelo was
frantic, wondering if she would ever see her baby again. Only a few months later, when
Consuelo was eight months pregnant with her second child, Jake sold all the furniture and baby
toys to buy drugs. The house was completely empty after Jake left with the last piece of
furniture and the television set. There was also no food in the house. At that moment, Consuelo
decided to leave Jake. She feared for her and her child's safety, since Jake was unpredictable
and violent when on drugs and had been hitting and insulting her on a regular basis. She fled to
her sister's house and found an attorney to help her file a VAWA self-petition for residency. If Consuelo is forced to return to Mexico to get her green card under VAWA, she will risk losing
her children. Jake has already filed for custody of the two little boys and has threatened to take
them away from her permanently. There is a court date scheduled in the near future, and
Consuelo cannot remove the children from the country while custody is in dispute. Once
custody has been decided, Consuelo can only take the children with her with the court's
permission, and since there is no way to predict how long she will be required to remain in
Mexico while her green card is processed, she cannot guarantee to the judge a date by which she
will return. She refuses to leave the children behind, though, because she fears that Jake will
kidnap them and mistreat them or tell the court that she has abandoned them to his care. He has
already kidnaped Nick once before. He has never been responsible for caring for the children in
the past, and his drug and alcohol use poses a grave danger to them. He has absolutely no
patience with either of the children and frequently screams at them and punishes them for no
reason. Even if Consuelo were able to afford the trip to Mexico, she could not risk leaving her
children behind and losing them to her abuser forever. This case originated in Pennsylvania. UGNE Ugne was born in Lithuania. Her husband Sam is a U.S. citizen. Sam and Ugne were "penpals".
They began writing each other in 1993. They seemed to have a lot of interests in common. Sam
was in the Navy and lived in Nevada. Ugne had her own beauty salon. By 1994 Margie's English
had improved to the point where they could converse on the phone. They enjoyed their talks.
Sam said he wanted to meet Ugne in person and visited Ugne in Lithuania in 1995. They had a
wonderful time. Sam told Ugne he liked her independence and the fact she owned her own
business. Sam asked Ugne to visit him in the United States for her birthday and she agreed to.
In September, 1995 Ugne came to visit Sam. They had a good time and Sam asked Ugne to
marry him. She wanted to wait to get to know him better and they agreed to wait. Six months
later in May of 1996 they were married in Reno, Nevada. The day after they were married, Sam lost his temper and began screaming at Ugne. Ugne went
into the kitchen, and Sam followed her there. There he screamed at her and tore her pajamas.
He then pushed her against the wall, crossed her wrists together, and held her so tightly she could
not move. When she wouldn't stop crying, he pressed his hand against her windpipe barely
allowing her to breath. Ugne knew he had gone through Navy training and could kill her if he
wanted to. Sam took his finger away after two full minutes, and Ugne cried for the rest of the
night. The next day, Sam apologized and promised never to do it again. Over time, Ugne and Sam began having more disagreements and arguments. Sam often ignored
Ugne or was inconsiderate to her, and he allowed to his friends to disrespect her as well. He
cared little for her needs, even refusing to take her to the doctor. Ugne sought to go to marriage
counseling but Sam refused. Several times after an argument Sam would go into the living room
and sit quietly holding a gun. At those times, Ugne was afraid to move or breathe because she
feared that she would anger him further and her would feel justified in using the gun. Ugne felt
isolated. Not knowing English well and not working, she was totally dependent on Sam. Once
during an argument, while they were in the car traveling to Reno on the way home from a trip,
Sam threatened to drive them both of them off a cliff. When they finally got to Reno, Ugne
jumped out of the car and hid in the bathroom of a restaurant. She decided to look for the police
to get help but ran into Sam as she came out of the restaurant. He was crying and apologized
and once again Ugne forgave him. But the abuse continued. During a later argument, Ugne tried to talk to Sam about the problems in their marriage. In
response, Sam grew angry and accused Ugne of playing head games with him. Then he became
violent again. Sam grabbed Ugne from the sofa and threw her through the door into the wall,
and she landed on the ground. Ugne spent the night in a hotel. The next day Sam picked her up
at work and apologized. In 1997 Sam decided to leave the Navy, and they moved to Philadelphia so that Sam could take a
job there. As they approached Philadelphia, they started to argue in the car. Ugne felt trapped
and vulnerable. She got out of the car, but Sam got out and followed her, screaming at her to get
back in. Then Sam tried to physically force Ugne back into the car and she attempted to fight
him off. He dragged her away from the car toward some trash cans behind a building. There
was no one around, and Sam held her with enormous force, bruising her arms and wrists. In March they had a fight in their new apartment. Sam decided to "punish" Ugne and would not
let her sleep in the bed. Ugne then lay down on the floor, but he lifted her up and pushed her.
He then grabbed her and threw her on the floor. Ugne pleaded for Sam not to touch her, but he
shouted that she was his wife, that he could touch her, and that there was nobody around to hear
her scream for help. Ugne was able to free herself, run into the bathroom, and lock the door.
Afterward Ugne had bruises on her wrists and elbows because Sam had dragged her on the
carpet. Four months later, they had another argument in the car. Ugne started to cry, and Sam threatened
to take Ugne home and blow her head off. He then grabbed her hair and smashed her head
against the car door. Ugne tried to get out of the car, but Sam began to drive wildly. He sped
through red lights and drove on the left side of road so that she Ugne could not get out. Finally, in April 1998, during yet another incident, Ugne tried to call the police, but Sam took
the phone from her and her call did not go through. Fortunately, however, a neighbor overheard
Ugne's screams and called the police. The officers noticed the bruises on Ugne's body and
referred her to a domestic violence shelter. Ugne was able to stay at a battered women's shelter for six weeks. She attended counseling
sessions and learned that she did have to suffer at the hands of Sam. She was referred to an
immigration attorney who helped her file a self-petition. The police intervention has helped her
receive some protection from Sam's ongoing abuse. But Sam is angry that he was turned into
the police and threatens revenge. Ugne is afraid that Sam will follow her back to Lithuania if
she is forced to return there for consular processing. Sam knows exactly how to find her there
and knows that there she will be at his mercy. This case originated in Pennsylvania. MAGGIE Maggie was born in Columbia. Her husband, Edmund, is a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico.
Maggie came to this country to live with Edmund. After moving here, Maggie gave birth to
their daughter, Susan, who is now three. After they were married, Edmund began the process of
applying for Maggie's U.S. residency. Unfortunately, soon after they were married, Edmund developed a serious drinking problem.
When he would come home from drinking he would become extremely violent and began
beating Maggie. The more he would drink, the more frequent the beatings. This continued for
two years. Finally, he beat Maggie so severely she was physically unable to leave the house. A
friend called a domestic violence hotline and a counselor instructed her on safety planning and
how to access further counseling services. The next day Maggie took their daughter and left.
She petitioned for and was granted a temporary protective order. Later, she was granted a
permanent protective order. She initiated custody proceedings for her daughter and she also
cooperated with the police who filed criminal spousal abuse charges against Edmund. In the course of several months Maggie has obtained a court order protecting herself and her
daughter from their abuser, cooperated fully with the prosecution of Edmund, been granted full
legal custody of her daughter, obtained an approved self-petition from INS, obtained a reliable
job, and found a new apartment at a secret location for herself and her daughter. With the
support of close friends, attorneys and counselors she has changed herself from a weakened
victim of severe abuse to a self-reliant individual. If Maggie were forced to return to Columbia to obtain her green card based on her VAWA self-petition, much of the transformation she has accomplished would be jeopardized. She has no
other family in this country. She would risk forfeiting legal custody of her daughter to Edmund
who still has criminal charges pending against him if she left Susan here. Maggie is
understandably afraid to leave Susan in the care of her abusive father where she might be abused
or neglected. Maggie's only alternative would be to take Susana with her to Columbia, a country
facing growing political tensions and upheavals, where Maggie's relatives have discouraged her
from returning. Maggie would lose her job, her apartment and the support of friends, counselors
and attorneys that have enabled Maggie to create a safe home for her daughter and herself. None
of the support services that Maggie has come to rely upon would be available to her in
Columbia, where she would have to live without the protection from her protection order for as
long as it took for her green card to be processed. This case originated in Pennsylvania. NAOMI Naomi was born in Ghana, where she met Alan, an American citizen. Naomi and Alan were
married and following their marriage, they lived together with Alan and Alan's mother in
Philadelphia. Following their marriage things began to deteriorate. Alan tried to exercise
complete control over Naomi. Once they were married, Alan filed immigration papers that would have given Naomi lawful
permanent residency. Alan, however, refused to tell her the date of the scheduled interview with
INS. He would not even allow her to go to the supermarket with his mother with whom they
lived. If she did have to go out, she had to beep him and wait for him to call her back at home
for his approval and call him again when she returned home. He would not let her see or call
any of her friends. Alan also maintained tight control over all economic resources. Alan, who
was employed as a security guard and carried a gun, told her one day he would blow her brains
out if she failed to do exactly what he said. Naomi lived in constant fear of him. Naomi was
afraid to sleep for fear of what he might do to her. Alan also began to physically abuse her.
Twice he battered her so severely that Naomi had to seek medical attention for the injuries he
had inflicted on her. Following the second attack, Naomi called the police for help and moved to a domestic violence
shelter. With assistance from support groups Naomi obtained a protective order but Alan
continues to violate the order by calling to harass her. Naomi is afraid that she will be forced to return to Ghana to obtain her lawful permanent
residency under VAWA. Alan has vowed to get her any way he can and has promised to travel
to Ghana to harm her. Authorities in Ghana are not sympathetic to women in Linda's situation
and would not provide any protection for her. Naomi cannot expect any assistance, protection,
or support from her family in Ghana. Her mother is against Naomi leaving her husband.
Because she disobeyed her husband and called the police she is labeled "trouble" and disgraced
in the eyes of the community. She will be shunned under traditional custom. There are no
support services for Naomi in Ghana where a women is supposed to stay with her husband no
matter what. Further, female genital mutilation is widely practiced in Ghana. Naomi was born in a home
where according to custom she should be circumcised. Her father spared her when she was
younger because she was a sick child. When she got older, she left and was able to avoid being
circumcised. Because Naomi was not subject to female genital mutilation, she is considered
"dirty." She is not allowed to have a job. Her sister, who has been circumcised, does not
approve of the fact that Naomi has not and the fact that she turned in her husband because of the
abuse. Naomi needs to be able to obtain her lawful permanent residency while remaining in the Untied
States where her protection order can protect her from Alan's ongoing violence and where our
laws can protect her from forced circumcision. This case originated in Virginia. MARIANGELA Mariangela is a 44-year-old woman from Mauritania. She met her husband Bruce, an American
citizen, in America through the husband of a friend. The two began dating and moved in
together in July of 1985. Mariangela became pregnant soon after, and she and Bruce were
married in early 1986. The first time Bruce hit Mariangela was during this pregnancy. He head been drinking, and he
began hitting and shoving her. It soon became clear that Bruce was an alcoholic, and he drank
beer and hard liquor excessively. He would become most abusive while intoxicated. Mariangela had their first child later in 1986, and a second in December of 1987. Over the
course of her eleven years with Bruce, Mariangela and her children have been subject to physical
and emotional abuse. Bruce keeps two or three guns in the house, and he has pointed them at the
children and himself. Once he struck Mariangela hard in the nose, telling her to get out of the
house and leaving her to bleed. In the most recent incident, Bruce brutally grabbed Mariangela's
arm, squeezing it so hard that it left bruises. He then threw her on the floor. Mariangela feared
for her life, because she had never seen him so furious. She and her daughter knelt down and
begged him not to hurt them and to give them a week to leave. After this incident, Mariangela and the two children moved out, first staying in a shelter and then
with friends. However, Bruce's lawyer was able to wrest custody of the children away from
Mariangela. She did not have a job and could not support the children because she did not have
permission to work in the United States. Bruce had always refused to file for her legal
permanent residency. Mariangela has filed a self-petition for residency, but would face hardship in being forced to
return to Mauritania to receive her green card. She now has a visitation order which enables her
to see her children, but if she leaves the country for an indefinite period of time, she may lose
that right. Furthermore, Bruce could follow her to Mauritania where he could abuse her without
legal consequences. Mariangela wants to remain in this country and fight to get her children
away from their abusive father. However, forcing her to leave, even briefly, presents her with
undue hardship and danger and may permanently jeopardize her ability to obtain legal custody of
her children and protect them from Bruce's violence. This case originated in Nevada. VILMA Vilma is a 34-year-old citizen of Mexico. She met her husband, Enrique, at his sister's wedding
in Mexico in 1978. Vilma and Enrique began dating shortly after that, and Enrique asked her to
marry him in 1979. Vilma thought perhaps she was not ready for marriage at that time, and she
was bothered by the fact that Enrique had been divorced once before. She rejected his proposal,
and Enrique did not take the rejection well. Vilma and Enrique continued to date one another, and Vilma
gave birth to their first child, a daughter. About a year later, Enrique arrived at Vilma's home waving a gun in his
hand, telling her that they were going to get married right away, and that he would not take "no" for an answer.
Vilma calmed him down and persuaded him to postpone the marriage. Enrique's irrational behavior shocked and
frightened her, but she excused it. She thought it was just an isolated incident. Their relationship continued through the next five years. In that time, Vilma gave birth to three more of Enrique's
daughters. She married Enrique in 1988 in Mexico. That same year, Enrique came to the Nevada and became a
lawful permanent resident of the U.S. He sent for Vilma and their four daughters, and they joined him in the U.S.
at that time. Shortly after Vilma arrived in the U.S., Vilma's ten-year-old niece, Carla, came to live with Vilma, Enrique, and
their daughters. One evening, when Carla was twelve years old, while the family was trying to sleep, Enrique
attempted to sexually assault Carla. Vilma was horrified that Enrique would do such a thing, and she feared that
he might also try to sexually abuse his own daughters, as well. She wanted to leave Enrique, but at that point, she
was pregnant with another child, and she was entirely dependent on Enrique for food, clothing and shelter for her
and her four daughters. Enrique did not give her enough money to support the family, and she was forced to sell
tamales, clothes, and cleaning supplies just to make enough money to keep her children housed, fed, and clothed. In 1995, Enrique took a vacation to Mexico and returned with a sixteen-year-old girl named Selma, who he
claimed was his daughter. Vilma attempted to accept Selma into her family and treat her like a daughter.
However, shortly after Selma arrived, Vilma discovered that Enrique was having an incestuous relationship with
his daughter Selma. They were behaving more like lovers than like father and daughter. Vilma's daughters
noticed Selma and their father hugging and kissing like lovers and getting into bed together. When Vilma
confronted Enrique about his behavior, he threatened to kill her and her whole family. He became very violent
toward Vilma after that, beating her with his fists and slapping her across the face. He also began beating his
daughters with belts or slapping them across their faces. He was angry at his daughters for telling Vilma about his
sexual relations with Selma. Vilma did not go to the police because she was afraid of her husband. She sought help from a priest who put her
in touch with a social worker. It was at that time that Vilma found a receipt for a pregnancy test for Selma. After
questioning Selma about the pregnancy test, Vilma discovered that Enrique had forced Selma to have an abortion
of the pregnancy that resulted from his incest with her, and that he was now having an affair with a young man.
Vilma's older daughter also confessed to her mother that Enrique had been sexually molesting her for some time.
Reeling with the shock of all of these discoveries about her husband, Vilma gathered her children and left him,
fleeing to her sister's house. In 1997, police officers came to Vilma's home and informed her that Enrique was arrested for the murder of the
young man with whom he had been having the affair. If he is convicted of this crime, he will be deported to
Mexico. Recently, Vilma obtained approval of her VAWA self-petition for residency. If she is forced to return to Mexico
to get her green card, she if afraid that Enrique will be waiting for her there to abuse or kill her. Her six children,
two of whom are U.S. citizens, have all had a very difficult time recovering from the emotional trauma of the
violence and sexual abuse Enrique inflicted upon them. The daughter who was sexually abused by Enrique suffers
from depression and is undergoing counseling. Several of Vilma's other children have emotional problems and
see counselors at their schools. Because of her children's delicate emotional state, Vilma cannot be separated
from them for the time it will take to get her green card. In addition, Vilma fears that if she returns to Mexico, she
will suffer shame and humiliation because of the physical and sexual abuse she endured with her husband.
Vilma's family would not support her if she were to return to Mexico. Vilma would be left without emotional and
financial resources in a country where her murderous, abusive husband could find her. In order to keep herself
safe and preserve the emotional well-being of her children, Vilma must be allowed to remain in the U.S. to get her
green card. This case originated in Rhode Island. ALEJANDRA Alejandra was born in Guatemala, where she met her future husband Cristian. Her grandfather was in business
with his grandfather, and the two were acquaintances from childhood. As a young adult, Alejandra traveled to the
United States to escape the Guatemalan guerrilla forces persecuting her family. Cristian had also come to the
United States by this time and had become a lawful permanent resident. The two met up again by chance, and
started dating. Before long they were married. Alejandra had a daughter from a previous relationship who moved in with Cristian and Alejandra. Alejandra soon
became pregnant with another child, from her marriage to Cristian. Around this time, Cristian began to verbally
abuse Alejandra, calling her names and accusing her of looking at other men. The abuse seemed to intensify
daily. Four months into her pregnancy, Cristian physically abused Alejandra for the first time. They had an
argument, and he beat her all over her body, leaving her thoroughly bruised. He said that if she told anyone what
he did, he would kill her or have her deported and take her daughter away. The abuse began again in the eighth
and ninth months of her pregnancy. He made her stay in the house for weeks so that no one would see her
extensive bruising. After the birth of their son, the situation worsened. Cristian was constantly jealous and always accused Alejandra
of lying to him. She was not allowed to speak with anyone, even her brothers and sister. When Cristian went out,
he would lock Alejandra and the children in the house so they would not go anywhere. Alejandra had to wash the
family's clothes in the sink, because he would not allow her to go to the Laundromat. He did all the food shopping
because he did not want her to leave the house. On one occasion, Cristian threatened Alejandra with a pistol,
telling her she was a bad mother and he would have her children taken away from her. When Cristian's family
visited, Alejandra tried to explain to his mother that he was abusing her. She did not believe Alejandra, and
Alejandra felt completely trapped and isolated. On her birthday, Alejandra's co-workers honored her with flowers. That night, when she brought the flowers
home, Cristian accused her of receiving them from boyfriends. He beat her, and demanded she tell him who her
lovers are. When Alejandra protested she had none, he yelled that he would kill her if she were not telling the
truth. After this incident, he did not allow her to leave the house for the next three days, even to go to work.
Whenever they went somewhere together and someone greeted Alejandra, he would hit her in the face when they
got home. She was terrified of Cristian, but did not know how to get herself out of the abusive situation. She
wanted to call the police after his beatings, but he would disconnect the phones. He also forbade her to leave the
house for several days after beatings to prevent her from making a police report in person. Cristian began to use drugs, and this made the abuse even worse. He beat her almost daily; Alejandra's body was
continuously covered with bruises for three years. Cristian intimidated her into lying when anyone inquired about
her bruises. He also began verbally abusing and beating the children when they were three and four years old.
The abuse affected them profoundly, and they became nervous and timid. Even the neighbors were afraid of
Cristian, they never called the police when they overheard the violence for fear of what he would do to them. After one particularly frightening incident, Alejandra took the children and entered a shelter. Cristian had shoved
her into a wall and threatened to kill her, which terrified her. However, after five days in the shelter, Alejandra
returned home. She did not know how to survive on her own, and was frightened that if she did not return Cristian
would find her and kill her. The abuse continued after Alejandra's return. On one occasion, Cristian took the children to pick her up at work,
and the car broke down. Frustrated, he tried to fix the problem while Alejandra and the children stood on the
sidewalk. He looked up from what he was doing and accused her of looking at another man in the street. Walking
over to her, he slapped her hard several times in the face. When they finally returned home, the his anger
escalated. He punched her four times hard in the face, causing it to bleed. Cristian then said he was going to kill
her, and dragged her to the second story window and threatened to throw her out. The children screamed, and he
let her go and left the room. Alejandra took the children and entered a shelter. She returned to Cristian a week
later, but after receiving another severe beating, she decided to leave him for good. Alejandra is now thriving on her own and is a good provider for her American citizen children. She has a
restraining order against Cristian, and she and the children are recovering from the psychological effects of his
abuse. Although Cristian has communicated to Alejandra's relatives his intent to violate the order, stalk her, and
shoot her, so far the protection order seems to be working. Alejandra has self-petitioned for residency, but it
would be dangerous for her to return to Guatemala for consular processing. She has no family there because of
guerrilla death threats and attacks, and she and her children would be in great danger if they returned. She would
have to take the children if she returned, because she has no one else to care for them. Cristian would also again
become a threat if they stayed in Guatemala, because her protective order against him would not be valid there.
Alejandra is convinced he would try to kill her if given the opportunity. For these reasons, it is imperative that
Alejandra be permitted to remain in the United States to receive her green card. This case originated in Nebraska. JOSEFINA Josefina is a 37-year-old woman originally from Mexico. In 1983, she met her husband Geraldo, now a lawful
permanent resident of the United States. They met in Mexico when she was 18 and he was 27. After one year of
courtship, Geraldo convinced Josefina to live with him in America. Soon after they arrived, she discovered she
was pregnant, and the couple returned to Mexico to get married. After the wedding, Geraldo returned to America
alone, and Josefina had her baby in Mexico in January 1985. Geraldo sent Josefina and their daughter money regularly, and finally came to see them in February of 1986. He
stayed for one month before returning to the United States, and during his stay they conceived another child. This
time he did not send money from the United States. He returned to Mexico just in time for the birth of his second
child in October of 1996. However, soon after he returned to the United States and this time remained in the U.S.
for four years. Geraldo did not send much money to his family during this time period, but Josefina and the
children were able to survive by living with Geraldo's mother. In November of 1990, Geraldo returned to Mexico and brought his family to Nebraska to live with him. He had a
good job and was able to provide a home for his family in Nebraska in 1991. Josefina became pregnant with their
third child. However, Geraldo started drinking heavily. His drinking problems escalated over time to the point
where he was almost always drunk. He lost his long term job, and a series of other jobs after that. Nevertheless,
Josefina had their third child in late 1991, and a fourth in early 1993. Shortly after the birth of their fourth child, Geraldo began to use physical violence against Josefina. On one
occasion he got angry with her and choked her. When she threatened to call the police, he intimidated her into
believing that they would deport her and take away the children. From that time on, Geraldo often threatened to
have Josefina deported. He told her she was not capable of taking care of herself and the children because she has
never worked and is illegal. He claimed she could never survive without his help, unless she became a prostitute.
Geraldo would also scare the children by threatening to hit them if they ever told anyone that their father got
drunk. Josefina continued to live with Geraldo, perceiving that she had no other options, and the couple had a
fifth child in 1995. Geraldo's alcoholism continued to worsen, and the abuse escalated as a result. One evening in 1997, Geraldo came
home drunk, screaming that he was leaving Josefina and the children. He started throwing things around the
house, taunting and threatening Josefina. He then grabbed her by the hair and pulled her around, brandishing a
heavy vase. Josefina screamed, and their oldest daughter called the police. Geraldo's fear of the police resulted in
somewhat of a lessening of his violence against Josefina. Geraldo constantly demeans Josefina with obscene and hateful language, and prevents her from having a job or
any independence. He is also extremely cruel to his two older children. He derides their status as Mexican
citizens and tells them he does not consider them his children. He tells them he will have them deported because
he only loves his younger children who were born in America. Geraldo also tells his oldest daughter he hates her
for calling the police on him, and frequently calls her obscene names. He makes fun of his oldest son because he
has to wear glasses, calling him a nerd and a stupid child. He also calls this son gay, saying his voice is like a
woman's. Josefina wants to free herself and her children from Geraldo's tyranny by becoming a lawful permanent resident
and finding a job. She has filed a self-petition but is very afraid of having to return to Mexico for consular
processing. She cannot afford passage to Mexico for herself and her five children, and is frightened to leave them
with Geraldo. In addition, she does not want to remove them from school for an indeterminate amount of time and
bring them to a foreign country where they are unfamiliar with the language and customs. Josefina also fears that
Geraldo would follow her to Mexico and abuse or kill her there, where the law is less strict. It is therefore
necessary that she remain in the United States to obtain her green card, enabling Josefina to give her children a
fresh start. This case originated in New Jersey. RAMONA Ramona is originally from Peru. In her hometown she met Manolo, a man who was related by marriage to
Ramona's family. She and Manolo also had many friends in common, and Manolo would visit Ramona's house
every time he came to Peru. Manolo was at that time a lawful permanent resident of the United States, but he still
kept in close contact with his mother and friends in Peru. Over the next four years, Ramona and Manolo wrote
letters to one another, and Manolo visited her in Peru whenever he had a vacation. After Manolo was seriously
injured in an accident, he relied on Ramona's letters and phone calls to support and encourage him to recover.
The two fell in love and were married in 1993 in Peru. Ramona was excited to move to the U.S. with Manolo and
start a family here. Manolo incorrectly informed Ramona that he could not immediately petition for her residency while he was
disabled and unable to work full-time. Ramona believed him and resolved to learn English in preparation for the
day when she could get work authorization. What she did not know was that her husband was insanely jealous and
kept track of her movements from the very first day of their marriage. He started ordering her to dress a certain
way and stop seeing her friends. He was paranoid that she was having affairs with other men, so he insisted on
knowing where she was at all times. If she ever returned home a bit later than usual, he would yell at her and call
her a prostitute. Ramona soon discovered that Manolo's jealousy had become a sick obsession. He made friends with the security
guards in their apartment building so that they would let him see the security camera videos of people entering and
leaving the building. He would watch these videos every evening after work, noting the times that Ramona would
enter and leave the building, what she was carrying, and who she was with. She began to feel like a prisoner in
her own home. Manolo began physically abusing Ramona in July of 1996. Ramona and Manolo made a trip to New York to buy
her a dress. Once they returned home to New Jersey, Ramona realized that the dress did not fit, so she decided to
sell it to a woman who took English classes with her. She left the house without telling her husband where she
was going and when she would return. When she arrived home after selling the dress, Manolo was furious. He
yelled insults at her and threw her onto the bed. She struggled to get away from him and ran through the
apartment, trying to escape from him as he chased her. He finally caught her, ripped all her clothes off, and
punched her in the face. Only two months later, a similar incident happened after Ramona came home a bit later
than usual after attending her English teacher's birthday party. When she came home, Manolo jumped on her and
threw her against a closet, shaking her body against the closet doors and beating her on the head with his fists. He
kicked her out of the house into the pouring rain that night, warning her that "an illegal cannot file complaints
with the police." Ramona called a friend to pick her up and take her to her friend's house where she would be
safe. A week later, Manolo asked her to come back to him. He told her that if she did not return, he would withdraw
the immigration work he had started for her. Ramona was afraid that he would have her deported, so she returned
to him. Unfortunately, he began to abuse her as soon as she came home. One evening, Ramona came home and
Manolo started accusing her of being with other men. He tangled his fingers in her hair and shoved her backward
onto the floor. Still holding her down by her hair, he hit her face with his fist. His face and hands were shaking
with rage, and Ramona thought that he would kill her. Finally, he stopped hitting her and left her lying on the
floor. The next morning, Ramona combed her hair, and a handful of her hair fell out of her head from where
Manolo had been pulling it. Ramona decided to find an attorney to help her leave her husband and go into hiding.
She filed a VAWA self-petition for residency, as well. If Ramona is forced to return to Peru as the only way of getting her green card under VAWA, she will be in great
danger. She is currently hiding from Manolo in confidential housing, and he has no idea where she is living in the
U.S. He is obsessed with her, and he is angry because she dared to leave him. Ramona's family in Peru has
warned her that if she returns, Manolo will try to kill her. They know this because Manolo himself has traveled to
Peru and spoken with Ramona's mother, niece, and friends, telling them that Ramona can hide from him in New
Jersey, but she cannot hide from him in Peru. He has asked his family to "keep an eye out" for Ramona and let
him know when she returns to Peru. Now that he is a U.S. citizen, he can travel easily and carry out his threat to
kill her in Peru. Ramona knows that once she comes out of hiding and travels to Peru, Manolo will find her and punish her for
leaving him. He will try to force her to return to him, and when she refuses, he will beat her and possibly kill her.
Since all of Ramona's family live in the same small town as Manolo's family, Ramona's presence in Peru will
certainly be discovered by Manolo. The only way that Ramona can remain safe is by staying in the U.S. under the
protection of her restraining order and her confidential housing. She knows that if she returns to Peru, Manolo will
hunt her down and kill her. This case originated in New Jersey. KAMARA Kamara and Damoni met in 1990 in their native country of Kenya. They became friends, and in 1992 they
traveled to the United States together to visit Damoni's brother. Damoni's brother petitioned for Damoni to
become a lawful permanent resident. Kamara and Damoni soon began dating, and had a daughter together in
1993. The couple had a happy and healthy relationship until 1994, when Kamara became pregnant again. Damoni began to abuse Kamara shortly before she gave birth to their second child, a son. He would insult and
demean her, tear her clothes, leave her without food, and smash dishes around her. Kamara had no idea what
caused such a change in Damoni. Before long, he began beating Kamara, frequently punching her with his fist.
On one occasion, he hit her in the head so hard that he ruptured her eardrum. She had to have an operation to
restore her eardrum later that year. Damoni also began writing letters to Kamara's parents in Kenya, threatening
the safety of Kamara and her parents. These incidents led Kamara to call the police and obtain a restraining order,
which succeeded in reducing the violence for a while. After Kamara gave birth to their son, Damoni was less abusive, and Kamara was compelled to stay with him to
ensure the financial security of the family. Damoni proposed marriage in 1996, and Kamara accepted, hoping that
the marriage would make things better. The couple was married in 1997, and Damoni filed a petition for Kamara's
residency. However, after the marriage, the abuse resumed and escalated. Damoni revoked his petition for
Kamara and threatened to have her deported. Kamara became clinically depressed over her situation, and was
hospitalized for a few months. Kamara has filed a self-petition for residency so that she will no longer be dependent on Damoni and can
cooperate in his prosecution for the beatings she has suffered. However, returning to Kenya would be dangerous
for Kamara. She cannot afford to take her American citizen children out of the country for an indeterminate
period, nor can she leave them behind. If she separated from the children, Damoni could try to obtain custody of
them. Additionally, Damoni, who has maintained ongoing contact with friends and family members in Kenya,
could follow through on his threats to harm Kamara and her family in Kenya. It is vital to Kamara's and her loved
ones' safety that she not be required to leave the safety of the United States and return to Kenya for consular
processing. This case originated in New Jersey. ROSALINDA Rosalinda, originally from Peru, moved to the United States about five years ago. While in the United States she
met Franco, a naturalized United States citizen who was originally from Chile. The two dated and were married in
1996, when Rosalinda was 31 years old. When the couple was married, Rosalinda had a job as a waitress, and worked from 8:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. daily.
Franco grew possessive and jealous after their marriage, and went to work with Rosalinda every evening. He
would watch her closely and bother her when she was serving customers. The owner felt this was bad for business
and fired Rosalinda. Problems soon began at home, and Franco started verbally abusing Rosalinda. He frequently called her a whore
and accused her of sleeping with other men. He did not permit Rosalinda to socialize, and if she greeted anyone,
he screamed at her. He often berated her loudly in public, and many times he abandoned her in stores or on the
street after yelling at her. On one occasion, he threw her, her shopping bags, and her clean laundry into the street
and drove home. Rosalinda had to gather her belongings and take a taxi home, where she found Franco relaxing
on the sofa. Franco began using drugs, and would frequently come home at night under the influence of cocaine. He would
invent reasons to argue, and would violently beat Rosalinda. One evening he arrived home in a crazed state and
began hitting Rosalinda and calling her a whore. Rosalinda fell onto the floor, crying and begging Franco to stop
hurting her. Franco continued hitting her and proceeded to break her nose and injure her mouth, causing her to
bleed profusely. She ran to her room in the basement and locked the door, but Franco followed her and kicked
down her door and part of the wall. Rosalinda tried to cover her face so he would stop hitting her, but he
proceeded to pull her hair, spit on her, and kick her repeatedly. Then he threw her down on the bed, tore her
clothes off, and raped her. Afterwards, Franco got up and left. Rosalinda could not get up for two days. She was
covered with bruises and her sheets were covered with blood. When she was finally able to get up, she walked
with a limp for several days. Franco continued to fight with Rosalinda, especially over money. Rosalinda supported Franco and paid all the
bills, but Franco would always pester her for more money, presumably so that he could buy drugs. She did not
know what she could do about her situation, and did not think she had any rights because she was an immigrant
and he was a citizen. He used his power to petition for her residency as a way to maintain control over her. After a while, Rosalinda learned that she could call 911 for emergencies. She called on three separate occasions
when Franco beat her, but when the police arrived he begged her to recant. He told her he would change, and
manipulated her into telling the police that nothing happened. On one occasion when Rosalinda called the police,
Franco saw them first and told them to arrest Rosalinda for stealing his papers. When Rosalinda explained that
she was the one who called 911, the police told her to press charges. However, she was afraid Franco would kill
her if she had him put in jail. One evening, Rosalinda arrived home late from work, and Franco was furious with her. He demanded to know
where she had been, but refused to believe her when she said she was with a friend. He began to hit her, and when
she fell to the floor, he got on top of her and punched her in the face repeatedly. He punched her until she lost
consciousness, and she has no memory of what happened next. She could not get up, remaining on the kitchen
floor until late the next day in agony and unable to move. She did not have any family or friends to help her, and
thought she had been left to die. When Franco got home, he saw that she was gravely injured and took her to the
hospital on the condition that she not tell anyone he was the one who beat her. Rosalinda's doctors found several
broken veins in her ears and severe contusions all over her body. When they asked who had beaten her, she said it
was her boyfriend. They encouraged her to press charges, but she could not say anything because Franco was
there with her the whole time. She knew that if she turned him in, he would beat her again and possibly kill her. Rosalinda wishes to file a self-petition for residency so that she can leave Franco and live independently. Yet if
she returns to Peru for consular processing, her life could be in danger again. Franco could follow her there,
where he would not be inhibited by American law. He could beat or kill her in Peru, where laws to protect women
against domestic violence do not exist. She has no friends or family left in Peru who could support and protect her
during her stay, and is without resources to exist there on her own for an indeterminate period. For these reasons,
Rosalinda must be able to receive her green card without leaving the United States. This case originated in Idaho. LOURDES Lourdes was born in Mexico. She came to the United States on a visitor's visa. Here, she met Steven, a United
States citizen. Lourdes and Steven courted and fell in love. They later married. Steven promised to petition for
Lourdes's legal immigration status before her visitor's visa expired. Unfortunately, Steven not only neglected to
petition for Lourdes, he also used her illegal immigration status as a means of controlling her and making her
dependent upon him throughout their marriage. Steven began sexually abusing Lourdes soon after their marriage. He would force her to have anal sex with him
against her will. He would "discipline" Lourdes by grabbing her roughly, slapping her, pulling her hair, or
slamming her into walls. He would abuse her physically in this way whenever he perceived that Lourdes was not
behaving like a good wife or not following his "orders." He would become irrationally angry for no reason at all
and indulge his anger by abusing Lourdes. Whenever she would ask him not to hit her anymore, Steven would
threaten to have her deported. He also told her that if she called the police, not only would he not petition for her
green card, but he would report her to the INS himself. Lourdes and Steven have four children. The oldest one, a daughter, was born severely mentally retarded. Her
condition is a degenerative one that requires constant medical care and monitoring. Lourdes was especially
reluctant to leave Steven because she feared that if she were deported, her daughter would not receive the care she
needed in Mexico. So Lourdes mainly kept quiet about Steven's abuse. One evening, the police were called to the family home because Steven had kicked Lourdes and the children out
of the house in one of his fits of rage. Steven was arrested and jailed for some time, and Lourdes spoke to an
attorney and filed for a restraining order against Steven. She also moved out of the house and went with her
children to a shelter. Lourdes has applied for her residency through VAWA. She is very concerned about the prospect of returning to
Mexico to get her green card pursuant to VAWA. Her children are U.S. citizens, and they have no one but their
mother to look after them in the United States. Lourdes' protection order grants her legal custody of the children.
Lourdes's older daughter also needs constant medical care. Her mother administers her care daily along with
trained specialists and doctors. Lourdes could not possibly leave this daughter or any of her other children behind
in the United States while she was getting her green card. Leaving them with Steven is not an option: Lourdes
fears Steven and does not trust him to care for the children. It is highly unlikely that even for a short period of
time Lourdes would be able to get adequate medical care for her daughter in Mexico. The standard of care in
treating her daughter's complicated condition would be low in Mexico. For her children's sakes, and for the safety
her protection order is providing her, Lourdes must be able to remain in the United States to get her green card. This story originated in Idaho. MARIA LUISA Maria Luisa, a Mexican native, who married Victor, a Mexican-American U.S. citizen, in Mexico. Victor
brought Maria Luisa and her three Mexican born children to the U.S. illegally, but later never wanted to get legal
papers for them. For years Victor submitted Maria Luisa to emotional and physical abuse. He would shove and beat her, and
threaten to kill her. After he threatened her with a shotgun in October of 1997, Maria Luisa fled to a shelter in a
nearby state. Because there was not enough room for her and her children in the shelter, they stayed in a motel for
several months before being moved to another shelter. After the stress of being moved around, Maria Luisa
eventually contacted Victor through a friend, despite the restraining order she had received to keep him away from
her. Because of the difficulties of living in the shelter with her three children, and her hopes that her marriage can
be saved, Maria Luisa has moved back home with Victor. Her protection order remains in effect ordering Victor
not to molest, assault, threaten, or abuse her or her children. Maria Luisa is afraid that after her self-petition is approved, she will have to return to Mexico to go through
consular processing. If this happens, she will be faced the difficult question of whether to leave her children with
a violent step father, or to take them with her to Mexico for an unknown period of time. Victor, who is also from
Mexico, is likely to follow her there, where her protection order will not offer protection for her and her children
from Victor's continuing violence. This case originated in California, moved to Utah, and is currently in Idaho. LAURA Laura, originally from Mexico, traveled to Los Angeles in 1990. There she met Lucian, a United States citizen.
The two dated, and had a daughter together in July of 1991. Then they both moved into Lucian' parents home in
June of 1992. The relationship was troubled, and Carols frequently fought with Laura. In August, during an argument, Lucian
struck Laura. Shocked and frightened, she went to live with a friend. Yet, due to Lucian's profuse apologies,
Laura moved back in with him in December. Although Lucian professed he would change, he soon fell back into his old habits of degrading and verbally
abusing Laura. He also began hitting her regularly. He resented the fact that their daughter took Laura's attention,
and he was jealous of the time and care she gave the little girl. Lucian easily became angry and frustrated, and
made a habit of taking these feelings out on Laura. He would punch her face and body with his fists and kick her.
His family never did anything to stop the abuse. In March of 1994, Lucian moved to Utah, while Laura remained with his family in California. Lucian persistently
pleaded with Laura to join him in Utah, and in May she finally did. Lucian insisted that their past problems were
caused by the stress of living with his family, and that in Utah things would be more peaceful. In Utah, however, the abuse continued. Lucian was as verbally and physically violent as ever. When Laura was
pregnant with her second child, she discovered that Lucian was using marijuana and cocaine. She found his drugs
and threw them away, fearful of their consequences. When Lucian discovered his drugs missing, he became livid
and grabbed Laura by the hair. He then proceeded to punch her in the face again and again. Laura was too afraid
to call the police. During Laura's pregnancy, Lucian would invite friends over, and the men would leave the apartment in a constant
state of disarray. Lucian always ordered Laura to clean up after them. Laura did not have enough energy to
continually clean the apartment, and asked Lucian to be more considerate. Lucian became enraged, and
threatened her with a knife, telling her he was going to kill her. This time Laura did call the police. However, by
the time they arrived, Lucian had run away. Later he returned home and begged for forgiveness. Laura was
pregnant and alone, and felt she had no choice but to return to him. In January of 1995, after giving birth to her second child, Laura left Lucian after a frightening incident. It was her
job to wake Lucian in the middle of the night, when he had to leave for work. He would not share his bed with
her, and she slept on the floor next to her children's beds. When the alarm went off one morning, Laura went to
wake Lucian, but he would not stir. She prodded and shook him, but he refused to wake up. Exhausted, Laura fell
back asleep on the floor. When Lucian awoke naturally several hours later, he was furious to realize that he was
late for work. He went to where Laura was sleeping and repeatedly kicked her on the back. Injured, bruised, and terrified of Lucian, Laura went to Idaho to live with her mother. Things were calm for a few
months, but in June, Lucian found Laura and begged for another chance. However, Lucian had not changed, and
the verbal and physical abuse continued at Laura's mother's house. Realizing he would not win her over, Lucian
decided to persuade Laura with threats. He said he would take the children away and have her deported if she did
not return to him. He called her every afternoon with these threats until she relented in February of 1996. They
moved into their own apartment, but nothing had changed, and Lucian continued the abuse. Finally, in March of
1997, Laura separated from Lucian for the last time. Laura wishes to remain in the United States with her children. She filed a self-petition for residency since Lucian
never followed through on the family-based I-130 petition he filed for her. She has also filed for divorce and legal
custody of the children, and the state of Idaho is helping her secure a child support award from Lucian. Through
her VAWA self-petition, Laura has legal authorization to work to support herself and her two daughters. Lucian
has not paid child support since the separation, forcing Laura to be the sole provider for her children. If Laura is forced to return to Mexico to obtain lawful permanent resident status, she will have to leave her job,
thereby giving up her sole means of providing for her children. There is no indication of how long she would be
detained in Mexico for consular processing, and it would be as impractical for her to take her children as it would
to leave them behind. If she leaves them behind, they cannot be protected from Lucian's abuse. Traveling to
Mexico may also interfere with court orders entered in the divorce and custody case currently pending. Further,
she fears that Lucian will search for her and find her in Mexico just as he did in Idaho, even if she only leaves the
United States for a short time. It must be possible for Laura to obtain her residency status here in the United
States, so as not to disrupt her family's care and well-being. This case originated in Kansas. STELLA Stella is a 33-year-old woman born in Mexico. She met her lawful permanent resident husband Vincento in
Kansas soon after coming to the United States. She agreed to marry Vincento after a brief courtship, as she found
herself lonely and isolated in the community due to lack of English proficiency and family support. Upon moving in with her husband Stella realized that she was to share their home not only with him but also with
four other men who lived there. Her husband refused to abide by his promise to ask them to move out when his
new bride came to live with him. Vincento told Stella that it was her duty not only to serve him but also the
boarders. She was treated as a servant and subject to constant mockery and humiliation by her husband and the
other men in the house. Vincento used emotional abuse, intimidation, and power and control strategies to isolate Stella further from
family, church, and the few acquaintances she had in the United States. Vincento blamed Stella for his angry
outbursts and insults. He forbade her use of the phone, made constant false accusations of infidelity, and made
threats to report her to immigration to have her deported if she did not do what he said. Stella soon lost control of her life. She never knew what day of the month it was, as she was restricted from
contact with the outside world. Vincento said Stella was "crazy," and so he controlled every aspect of her life.
She was not allowed to have any money and had to rely on Vincento for even her most basic necessities. Stella
endured sexual abuse by Vincento, who would degrade her by mocking her body and calling her a whore as he
forced her to have sex with him. The physical abuse started soon after she became pregnant. Stella endured many beatings which left her bruised
and in constant fear for her safety and for the well-being of their unborn child she was carrying. Vincento would
not allow her to see a doctor until very late in her pregnancy, and during those visits he controlled every
interaction with the doctors and staff. Once, Stella passed a note in secret to a nurse stating in that she was being
abused by her husband. This led to the referral of the couple to marital counseling by a nun, which failed. The cycle of abuse continued, and Stella lived in a constant state of fear. Vincento threatened to take the baby,
have Stella deported, or kill her if she left him. He kept a shotgun in their bedroom closet, and he would take it
out and stroke it, saying, "once the dog is dead, the rabies is gone." He would also tell her gory stories of women
that were buried alive by their partners in their basements. Eventually, Stella was able to break free from Vincento's abuses after joining a support group for victims of
domestic violence. With the help of this program she was able to file for immigration benefits under VAWA and
obtain a divorce from Vincento. Despite this fact, she will face extreme hardship if forced to return to Mexico to
obtain lawful permanent resident status under VAWA. Her divorce decree forbids her or her husband from taking
their child out of the state of Kansas, so Stella would have to leave her child behind when she returned to Mexico
for an indeterminate amount of time. While she is gone, Vincento could claim that she has abandoned her child
and receive full custody despite the fact that because of the domestic violence Stella was awarded legal custody of
the children. Furthermore, Stella fears being tracked down in Mexico by her vindictive husband, where she would
not be protected by the law. Finally, Stella is apprehensive about the reality of financial hardship posed by a trip
to Mexico and the meager resources available to her once she arrived to her country of origin. For these reasons,
Stella should not be forced to return to Mexico, which she severed contact with many years ago, and must be
allowed to obtain legal residency status while remaining in this country. This case originated in Minnesota. MAGDALENA Magdalena was born in Mexico. She met her husband, Tomas, when she was 15. Shortly afterward, he left to
come to the U.S. to work in order to help support his family. Magdalena stayed in Mexico to continue her
schooling. Several years later, in 1998, when Magdalena was one year away from completing her post high school
studies, they began communicating again. Tomas returned to Mexico for several months, and they decided
Magdalena would return with him to the U.S. In May of 1989, they both came to California. Their first child,
Susana, was born in 1990, and their son Antonio was born in 1991. They were married in a civil ceremony in California in 1992. When they were married, Tomas, who was a
permanent resident, filed papers for Magdalena to obtain lawful immigration status in this country. After mailing
the petition, they were notified that they needed proper copies of Magdalena's birth certificate and the marriage
certificate. Tomas refused to complete the process, which meant that Magdalena could not work and was afraid to
leave the house for fear of being deported. For the next three years, Tomas refused to file the immigration papers.
When Magdalena sought to take English classes, he prevented her from doing so. Tomas also used money to
control Magdalena. He kept all the money and never allowed her to spend any of it. Feeling depressed about her
life in the U.S., Magdalena returned to Mexico to stay with her in-laws in 1995. One month after Magdalena joined Tomas in Minnesota, in June of 1998, Tomas struck Magdalena in the face so
hard that her eye began to swell immediately. Later, seeing the black eye, Tomas apologized and swore it would
not happen again. A few weeks later, three of Tomas's friends arrived unexpectedly. They stayed up late
drinking. Magdalena went to sleep. She was awakened by her eight-year-old son who was upset and worried
because he had heard his father tell the other men he was going to put Magdalena on a bus and "lose her," keeping
the children with him in the U.S. Later, Tomas told her he wanted to talk to her. He then slapped her, grabbed her
by her hair, and slammed her head against into the wall several times with such force that a window fell out of the
wall. He used a hanger to bind her wrists. She thought he was going to kill her. Her son came in and she told him
to call 911. When her son went to the phone, Tomas told him not to call or he would hurt Magdalena even more.
They were not sure if the call went through to the police. Tomas grabbed Magdalena by the hair again and told
her she would have to tell the police to go away if they did arrive. Magdalena then put her son in bed, telling him
that if Tomas beat her again, he should call 911. When she returned, Tomas forced her to have sex with him. She
did not resist for fear of angering him further. Again Tomas apologized afterward and promised it would never happen again. The next month, Tomas got upset
with Magdalena because he felt she had taken to long running an errand. He yelled that she should not play when
he gave her tasks to do. He took off his belt. Magdalena ran to another room and asked a woman who was staying
with them to call the police. The woman refused, saying she was afraid of Tomas. Magdalena started back into
the bedroom where Tomas was beating one of the children. Magdalena instructed her seven-year-old daughter to
call the police and tell them that Tomas was beating her brother and mother. Magdalena went into the bedroom
and Tomas began beating her with the buckle end of the belt. When she tried to leave, he dragged her back into
the room by her hair. He continued to beat her in front of all three children. Finally, the police arrived and
arrested Tomas. They referred Magdalena to a battered women's shelter and advocacy program. The program
helped her find housing and assisted her in getting a protective order. It would be extremely difficult for Magdalena and her children to return to Mexico. The only family she has in
Mexico is a mother who is very poor and quite ill with five children ages eleven to twenty living in her house. She
has no room or way to support Magdalena and her three children for the unknown period of time it might take to
process Magdalena's green card which she qualifies for because of VAWA. Magdalena could expect no assistance
from Tomas's family, who also lives in Mexico. They blame Magdalena for the problems with the court system
that Tomas has experienced as a result of his violence toward Magdalena. If Magdalena and the children return to Mexico, Tomas will be able to come after them with impunity. She would
have neither the protection of her protection order nor the police. She would have no one to call for help. In the
U.S., the protection order not only protects Magdalena from physical harm but also protects the children through
orders for supervised visitation and child support. These are extra protections that Magdalena and the children
simply would not have in Mexico. Forcing Magdalena to return to Mexico with her children so that Magdalena and her Mexico-born children can
obtain green cards would wrest the two older children, both U.S. citizens in second and third grade, from their
school. Their English is good, and they have made new friends in Minnesota. Magdalena and the children are
benefitting from the counseling and support services offered at the shelter. These types of resources do not exist
for them in Mexico, and severing them from long term services that help them survive abuse will cause them
severe harm. This case originated in Minnesota. BRIGITTA Brigitta was born in Mexico. She met her lawful permanent resident husband, Herman, in 1993 when he was
visiting from Los Angeles. After spending several months together, they moved to the United States to live with
his parents in Santa Ana, California. Soon problems began. Brigitta became pregnant. Herman began using
drugs. He also began to beat her. When he was under the influence of drugs, he would beat her, and when he
couldn't get drugs, he would also beat her. He would slap her on the face, punch her, and kick her. His parents
would tell him not to beat her, but they would never try to stop him. When his parents would try to get him to stop
using drugs, he would get upset and beat Brigitta. She did not call the police out of fear that he would beat her
even harder or kill her. Their daughter was born in May 1994. They immediately decided to move to Mexico so that Herman could
recuperate from drugs. For the first two months, things were better. But then, even though Herman stopped using
drugs, he began to go out drinking with new friends and would return home and beat Brigitta. When Brigitta
became pregnant again, Herman told her he would change, and they decided to get married. Soon they returned to
live with Herman's parents in California. Herman began working and did not use drugs. He did drink, however,
and continued to hit Brigitta even though her did not beat her like before. Herman was very jealous. He would not file the immigration papers for Brigitta, telling her that he thought she
might leave him if he completed the papers. Because she was undocumented, Brigitta was fearful of calling the
police, not knowing what would happen to her and her child if she did. When their second daughter was born, the situation got worse. Herman had wanted a boy. When the nurse had
mistakenly told him that the baby was a boy, he was ecstatic. Upon learning that the baby was a girl, Herman told
Brigitta that he did not love the baby and that they should give her away. He began to bother the baby constantly. Herman began using drugs again and was arrested for buying drugs. Two weeks later, he got out of jail. Four
months later, he began using drugs again and sold all their belonging to buy drugs. He began beating Brigitta
again. He also began hitting the baby, throwing her and pulling her hair. Brigitta finally called the police because
he was doing drugs in front of the children. His probation officer put Herman in jail for a month and then he was
placed in a residential drug treatment program for five months. Brigitta was pregnant with their third child. A
few weeks after their son was born, Herman was released from the treatment program. While in the program,
Brigitta had visited Herman regularly and he had promised her a new life when he completed the program. Soon after he returned, Herman began drinking every day and began beating Brigitta and the children every day.
Many times Herman beat Brigitta because she was trying to feed and take care of their second daughter.
Herman's parents didn't try to stop the beatings, even though they lived in the same house. Finally, with the
assistance of her brother-in law, Brigitta contacted the police. Brigitta had two black eyes, and her daughter had
bruises on her cheeks and her bottom. When the police arrived, they took a report and transported them to a
shelter. When Herman arrived, he was arrested. When Brigitta returned several days later to get her things, her
father-in-law would not let her in the house. Her mother-in-law was angry that Brigitta was leaving even though
she had witnessed the repeated beatings, because she wanted Brigitta to clean and work for her. Herman spent six months in jail. Brigitta moved to Minnesota where her two sisters lived. With the assistance of
a domestic violence program, Brigitta was able to get a protective order. She decided to divorce Herman. When
Herman was released from jail, he tracked Brigitta down in Minnesota through her aunt, who is a good friend of
Herman's mother. He came to her house at four in the morning, saying he wanted to get back together. Brigitta
told him that was not going to happen, that she had a protective order against him, and that he would have to
leave. When he refused to leave, she called the police. When they arrived, they told him to leave. Herman
returned to California. He called her from California, telling her that she was going to regret what she had done.
She told him that because of the protective order, he could not bother her anymore. Brigitta is beginning a new life. She now lives without the fear of being beaten or having her children beaten.
She needs the continued assistance of her brothers, sisters, cousins, and other family in Minnesota who have
helped her. The only family she has left in Mexico is her father who drinks and beat Brigitta when she was a
child. She does not want her children to suffer as she did. In Mexico she would not be able to protect herself from
Herman and fears for the safety of herself and her three American born children. Herman has many friends and
family in the same town that she would return to if she were forced to return to Mexico to obtain her green card.
If he began harassing Brigitta or her children in Mexico, there would be no place for her to go for help. She would
not have the protection of the court, the police, or the victims advocate groups that she has relied on in the U.S. This case originated in New Mexico. BLANCA Blanca is originally from Mexico. She met her husband, Jaime, a naturalized United States citizen, while he was
visiting his relatives in Mexico. Blanca and Jaime fell in love and were married. They moved to New Mexico to
begin their lives as husband and wife. Within a few weeks of their marriage, Jaime began to insult Blanca, telling her she was stupid and worthless. He
called her names and would yell at her when he would get angry. Soon the abuse became physical. Jaime would
push and slap Blanca whenever he would get frustrated or angry, and these attacks would leave bruises and welts
on Blanca's face and body. He would also throw household objects at her, such as vases and furniture, and he
would pull her hair and throw her across the room when he was in a rage. The abuse escalated to the point where
Jaime was beating Blanca every week and screaming insults at her every day. Blanca began to fear that Jaime
would kill her. During Blanca's marriage to Jaime, they had two children. Jaime would often abandon Blanca and the children
for weeks at a time, leaving them with no food or money to pay rent. Blanca begged Jaime to file for her legal
immigration status so that she could get work authorization, but Jaime refused to let her work. As a result, Blanca
felt helpless and dependent on Jaime for her and her babies' food, clothing, and shelter. Jaime's pattern of abandoning her and the children continued throughout the marriage. At one point, Jaime
insisted that Blanca and the children move with him to Mexico. Jaime had found work in Mexico, and he wanted
the family to accompany him there. When Blanca protested that she did not want to return to Mexico because of
the inadequate medical resources and schooling opportunities for the children, Jaime threatened that if she did not
come with him to Mexico, he would kill her. For the next few days, Jaime beat Blanca and repeated his threat to
kill her until Blanca became so frightened that she agreed to move with him to Mexico. While in Mexico, Jaime's physical abuse of Blanca only increased. Blanca attempted to call the Mexican police
on one occasion after Jaime pummeled her body with his fists and left her bruised and bleeding from the mouth,
but the police never responded to her calls. Blanca felt very isolated while she was living in Mexico, since almost
all of her family had long since moved to California. There were no shelters for battered women and no way to be
protected from Jaime's violence. Unfortunately, she had no one but Jaime to rely on for support in Mexico, and
Jaime would often leave Blanca and the children for weeks at a time without money and food. Eventually, Blanca and the children moved back to the U.S. Jaime continued to live mainly in Mexico, although
he would travel to the U.S. from time to time to visit Blanca unexpectedly. During these visits, he would beat her.
It was also at this time that Blanca discovered the devastating fact that Jaime had sexually abused their two
children. Blanca did not know how long the sexual abuse had been going on, but her children and her children's
school teachers had informed her of the abuse, and her children had been placed in psychological counseling.
Charges were immediately filed against Jaime, and he was placed under police investigation for child sexual abuse
committed against his own children. Blanca has moved several times in an effort to hide herself and her children from Jaime. Despite this, Jaime has
managed to track them down and harass and threaten them. Blanca was so afraid that Jaime would carry out his
threat to kill her that she obtained a restraining order against him. She also consulted an attorney and filed a
VAWA self-petition for residency. If Blanca is forced to return to Mexico as the only way of getting her green card, she and her children will be in
great danger. Blanca knows that Jaime currently lives in Mexico, just on the U.S./Mexican border. He knows
exactly where Blanca's few relatives live in Mexico, and he would know exactly where to look for her if she
returned to Mexico. Because he frequently crosses the border to the U.S. and stalks her and the children here,
Blanca knows that he is somehow keeping track of her movements. This stalking behavior by Jaime has forced
Blanca to move from place to place out of fear of him. If Blanca were to return to Mexico with her children, her restraining order would not protect her in Mexico from
Jaime's abuse. The protection that her restraining order provides is essential to keeping Blanca safe in the U.S. In
fact, she has relied on her restraining order several times in the past when Jaime has stalked and threatened her in
the U.S. As a result, Blanca believes that without the protection of the restraining order in Mexico, Jaime would
not hesitate to abuse or kill her and possibly kidnap the children. She knows from experience that the Mexican
police would offer her no assistance as a battered woman, and that her children would not be able to continue their
psychological counseling in Mexico. Therefore, in order for Blanca and her children to remain safe from their
abuser, Blanca must be allowed to obtain her green card in the U.S. This case originated in New Mexico. EVANGELINA Evangelina is a 29-year-old native of Mexico. She met her husband, Bernardo, in Mexico at a town holiday
celebration. Bernardo was visiting his family members in Evangelina's Mexican hometown. Evangelina was just
21 years old at the time. She fell in love with Bernardo, who was a lawful permanent resident of the United States
living in New Mexico. When he asked her to move to New Mexico and become his wife, she happily accepted his
proposal. The couple lived together in the U.S. for almost five years before they were married. During that time,
Evangelina became pregnant with their daughter, Matilda. Evangelina's life in New Mexico was a lonely one.
She did not leave the house or make friends in her community because Bernardo isolated her and refused to let her
leave the house alone or socialize with others. Bernardo was very secretive about his work and his life outside the
home. Evangelina knew he was a construction worker, but she had no idea where he worked or how much income
he made. She and baby Matilda were completely dependent upon him for food, clothing, and baby-care items.
Bernardo often denied Evangelina money for her and the baby's needs, which made Evangelina extremely anxious
and depressed. Evangelina soon discovered that Bernardo was drinking large amounts of alcohol every night. He also began
injecting himself with heroin. His drug and alcohol addiction made him abusive and violent toward Evangelina,
both physically and emotionally. He began hitting her, slapping her, and shoving her when he would get drunk
and lose his temper. He would also raise his voice and yell insults at her. Eventually, the abuse escalated to the
point where Evangelina became afraid of her husband and insisted on leaving him. She asked him to drive her to
her family's home in Mexico, and he agreed to do this on the condition that he would eventually come back for
her. While Evangelina was living with her family in Mexico from January to March of 1995, she did not tell her family
about Bernardo's abuse of her. She knew that the fact that she was being abused would humiliate her family, and
she feared that if she left Bernardo and became a single, divorced mother, she would bring her family both shame
and dishonor. In part because of this concern for her family and her belief that her daughter should grow up with a
father, Evangelina decided to return to Bernardo. When Bernardo journeyed to Mexico in April of 1995, he
promised Evangelina he would not beat her or do drugs again, and he begged her to come back to him.
Evangelina sincerely believed that he would change, so she agreed to marry him and return with him to the U.S. Unfortunately, shortly after returning to the U.S., Bernardo broke his promise to Evangelina and started using
heroin again. His addiction seemed to be even more severe than it was before. He stopped bringing home money
for the family, and he stayed away from home for two or three nights at a time. Evangelina was frantic at the
thought of being evicted from their apartment for not paying rent, and she did not have enough money to buy food
and supplies for her baby daughter. She asked Bernardo to file for her legal immigration status so that she could
get a job and contribute to the family income, but Bernardo refused. He began beating her several times per week,
leaving her bloodied and covered with bruises. He abused her sexually and raped her, as well. One of these rapes
resulted in a second unplanned pregnancy for Evangelina. Sadly, Evangelina suffered a miscarriage after
Bernardo subjected her to a fierce and merciless beating. Evangelina was so frightened after the beating that caused her miscarriage that she began visiting a neighborhood
church in secret, hoping to find help in escaping Bernardo's abuse. The church started assisting her in finding
battered women's services, but then Bernardo found out about her visits to the church, and he threatened to kill her
if she left him. He told her he would hunt her down and kill her wherever she was, whether in the U.S. or in
Mexico. Then he began beating her on her face and body with his fists. Evangelina called the police, and
Bernardo was arrested and charged with domestic violence. Evangelina fled to the church with her daughter and
was assisted in obtaining housing, counseling services, and a restraining order against Bernardo. Now, Evangelina has received approval of her VAWA self-petition for residency. If she is forced to return to
Mexico to receive her green card under VAWA, she fears that Bernardo will carry out his threat to kill her
wherever she is, whether in the U.S. or in Mexico. He is angry at Evangelina for having him arrested, and he
wants Evangelina to return to him. It will be easy for Bernardo to find her in Mexico, since he knows where she
would stay, and he has his own family nearby to help and support him. By contrast, both of Evangelina's parents
are deceased, and she has very minimal resources and support in Mexico. She is very afraid that Bernardo will
hurt or kill her in Mexico, since the police there will not enforce her U.S. restraining order and protect her from
Bernardo's abuse. For these reasons, she must be allowed to get her green card in the United States. This case originated in Texas and is currently in New Mexico. BERTA Berta was born in Mexico. She has been living in the United States with her entire family since she was five years
old. When she was in high school in Texas, she met Tony, a United States citizen. The two dated and fell in love.
Eventually, they got married. Tony was physically and emotionally abusive to Berta from the beginning of their marriage. He would fly into
angry, irrational rages, and he would hit Berta in the face with his fists, leaving her with black eyes and large
bruises on her face. He would slap and kick her without warning so she had no opportunity to flee or protect
herself. He would force her to have sex with him against her will. His sexual abuse of Berta was the most brutal
part of their marriage. He raped her several times and would routinely force her to perform sexual acts against her
will. Berta and Tony had two children in their marriage. Tony would often hit Berta and threaten to kill her in front of
their children. In time, Berta became so frightened of Tony's abuse of her that she fled with her children to a
battered women's shelter. Soon after she fled, Tony sought her out and made her return home to him. Berta tried
leaving Tony on several other occasions, but each time, he tracked her down in the shelter where she was hiding
and coerced her into returning home. After all these incidents had taken place, Berta believed that she would
never be able to escape Tony's abuse. She thought that she would never be safe because he would always find her
and make her return to him. Tony almost killed Berta during a severe beating that took place in their home. Berta managed to free herself
from him and run from the house. Her life was in such danger that she had no time to take her children with her
before she fled to a shelter. She eventually found refuge in New Mexico. When she tried to return home to get
the children, Tony refused to let her see them. Berta petitioned the court for visitation, but she was unsuccessful
because she was living in a different state than the children. For the following eight months, Berta waited for the
court to decide whether she should have physical custody of the children. During that time, Tony only allowed her
to see the children on very limited terms, and he would tell the children that their mother had left them and did not
want them. Once when Berta came to visit the children, Tony grew angry at her and hit her across the face.
Shortly afterward, Tony left notice at their older daughter's school that Berta was not allowed near her daughter,
and that he was to be notified if Berta ever tried to visit the children at school. Eventually, Berta won physical custody of her children, and they moved to New Mexico with her. Berta got a
restraining order against Tony to protect her from his abuse, but she continued to fear that he would carry out his
threat to kill her and take their children away from her. Since separating from Tony, Berta has consulted an
attorney and filed a VAWA petition for residency, which has been approved. Despite the approval of her VAWA self-petition, Berta will be forced to return to Mexico to obtain her green card
under the law of VAWA. Returning to Mexico will be extremely difficult and dangerous for Berta for a variety of
reasons. First of all, Berta has no relatives in Mexico, and she does not speak fluent Spanish. She has no
familiarity with Mexico, since she has lived in the U.S. almost all her life. Consequently, if she were forced to
return to Mexico, she would be alone without any financial or emotional support and will have no ability to
communicate effectively in Spanish. Secondly, Berta fears that Tony would cross the border to Mexico to abuse her, as he has promised to do in the
past. Tony lives on the border between Texas and Mexico, and since he is a U.S. citizen, he would have no
trouble crossing the border and finding Berta in Mexico. He is far more familiar with the Mexican legal system
and geography than Berta, and he knows where Berta would stay in Mexico if she were to return to get her green
card. In addition, Tony knows that Berta's restraining order would not protect her in Mexico and that he could
freely abuse her or kill her there. Berta is also concerned that Tony may try to kidnap her two children while she
is in Mexico. She can leave her children with her family in Texas while she gets her green card in Mexico. While
Berta's protection order also protects her children from Tony, her family will have difficulty enforcing it against
Tony once Berta leaves the country. Berta does not want to be separated from her children, and she believes that
Tony may try to kidnap them while she is not there to protect them. Tony has demonstrated in the past that he will
go to great lengths to find Berta and cause her pain and terror. Therefore, Berta should be allowed to stay in the
U.S. so that she may keep herself and her children safe from Tony's abuse. This case originated in North Carolina. MIRANDA Miranda is a citizen of Mexico. She met and married her husband, Federico, in Mexico, and had five children
with him there. The 13-year relationship was an extremely abusive one for Miranda. In fact, the only reason why
she moved to the United States in the first place was to protect her children from Federico, who threatened to take
them with him to the U.S. and leave Miranda behind in Mexico. Federico had gotten a job as an agricultural
worker in the United States and had later secured his status as a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
Miranda thought if she came to the U.S., she would be able to protect her children from Federico. Unfortunately, Miranda was unable to protect her children, especially her 13- and 15-year-old daughters, from
Federico's sexual abuse and extreme cruelty. On an almost daily basis, Federico would bite the girls' breasts, kick
them in the head, hit them with shoes, and throw household objects at them. He would also beat the other children
and Miranda, as well. Miranda endured a severe beating by Federico that resulted in a miscarriage. She also
suffered each day with pain, as Federico kicked her in the stomach and head and pushed her to the floor and into
walls. He called Miranda and her daughters "whores" and "prostitutes," and one evening went so far as to hold the
entire family at gunpoint so that no one would leave the house. Miranda attempted to escape from Federico on more than one occasion. The first time, after he threatened to kill
her children and hide their bodies where "no one would find them," Miranda hid with her children in a shelter for
almost a week. She went back to Federico after he found her and the children and told her that because she was
undocumented, the police would take the children away from her if she did not return to Federico. She finally left Federico for good after an incident in which he publicly accused his older daughters of prostituting
themselves and then beat Miranda and her eight-month-old baby with a large metal chain. Following this incident,
the police arrested Federico, charging him with felony child abuse, assault, and domestic violence. While
Federico was in jail, Miranda and her children fled the home. They have been in hiding ever since this event. Miranda is contact with friends who tell her that Federico, who has since been released, is looking for her and
wants to kill her and her older daughters. Miranda has contacted an attorney and filed a VAWA self-petition for
residency, which has been approved. If Miranda were to return to Mexico to get her green card under VAWA, her
husband would certainly find her there. She knows that there would be no help for her in Mexico. When she was
living in Mexico during the early years of her marriage, she tried to use the church and law enforcement in Mexico
to help her escape Federico's abuse, but she was told that admitting that there was a problem would only
"cheapen" her marriage. She knows she would be condemned by her family for "failing" in her marriage.
Furthermore, she is aware from past experience that the police in Mexico only offer protection to those who can
afford to buy it. Miranda is also fearful of returning to Mexico to get her green card because the children's custody is in dispute.
Federico has made it very clear that he wants custody of the children. If Miranda were to return to Mexico, she
would have to bring her children with her in order to support them and watch over them. Miranda and the children
are terrified that Federico will kidnap the children in Mexico and try to gain custody of them. This case originated in North Carolina. KIM Kim is a citizen of Thailand. Kim and her daughter Li first came to the United States to visit Kim's sister, nieces,
and nephews in North Carolina. During the visit, Kim met a United States citizen named Luke. Kim and Luke
began dating, going to dinner and chatting. Luke took Kim to meet his boss, his mother, and his step-father,
which made Kim very happy. After about nine months, Luke proposed, and he and Kim were married. Kim was
excited about her new life with Luke. Only three weeks after the marriage, Luke flew into an angry rage for no particular reason. He started screaming
at Kim and took her clothes out of her dresser and threw them all over the house. Then he shoved her into his car
and drove her to her friend's house, telling her he was "kicking her out." The very next day, he called her and
apologized. Because Kim wanted to try to make the new marriage work, she decided to give him another chance. About two months later, Kim had to call the police to stop Luke from punching, slapping, and pushing her. Kim
was very frightened of the physical abuse Luke had unleashed on her, and she feared he might hurt or kill her.
When the police arrived, she told them what Luke had done, but she did not have Luke arrested. She did this
because Luke had threatened to call INS and have her deported if she called the police. She was afraid of what he
would do to her if she had him arrested, so she allowed him to stay in the house. Luke would abuse Kim's daughter, Li, as well. He would hide food from Li and get angry with her when she
would eat, saying what food they had was for him. He also killed the dog that he had given Li for her birthday,
simply to be cruel. The conditions in the house were so bad that Kim and her daughter often went hungry, since Luke had been fired
from several jobs and had large debts. When Luke had a job, Kim would try to talk to him about work
responsibilities to help him keep the job, but Luke would get upset, punch her, and push her out of bed. He took
all Kim's money from her account and kept asking her to give him more money. Kim had to borrow money to pay
rent and was left with little money from her earnings to buy food. Luke refused to let Kim leave the house to go
shopping for food. When Luke would get angry at Kim, he would often turn off the oven and tell her she could
not cook because she was using his electricity. In the winter, he would turn off the heat and make Kim and Li
sleep in the cold bedroom while he slept on the couch, warmed by a kerosene heater. Several incidents occurred that gave Kim and Li the courage finally to obtain a restraining order against Luke.
Luke flew out of control on multiple occasions. Sometimes he would get angry and throw dishes, which would hit
the walls. Once he broke the front door. On another occasion, when Kim and Luke needed to file their taxes,
Luke grew enraged and threw all of Kim's papers all over the room. Later, Kim went to the post office to get their
tax refund. Kim told Luke that she would give him the check if he would give her a little money to buy food.
Luke pushed her and said that if she did not give him the check, he would kill her. He got very angry again and
kicked things around the apartment. This terrified Kim. She desperately tried to call 911, but he took the phone
from her hand and hid the telephone from her. She went upstairs and used another phone to call her friend. She
reached her friend's husband, and told him to call the police. The police came, and told Luke that he could not
kick Kim out. Then one Sunday, Kim and Li returned home after a weekend spent cleaning houses to support the family. They
found that Luke had turned off the heat and electricity, taken the pots and the microwave, and removed the bed
and all of his clothes from the house. Kim called the police, and when they arrived, they showed her that the
electric panel door to the meter box had been locked by Luke with a padlock. After this incident, Kim finally
obtained a protection order and left Luke. Since separating from Luke, Kim has received assistance in filing her VAWA self-petition for residency. Luke
violated Kim's protection order and Luke appeared before a judge several times before he finally complied. If she
is forced to return to Thailand as the only way of getting her green card under VAWA, she will suffer severe
emotional trauma. She needs the protection of U.S. laws to make sure that Luke causes no further harm to her or
her daughter. Further, ever since her separation from Luke, Kim has suffered from clinical depression. She is
currently being treated for this disease by a psychiatrist and cannot discontinue the therapy to journey to Thailand.
In addition, she would not be able to get this necessary treatment in Thailand, nor could she access support from
family or friends in Thailand, since all her loved ones live in the U.S. Kim is trying to support herself and her
child and rebuild her life after the difficult period of abuse she suffered living with Luke. For her mental health
and security, she must be allowed to stay in the U.S. to get her green card. This case originated in North Carolina. MARGARITA Margarita is originally from Mexico. She entered the United States with her daughter and son six years ago, and
they settled in North Carolina with Margarita's parents, brothers, and sisters. She later met Nolan, a lawful
permanent resident of the United States originally from Trinidad. Margarita and Nolan started dating over the
next year-and-a-half. They married after Margarita gave birth to their first child, a son. After Margarita and Nolan were married, Nolan told Margarita that he would help her get her immigration papers,
but then he said the only way he could keep Margarita in the house was if she was illegal. Soon Nolan began to
assert power over Margarita by abusing her constantly. He would strike her on her face and body with his fists.
He would also beat Margarita and her seven-year-old son with belts. Each time Margarita would attempt to call
the police after one of these beatings, Nolan would threaten to have her deported and take her children away from
her. Margarita believed Nolan when he told her that the police themselves would alert the INS immigration
officials and send them to the house to deport her and separate her from her children. On several occasions, Nolan beat Margarita so brutally that she feared for her life and had to flee the house, taking
only her children and the clothes on her back. Each time she did this, Nolan would seek her out and force her to
return to him, again threatening to take her children away from her. The beatings became more severe and more
violent each time Margarita returned home to Nolan. He told her one of these days he would kill her. When Margarita and Nolan had a second daughter in 1997, the violence escalated. Nolan would beat her and kick
her and the children out of the house, leaving them with no home and no place to go. In November of 1997,
Margarita fled the house for the final time following a bloody beating by Nolan. She tried to stay at a shelter, but
she could not be admitted because her daughter was sick with the chicken pox. She then went to her mother-in-law's house to seek refuge. Nolan followed her there and beat her face with his fists in front of his mother and
aunt. Then he tried to choke her to death. Margarita barely managed to escape with her life and flee to a battered
women's shelter that would accept her and her children. She started going to counseling at the shelter and filed a
VAWA self-petition for residency, which was recently approved. In order to obtain her lawful permanent residency, Margarita will be forced to return to Mexico to obtain her green
card. Taking this trip will pose a severe hardship to Margarita, since she has no family in Mexico to support her
and her four children while she gets her green card. Further, since the two children she had with Nolan are of
mixed race, they will suffer discrimination and be taunted by the other children in Margarita's village in Mexico.
She is still living in the shelter with her four children, and she is unable to discontinue the mental health
counseling she is receiving to help her cope with the abuse she suffered with Nolan. Without sufficient finances,
family support in Mexico, or regular mental health counseling available, Margarita will be too emotionally
debilitated to travel to Mexico to get her green card. This case originated in the Virgin Islands. URSULA Úrsula is a citizen of Trinidad. Her life has been filled with betrayal, pain, and physical and mental abuse at the
hands of both her first and second husbands. Her first husband was a citizen of Trinidad named Mario. He
intimidated her and beat her throughout their marriage and threatened to kill her on several occasions. Even
though Úrsula got a restraining order against him in Trinidad, this did not keep her safe from his abuse. Police
never came to the house to investigate or arrest Mario when Úrsula reported Mario's violation of the restraining
order. When Úrsula finally filed for divorce from Mario, the court awarded the family home to her; but Mario
continued to live there and refused to leave. Despite her appeals to the police, no one helped Úrsula remove
Mario from the home. She was helpless to change her situation. Mario later told her that if she came back to the
house again, he would burn it down with her in it. Just as Úrsula was trying to put her life back together after her marriage to Mario, she met Daniel, a native of
Trinidad and lawful permanent resident of the United States. Daniel came to see Úrsula when she was
hospitalized with the severe injuries that Mario inflicted upon her. He was Úrsula's knight in shining armor. He
helped her and became her friend when she most needed support after her divorce from Mario. Soon, Úrsula and
Daniel fell in love and got married. Úrsula never suspected that the kind man she had married would be just as
abusive as her first husband. Daniel brought Úrsula to the U.S. Virgin Islands shortly after they were married. He had told her that they were
simply going on vacation, but in reality, he had planned for them to settle in the islands permanently. Not long
after the move to the islands, Daniel started treating Úrsula abusively. He abused her sexually, making her
perform sexual acts against her will and raping her when she refused. He would make her sleep on the cold, hard
floor when she did not follow orders or complained about the abuse. He would also make her perform humiliating
and painful tasks in order to assert his dominance over her. For example, he made her put tabasco sauce on her
panties and wear them all day. Another time, he locked her out of their house and threw her belongings out in the
yard just before a hurricane hit the island. He frequently beat Úrsula, leaving her with bruises and black eyes. Úrsula and Daniel had been married for one year when Úrsula obtained a restraining order against him. The very
day Úrsula received the restraining order, Daniel followed her from the courthouse to her attorney's office. Later
that evening, he followed Úrsula's attorney home and continued to harass and stalk her during the next few
months. He would also call Úrsula and threaten to hurt or kill her. Úrsula knows that Daniel travels to Trinidad frequently. In fact, he called her once from Trinidad to harass and
threaten her. Úrsula also knows from her past experience with her ex-husband Mario that the police and laws of
Trinidad will not protect her from domestic violence. She is extremely fearful of having to return to Trinidad to
get her green card because her ex-husband Mario has threatened to kill her if she returns, and her current husband
Daniel knows where she would stay in Trinidad and would take the opportunity to hurt or kill her there. Úrsula's
restraining order against Daniel is only enforceable within the territories of the United States; it would not protect
her against Daniel's violence against her in Trinidad. This case originated in California and is currently in Washington, D.C. CRISTINA Cristina is a 49-year-old woman from a small town in Mexico. There she met her husband Hector, who is now a
lawful permanent resident of the United States. She met Hector when she was 14, through his cousin, who was a
friend of her's. The two began dating, and Hector treated Cristina well throughout their courtship. Later that year,
he invited her to live with him and his mother. Cristina agreed, but once she moved in, her problems with Hector
began. During the first week of living together, Hector grew extremely jealous and demanded to know the names of all
Cristina's previous sexual partners. Cristina truthfully insisted that she had never been with any other man, but
Hector refused to believe her. A few days later, he brought her to an isolated spot by a river and again demanded
that she reveal who else she had been with. Then Hector took a tree branch and beat Cristina repeatedly on the
torso. A few months later, Cristina discovered she was pregnant. Hector's violence and jealousy was worsening, and in
the fifth month of her pregnancy, Cristina decided to leave him. Hector was seeing another woman at the time,
and constantly telling Cristina that this other woman was better than her. On one such occasion, he proceeded to
punch Cristina in the face and beat her with his belt. Cristina traveled to stay with her mother and lived peacefully until six months after the baby was born. Then, in
the spring of 1968, Hector came looking for Cristina. He told her he did not want her to marry anyone else, and he
did not want anyone else to be the father of his child. He was very persuasive, and convinced Cristina that if they
got married, everything would be different. The couple was married that summer and then returned to Hector's home to live with his family. Despite his
promises, the situation did not improve. Hector began to drink more and more often, and would beat Cristina
approximately once a week. He mostly used his fists and feet to batter Cristina, often striking her in the face and
leaving her with a bleeding nose. On one occasion, he left her entire hip bruised after kicking her while she was
trapped sitting in a chair. Over the years, Cristina gave birth to six more children, but the abuse did not end. Once in 1975, Hector came
home in the middle of the night drunk. He knocked on the door, but Cristina did not answer because she was
afraid of him and what he might do while intoxicated. She stayed in bed and hoped he would stay outside until he
grew sober. Later, after the pounding on the door subsided, Cristina went to the door and found Hector enraged.
He was livid that she had not opened the door and accused her of being with another man that night. He started
tearing the room apart, looking for the man he imagined to be hiding there. He overturned everything in the bed,
including four of the children. He then grabbed Cristina by the hair and started hitting her in the face, back and
forth, from side to side. Hector's mother came into the room to see what was happening, and while she distracted
Hector, Cristina climbed up on the roof of the nearby house of Hector's brother. Hector went out of the house with
a machete and started attacking the grasses and weeds around the house looking for Cristina. She hid on the roof
for two hours, only coming down after Hector left. The children were extremely affected by this incident, especially their eldest daughter, who still remembers it
clearly. Cristina wanted desperately to leave Hector after this, but she felt she had no choice but to stay. She had
many young children and no job or skills to support them. There was no one in her family who was able to give
shelter or financial support to her and her young children. Hector had been traveling to the United States to work since 1970, and had received permanent resident status. He
brought the older children to live with him there, and then Cristina and the younger children. However, the abuse
continued. Once in 1990, Hector became angry and began insulting and verbally abusing Cristina. Their oldest
son, Mateo, asked Hector to stop and to calm down, but this only made Hector angrier. He began throwing things
at Mateo, which terrified Cristina and the children. They all fled the house and spent the night in a public park,
only returning after they were sure he was sober the next day. Several more episodes of domestic violence occurred through the years. During one incident in 1992, Hector
repeatedly hit Cristina in the face, and one of the children called the police. Cristina was afraid to press charges,
but Hector was prosecuted and jailed anyway. When he got out of jail, he threatened to deport Cristina and the
children. In 1993, while Hector was drinking, he thrust a knife toward her as if to cut her. Cristina ran out and
stayed away until she was sure he was asleep. In 1994, Hector became enraged because Cristina had come home
late from work. He started to hit her and she called the police. When the police came and detained him, he again
threatened to have Cristina and the children deported. In 1995, their son Miguel moved to Washington, D.C. and invited Hector to join him, to get him away from
Cristina. However, once Hector was in Washington, he complained about his situation, saying that Miguel could
not cook for him or socialize with him. He convinced Cristina to join him, and told her it would be a new
beginning for them. For the first few months, everything was peaceful, but Hector soon began drinking
excessively again. He would stay up all night, drinking and blasting music, keeping the household awake. Any
complaints about this behavior were met with verbal abuse. By summer of 1998, Hector was in the routine of
getting drunk every Friday night and drinking continuously all through the weekend, day and night. One Saturday at 2:00 a.m., he ran out of alcohol and awoke Cristina, believing she had stolen it. Cristina, who had
to work at 5:00 that morning, asked Hector to leave her alone, but he was obsessed. He demanded that she give
him back his alcohol or give him money to buy more. When Cristina told him the stores were closed, he began to
throw things and tear the apartment apart looking for alcohol. Their daughter Marcia woke up and begged Hector
to stop, telling him no one had taken his alcohol. Hector became enraged, and started punching Cristina in the
face, head, and neck. When Marcia tried to stop him, he grabbed her hair and started to attack her as well. Marcia
got away and called the police, and this time Cristina pressed charges. She finally realized Hector would never
change. Cristina filed a self-petition for residency under VAWA, but is terrified to return to Mexico for consular
processing. She now has a protective order against Hector, but in Mexico her protective order is not valid. Hector
is currently living in Mexico where he fled after criminal charges were brought against him and after Cristina
obtained her civil protection order. He would surely be able to find her there. In Mexico, he would not be
prosecuted there for his violence. Cristina's children and American citizen grandchildren live, work, and go to
school in this country, and she has a job and support system here. There is nothing left for her in Mexico, and
having to return, even for a few weeks, would pose a severe financial hardship. Cristina must be permitted to
obtain her green card within the United States, where her rights and safety will continue to be protected. This case originated in Washington, D.C. LITA Lita, originally from El Salvador, came to the United States with her daughter in 1984. While visiting her family
in Washington, D.C., Lita's brother introduced her to his friend Alfonso, a lawful permanent resident. She thought
Alfonso seemed like a good person, and they began dating. Before long, Lita realized she was pregnant, and she and her daughter moved in with Alfonso. Their son was born
later that year. Lita and Alfonso were content for the first two years of their relationship, but problems began in
1989, when Lita was expecting another child. When Lita was three months pregnant, Alfonso came home drunk one night at about 11:00 p.m. At 1:00 a.m., he
wanted to go out again, but Lita asked him not to. Alfonso got angry and attacked her, pushing her hard on the
shoulders, throwing her against the wall. After this incident, Lita started having stomach pains, and ultimately
suffered a miscarriage. Later that year, Lita went to visit Alfonso at the garage where he worked. She saw him with another woman, and
asked him what was going on. Alfonso hit her multiple times in the face with his fist. Lita had bruises all over
her face as a result of this incident. The physical abuse became more and more commonplace, and it resulted in
Lita suffering another miscarriage in 1991. After her second miscarriage, Alfonso backed down, and things were peaceful for a few years. Lita had twin girls
in 1992, and another son in 1994. However, when the family moved into a new apartment, the abuse started
again. A neighbor often complained to Alfonso about the noise the children made, and these complaints agitated
Alfonso. He would take out his anger on Lita, and began hitting her again. Lita wanted to move, but Alfonso
refused and became abusive whenever she brought up the subject. Alfonso also began to abuse the children. One night when the neighbor complained about the children's noise,
Alfonso hit his small daughter, who was playing in the apartment. The hard blow to her face with his open hand
resulted a great deal of swelling. On another night, Alfonso was drinking and began to beat Lita in front of the
children. He hit her and kicked her three times, and the children all began to cry. Lita was upset that her children
were witness to this violence and worried about them because they were so afraid. The abuse continues into the present. One morning last month, when Lita was getting the children ready for
school, Alfonso hit her and shoved her in the back of the head, throwing her against the wall. A few weeks ago,
Alfonso began insulting and verbally abusing Lita because the children were not getting ready for school fast
enough. He called her obscene names and then threatened to kill her. Lita is now self-petitioning for residency under VAWA so that she will be able to leave Alfonso and exist in this
country independently. It is important that she become a lawful permanent resident so that she can work to
support her children, who are American citizens, and raise them in the country of their birth. However, if she is
forced to return to El Salvador to receive her green card, she and her family face danger. Lita does not have the
financial means to take all the children on such a trip for an indeterminate period of time, nor does she wish to
leave them with Alfonso. He is abusive toward them, and could also try to achieve sole custody of them while
Lita is out of the country. Furthermore, Alfonso could follow Lita to El Salvador and abuse her there, where the
law would not protect her. It is necessary for the safety of Lita and her children that she be permitted to remain in
this country to obtain legal immigration status. This case originated in Alaska. MIGUEL Miguel is originally from El Salvador. He entered the United States seven years ago, fleeing intense persecution
by the military group then in power in El Salvador, the FMLN "Guerría." In El Salvador, Miguel and his family
were pursued by the FMLN when the group rose to power. Miguel witnessed his father murdered execution-style
in front of the family home. Members of the military beat up his mother before Miguel's eyes. Then the soldiers
raped his sisters. Miguel was so fearful that the FMLN would continue to punish him by torturing his family that
he went into hiding. He stopped visiting his family and eventually cut off all contact with them. In fact, he has
not been in contact with his family for nearly a decade. He continues to fear for their safety in El Salvador. After Miguel arrived in the U.S., he immediately filed an asylum petition. He also entered a program of
psychotherapy to help him cope with the horror of what he had witnessed in El Salvador. Miguel was diagnosed
with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the political persecution he had experienced. Miguel was
nervous, unable to sleep, prone to having frightening nightmares and feelings of fear and stress. While Miguel was undergoing therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, he met a supportive friend named Sandra.
Sandra was a U.S. citizen with two children of her own. Sandra and Miguel fell in love and soon married. It was
just after the marriage that Miguel began to realize that Sandra had psychological problems of her own. Sandra
was demanding, possessive, and controlling. She was also an alcoholic who drank heavily. Miguel soon found
himself taking care of Sandra's two children without any help from Sandra. The situation only grew worse. One morning, as Miguel was getting ready to go to work, Sandra became angry and belligerent for no reason at all
and refused to give Miguel the car keys. Miguel knew that Sandra had been drinking heavily all morning. He
asked her patiently for the keys, but she refused to hand them to him. After much coaxing, Sandra finally gave
Miguel the keys, and Miguel started the car and began to back slowly out of the driveway. Just then, Sandra
opened the passenger side door, got in, and lunged toward Miguel's chest with a kitchen knife. Miguel
instinctively put his hand up to protect himself, and the knife sank into the flesh of his hand. He wrested the knife
away from Sandra after a struggle, and he then rushed to the hospital. After the stabbing, Miguel became nonfunctional. The violence that Sandra had inflicted upon him aggravated his
post-traumatic stress disorder and caused him to experience flashbacks of his persecution in El Salvador. Miguel
entered a program of counseling, sought a Restraining Order against Sandra, and separated from her. Sandra
continued to harass Miguel and threaten him throughout this time. She would also call Miguel's attorney's office
and threaten his attorney and another staff member. The threats and harassment grew so intense and frightening
that the staff member resigned. Miguel's attorney helped him file a VAWA self-petition for residency on the basis of his status as an abused
spouse. His petition was approved almost immediately. Now Miguel is awaiting his turn to get his green card. If
he is forced to return to El Salvador as the only way of getting his green card under VAWA, he and his family
may face torture and persecution by those who forced Miguel's exile from the country. Miguel has not contacted
his family for almost ten years because he fears that such contact would put the family in grave danger. Miguel
knows that going back to El Salvador would result in his own death and the possible torture or murder of his
family members. In addition, Miguel's therapist has stated that Miguel would likely become nonfunctional with
terror were he forced to return to El Salvador. The post-traumatic stress disorder he now experiences has
increased in severity ever since Sandra stabbed him. His therapist does not believe that Miguel would be able to
cope with a return to his native country. This case originated in Colorado. LUCINDA Lucinda was born in Argentina. She came to the United States to make a better life for herself. In Colorado, she
met and married a lawful permanent resident of the United States named Ubaldo. Lucinda and Ubaldo were very
much in love when they married, and the future seemed bright. Ten months after their wedding, Lucinda gave
birth to their daughter, Jane. It was soon after Jane's birth that Ubaldo began to behave irrationally and violently. He hit Lucinda for the first
time after they had an argument in March of 1996. Ubaldo became consumed with rage, shouting obscenities at
Lucinda and faking punches at her. He grabbed her around the neck and shook her so violently that her neck and
arms became mottled with bruises. Then he threw her against the wall with such force that Lucinda's body
smashed a hole in the wall. Ubaldo then called a cousin to take Lucinda away before he killed her. After this incident, Lucinda wanted to call the police, but she was afraid. Ubaldo had told her many times that she
was an "illegal" and had no rights. He said that if she reported anything to the police, she would be deported and
he would get custody of their daughter. Since Lucinda did not have legal status, and she was very afraid of losing
her daughter, she kept quiet about the abuse and did not call the police. The abuse continued through the next year of their marriage. One day, while Ubaldo was driving Lucinda to her
job as a Spanish interpreter, he lashed out at her with violence. He was angry because a check he had written for
car insurance had bounced. He stopped the car and reached across the passenger seat to grab Lucinda and shake
her with great force. He slammed her head repeatedly into the passenger's side window, and ripped her sweatshirt
sleeves at the seams with the shaking. Ubaldo eventually got out of the car and began kicking the tires and
opening and shutting the driver's side door. Lucinda seized the opportunity to slide into the driver's seat and flee,
leaving Ubaldo by the side of the road. Lucinda left Ubaldo soon after this incident. She consulted an attorney who helped her file her VAWA self-petition for residency. Now, she is facing the prospect of returning to Argentina as the only way of getting her
green card under VAWA. Such a return to Argentina would create a serious hardship for Lucinda and her
daughter. First, she may be unable to take her daughter with her if Ubaldo has joint custody. Lucinda has been and remains
Jane's primary care giver, so a long-term separation between mother and daughter for an undetermined period of
weeks or months could result in permanent psychological damage to their daughter. Even if she could take her
daughter with her, she would be forced to separate the girl from her father in violation of court orders leading to
her potentially being charged with parental kidnaping. Such a separation would also emotionally devastate
Lucinda, who has been trying to regain stability and peace in her life after the physical and emotional ordeal of her
married life. This case originated in Colorado. LUISA Luisa is originally from Mexico. She entered the United States 14 years ago with her family. While living in
Colorado, she met a man named Guillermo. Guillermo is a lawful permanent resident of the United States
originally from Mexico. Luisa and Guillermo dated for a year before they married in a church in Colorado. Luisa
was very much in love with Guillermo, and she hoped that their lives together would be filled with joy. It was not long after the birth of their first child that Guillermo started abusing Luisa. He would come home drunk
almost every night. Luisa came to fear the sound of his footsteps coming through the doorway, since he was often
in a terrible mood, filled with anger and completely out of control. He would destroy furniture, yell and insult
Luisa, and tell her that she was worthless and a bad wife. Luisa would try to calm him down so his screaming
would not wake the baby, but this only made Guillermo angrier. He would usually slap Luisa across the face, but
other times he would kick her or punch her with his fists all over her face and body. The severity of the beatings
depended on Guillermo's mood, but the unpredictability of his violence always terrified Luisa. She began to fear
that he would kill her or hurt their child in one of his rages. Over the next few years of their marriage, Guillermo and Luisa had three more children. The abuse only escalated
over time. Luisa tolerated Guillermo's abuse because she feared that Guillermo would have her deported and take
her children away from her. He would often threaten to call the INS when he was angry, telling her "you'll never
see the children again." Luisa endured one final beating from Guillermo in April of 1998. Guillermo began shouting at Luisa for spending
money on food and clothing for herself and the children. He screamed insults at Luisa, and then he began
shouting insults at the children, who were cowering in the back of the room. Luisa quietly told the children to go
into the bedroom as she feared that Guillermo would harm them. As soon as the children left the room, Guillermo
grabbed Luisa and dragged her across the room. He hurled her across the room and watched as her body crashed
against the wall and sank to the floor. Guillermo then picked her up and shook her violently, slapping her
repeatedly across the face. The children in the other room were so afraid that they called the police. Guillermo
fled before the police arrived, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. After this incident, Luisa received a permanent restraining order against Guillermo. She continues to live in fear
that Guillermo will come back to the house and kill her. She knows that the restraining order is the only thing
keeping her and her children safe from his violence. Luisa has also applied for legal immigration status under VAWA. When it comes time for her to get her green
card, she will be required to return to Mexico to obtain her green card. This will pose a very serious hardship to
Luisa and her children, since Luisa is the sole supporter of her four children and has no one to leave them with in
the United States while she returns to Mexico. She cannot finance a trip to Mexico for herself and her four U.S.
citizen children, and she is unwilling to remove the children from school for the period of weeks or months that it
will take to get her green card. In addition, Luisa is afraid to leave the United States, since it is the only place
where her restraining order against Guillermo is valid. She faces the possibility of Guillermo following her to
Mexico, the country of his birth, and hurting her and kidnaping the children. This case originated in Colorado. DALIA Dalia was born in El Salvador. She was only 16 years old when she gave birth to her daughter, Iliana. Dalia
watched her mother die in El Salvador from lack of medicine and feared that baby Iliana might become ill from
poor nutrition. Since the rest of her family had already fled to the United States during the war, Dalia decided to
come to the U.S., as well. She wanted to make a better life for herself and her child. At the age of 18, she crossed
the border and settled in Colorado. Four years later, Dalia started dating a man named Alejandro. He was a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United
States originally from El Salvador. Dalia and Alejandro soon fell in love and got married. Dalia was happy and
excited to begin a new life with the man she loved, and she thought her daughter would be better off having a
strong father figure in the house. Just three years after Dalia and Alejandro's marriage, Dalia discovered a secret that would shatter her family's
life. Iliana, now ten years old, revealed to her mother that Alejandro had been sexually molesting her. Dalia was
horrified to hear this, and she began closely observing Alejandro's attentions towards her daughter. What she saw
made her even more suspicious of him. When she confronted Alejandro, he denied molesting Iliana and became
very angry at Dalia. He told her that she had better not make any accusations or he would have her sent back to El
Salvador. Fearing more for her daughter than herself, Dalia went to the police. The police conducted a thorough
investigation and determined that, based on the testimony of Iliana and the confession of Alejandro, Alejandro was
guilty of child sexual abuse. Alejandro fled back to El Salvador before the trial took place.. Since then, Dalia has petitioned for and obtained her visa approval under VAWA. However, she will be forced to
return to El Salvador in order to get her green card, under current law. Making Dalia return to El Salvador for this
purpose is a terrible hardship because she has no family left in El Salvador and no viable means of supporting
herself and Iliana there. In addition, she is afraid that Alejandro, who lost his possibility of living in the U.S.
because she pressed charges against him, is in El Salvador and plotting revenge on Dalia for having him arrested.
Since the authorities in El Salvador cannot protect her from Alejandro, Dalia fears returning to her home country,
no matter the length of the visit. Dalia has started taking English lessons and has secured a job. She and Iliana are attending counseling sessions
which are necessary to help them recover from the horrors that Alejandro committed against them. They do not
have the emotional strength to endure a long journey to El Salvador, especially without friends or relatives in El
Salvador to help, support, and protect them from Alejandro. This case originated in Colorado. ALICIA Alicia is a 25-year old citizen of Mexico. She entered the United States without inspection at age 14. She met her
husband, Moisés, the same year she entered the United States. A year later, when Alicia was 15, she moved in
with Moisés and married him in January, 1986. Moisés is a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Moisés began abusing Alicia when their first child, Donald, was four months old. Alicia asked Moisés for money
to pay for Donald's vaccinations, since Moisés controlled all the money in the household. Moisés refused to give
her any money, and he grew angry and shouted obscenities at her. Not knowing what else to do, Alicia took the
money from his jacket. Moisés responded by repeatedly slapping Alicia across the face. As time passed and Alicia began to talk of leaving Moisés, he intensified his control over her and his violent
attacks. He left Alicia alone in the house for long periods of time without money or food. When she made plans
to move in with her brother, Moisés found out and severely beat her. He held a pistol to her head and told her that
she would never leave him and that she would always belong to him. Alicia grew tired of being unable to pay for her two-year-old son's needs, so she returned to work. At that point,
Moisés stopped contributing to the household expenses and demanded that Alicia fulfill both the financial and
domestic needs of the house. Alicia worked for two years until the birth of her twin girls, Kelly and Lesley.
Moisés refused to return to his regular work hours, despite Alicia's pleas. As a result, Alicia returned to work full-time only six months after the birth of the twins. One evening, Alicia was forced to work late cleaning offices. When she returned home a half-hour later than
usual, Moisés began throwing objects at her face and body. He then lunged at her and knocked her into the
television. Alicia fell onto the floor, and Moisés began kicking and hitting her. Alicia's niece grabbed the
children and rushed them into another room so that they would not see their father beating their mother so
horribly. Moisés beat Alicia for the final time in early February of 1998. He began smacking her across the face and
pummeling her body with his fists. Fearing for her life and the children's, Alicia attempted to call the police, but
Moisés had disconnected and hidden the phone. The following morning, she fled to a domestic violence shelter
and obtained a restraining order against Moisés. Later, she consulted an attorney and filed her VAWA self-petition. Under VAWA, Alicia must return to Mexico in order to obtain her green card. If she does this, she will be in great
danger. Alicia's husband has threatened to kill her, and in Mexico he would have an opportunity to do so. Moisés
is from the same town as Alicia in Mexico, and he travels there frequently to visit his family. He would have no
trouble finding her when she returns with the children to get her green card. Because of this, Alicia is unable to
return to Mexico. She knows that law enforcement officials in Mexico will not protect her from Moisés and that
her U.S. restraining order will be useless in Mexico. This case originated in Kentucky. EVA Eva is a 20-year-old woman originally from El Salvador. She arrived in Kentucky in January of 1993 to visit her
sister because things were difficult at home. Her family was very poor and lived crowded in a small house with
many extended family members. Eva decided to stay in Kentucky and soon met Alberto, a lawful permanent
resident also from El Salvador. After living with her sister for six months, Eva moved in with Alberto in
September of 1993, when she was 15 and he was 36. From the beginning, the relationship was very troubled. Alberto regularly used alcohol and marijuana, and a
pattern of degradation and overt abuse quickly emerged. He repeatedly beat Eva with his fists, called her obscene
names, and threatened deportation. Once he threw a plate of food not cooked to his satisfaction into her face. He
always threatened Eva into keeping quiet about the violence. She was not even allowed to have contact with her
sister, who lived a short distance away. On one occasion the abuse was so severe that Eva called the police, and Alberto was jailed for one night. When
he got out, he forced Eva to recant her story, and in court she testified she had lied about the abuse. Alberto had
told her he would have her deported or kill her if she told the truth on the stand, or if she ever called the police
again. When Alberto was at work, Eva stayed in the house, frightened of doing something to displease him. When he got
home from work, Eva had to have dinner ready and keep the children quiet. If the babies made any noise, he
would hit them and Eva. Eva wanted to call the police, but if she did Alberto would beat her and threatened to kill
her or have her deported. He frequently beats the children with belts, leaving marks. He said that if Eva took the
children to the pediatrician, he would explain away the evidence of their abuse by saying that Eva was the abuser,
and this would get her deported. For the past few months, Alberto has been trying to force Eva to sign divorce papers. He told her he would not
allow her to leave the relationship after they were divorced, and would not explain to her the purpose of the
divorce. Eva believes Alberto wants a divorce to void the I-130 petition he filed for her earlier. He knows that
once she receives her green card, she will ask the police for protection, no longer fearing deportation. Alberto
wants to keep Eva illegal so he can continue to abuse her, knowing she will not call the police. Once divorced,
Eva would be a captive in their house at Alberto's mercy, with no way to legalize her status. In June of 1998, Alberto came home after drinking and again tried to force Eva to sign the divorce papers. When
she refused, Alberto became extremely violent in front of their two sons. He grabbed Eva's hair and forced her to
a table to sign the paper. When Eva again refused, he forced her to the floor. Eva got up and ran to the bathroom,
but Alberto followed her. He grabbed her neck and said, "if you do not sign the divorce papers right now, I will
kill you now." He then forced her head into the toilet, sinking her face under water five times, and closed the lid
on her head. Alberto then ran to the phone and disconnected it from the wall. Eva ran to her room, and Alberto
followed and tried to choke her. He then said to her, "I will not kill you today, because I need you to sign the
divorce papers first. The second time you try to call the police they will come to get your dead body." The next day, Eva called her sister and had her come get her and the children. They went directly to the police to
report the abuse, and Eva received an order of protection. Eva fears for her life after having been subject to years
of violence and death threats. Alberto was involved in a guerilla group in El Salvador that has done a lot of killing. He visits the country in
disguise, as he is wanted by the police. He has an American woman friend who makes frequent trips to El
Salvador for him, and who once held Eva hostage to hide evidence of a severe beating. She then offered Eva
money to return to El Salvador in exchange for not alerting the police to her beatings. He has threatened to have
her and her family killed in El Salvador upon deportation. He claims, "I can have anyone killed for fifty cents
with one phone call," and Eva has no doubt this is true. In addition, Eva has found evidence of Alberto's
involvement in Satanic practices, and was brutally beaten upon the discovery. Eva needs the protection of the United States Courts to enforce her protective order and she needs the continued
support of mental health counselors and battered women's advocates who have been assisting her and her sons in
overcoming the devastating effects of the abuse. If she returns to El Salvador, even briefly, she has no doubt
Alberto will follow her and kill her, or remain in America and arrange to have her and her family killed. She
cannot take her children with her to El Salvador into such danger, nor can she leave them behind alone with their
abuser. Eva must be permitted to remain in the United States to become a lawful permanent resident; this is the
only way to ensure the safety and protect the lives of Eva and her children. This case originated in California and is currently in Oregon. NURIA Nuria was born in Guatemala. She fled her war-torn country in 1987 with her infant son in her arms. The
guerrillas had surrounded her rancho in Guatemala, and she and her family ran from the hills in a desperate
attempt to survive. Nuria entered the United States and applied for political asylum and eventually found a
waitressing job in California. A few years later, she met Walter, a United States citizen, and in 1991 they moved
in together. From the beginning of their relationship, Walter insulted Nuria and swore at her when she did something to
displease him. He began drinking alcohol on a regular basis, and when he would get drunk, he would destroy
household furniture and frighten Nuria with his screaming and yelling. Nuria considered leaving Walter, but she
loved him and hoped that he would change his ways. When they had their first child in 1993, Nuria felt that she
should stay with Walter because the baby needed to grow up with both a father and a mother. Although Walter
continued drinking and verbally abusing Nuria, she married him in 1995, just after the birth of their second child. On Christmas Eve of that year, Walter came home drunk, angry, and out of control. He destroyed the Christmas
tree and crushed all the Christmas presents, then he knocked the television set to the floor. Nuria was pregnant at
the time, but he still grabbed her by the shoulders and began shaking her violently. Then he punched her in the
face with his fists so many times that her mouth and nose were bloody. Nuria crawled to the kitchen and called
the police, who arrived immediately and took Walter to jail. Nuria decided after the Christmas Eve attack that she could no longer risk her and her children's lives by living
with her husband. She received a restraining order against her husband and began filing her VAWA self-petition
for residency. Because she felt that it was important for her children to be in contact with their father, she
arranged for them to have supervised visitation with Walter at her sister's home. Although Walter wanted to get
back together with Nuria, she refused to put herself in danger again. Nuria gave birth to their third child several months later. She was separated from Walter at that time, and he
refused to pay child support for his three children. Consequently, Nuria was forced to return to work full-time
only six weeks after the baby's birth. She spent the next year working and supporting herself and her children.
In April of 1998, Walter came by her house unannounced and began pushing Nuria across the room, threatening to
give her a "good beating." He told her that he had asked some of his male friends to come over so that they could
have sex with her. Nuria ran outside and got in the car. Walter followed her and smashed the windshield of the
car and punctured all four tires. A neighbor called the police, and Walter was arrested. After that incident, Nuria realized that she would have to move far away from Walter if she hoped to escape his
abuse. She took her children to a battered women's shelter 700 miles away in California, located near another
sister's house. Nuria is now enrolled in a nurse's aid training course, and her children are enrolled in school. She
still fears that Walter will find her and abuse her again. If Nuria is forced to return to Guatemala to get her green card, she will risk losing custody of her children to
Walter. She will have to leave her children behind in the U.S. while she gets her green card, since she cannot
afford a trip to Guatemala for herself, let alone for her four children. She is concerned that Walter will petition for
custody of the children while she is out of the country, or that he might try to kidnap the children while she is not
there to protect them. Nuria cannot be certain that her family members will be able to protect themselves and her
four children from Walter's violence should he come for them while she is in Guatemala. She is also very afraid
to leave the U.S. to get her green card because she has no family in Guatemala to support her, and she would
suffer emotional trauma if she returned to the place where she last endured war and political persecution. This case originated in Washington. SARA Sara was born in El Salvador. She fled the war there in early 1990 and entered the United States. Shortly after her
arrival, she met Armando, a lawful permanent resident of the United States who was from Sara's hometown in El
Salvador. Coincidentally, both Sara and Armando's families knew one another in El Salvador. Armando had
originally come to the United States in the early 1980s, obtaining his residency status through the Salvadoran
Legalization Program. After several months of dating, Sara and Armando were married. Almost immediately after the wedding, Sara
began to realize that Armando had a terrible temper and was prone to violent outbursts. Whenever he would
become angry, he would hit Sara or throw things at her. He would often punch or slap her in the face. When Sara
would attempt to leave him, he would threaten to have her deported. Armando also used Sara's undocumented
status as a weapon against her. After assaulting her, he would try to get her to stay with him by offering to fill in
her paperwork for her green card. Despite his promises, he never made any attempt to petition for Sara's legal
immigration status. After Armando subjected Sara to a particularly severe beating in 1995, Sara's screams were so loud that neighbors
called the police. Armando was arrested and sent to jail for a couple of weeks. Once he was released, he violated
the no contact order issued by the court and moved back into the house with Sara. Sara did not want him back in
the house, but she was afraid of being deported and knew that she could not support their three young children
without his income. She had no idea that services might be available to help her out of her abusive marriage. Sara found out about shelters for battered women through a friend at church. Sara had been wanting to leave
Armando for quite a while. She had been growing increasingly more fearful of him, and his violent attacks had
not subsided over time. Despite her many fears, Sara fled the family home one day with her three children and
went to a shelter. She has been living in confidential housing since that time. With the support of the shelter, Sara and her children have gotten counseling to help them cope with Armando's
violence and abuse. Sara has received a restraining order against Armando, and her visa petition under VAWA
has been approved. Now Sara is trying to build a new life for herself as a single mother, supporting her children
entirely on her own. She is attending English classes and has also found a part-time job. Sara has had no contact with Armando since she fled their home and obtained a restraining order against him. She
fears that if he finds her, he will try to make her come back to him. She knows that going back to Armando would
mean suffering more physical and emotional abuse at his hands. If Sara is forced to return to El Salvador to get her green card under VAWA, Armando will quickly learn that she
has returned and will likely follow her there. Her return to El Salvador will surely be discovered by Armando's
family, since Sara and Armando are from the same town. Once the word spreads to Armando, Sara and the
children will not be safe from him. He will likely hurt Sara or try to take the children away from her. Her
protection order will be useless to protect her in El Salvador. For these reasons, Sara cannot go back to El
Salvador to get her green card. This case originated in Washington. JUANA Juana was born in Mexico. In 1993, when she was thirteen, she came to the United States along with her mother,
sister, and two brothers. Juana's step-father, Mateo, was already living in the United States when Juana and the
rest of the family came to live with him. Mateo is a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Juana's two
brothers are Mateo's natural children, and Juana and her sister are Mateo's step-children. When the family arrived in the U.S., Mateo did not petition for their residency status. In fact, he repeatedly
threatened to have Juana, her mother, and her sister deported whenever he would become angry at them. Mateo's
violent, abusive nature began to rear its ugly head. He would beat Juana's mother severely in front of all of the
children. Juana, being the oldest child, took the brunt of the beatings for the children. Mateo beat Juana with
belts whenever he displeased her. Once, he beat her after church for getting her clothes dirty. Mateo would also monitor Juana's movements very closely. One evening, when Juana came home 20 minutes
late, Mateo dragged her to the car by her hair, forced her into the back seat, and drove her to a remote place near
the woods. There, he pulled her from the car and attempted to strangle and kill her. After a long struggle, Juana
miraculously managed to free herself and escape into the woods. When police arrived on the scene, Juana was
immediately placed in Child Protective Services, along with her younger sister. Juana is now 20 years old. She has not had contact with her step-father or with her mother since Juana and her
sister were removed from the home for their own protection. The state went forward with the prosecution of
Mateo on charges of child abuse. Quite obviously, Juana is extremely afraid of Mateo ever finding her or her
sister and seeking revenge on them with acts of violence. If Juana had to return to Mexico to get her green card
under VAWA, she is afraid that Mateo would follow them and abuse them. Juana is also afraid of going to Mexico because she knows no one there, and she has not been back since she was a
child. All her family now live in the U.S. Juana is not familiar with Mexico, and she does not know how she
would make the trip without contacts in Mexico or experience with the Mexican legal system. Furthermore, Juana
is afraid of being separated from her younger sister, with whom she now lives. Juana's sister is developmentally
delayed and only marginally functional. She requires Juana's constant help and care, and the girls have lived with
and relied on one another ever since they came to America. They have endured the horrifying ordeal of abuse and
violence at the hands of their step-father, and now they cannot face the prospect of separating. Both girls have
approved VAWA self-petitions, and both will have to return to Mexico under the law of VAWA to get their green
cards. Even if the girls could make the trip together, they would be vulnerable to attacks by their step-father, and
they would not have legal advocates to help them at the consulate. They would be helpless and alone in a country
completely foreign to them. Juana cannot risk her and her sister's safety and emotional well-being by returning to
Mexico for any period of time. This case originated in Washington. FELIPE Felipe is a 26-year-old Mexican man with cerebral palsy. After his mother died, he came to the United States to
be cared for by his cousins. A couple of years later, he met Caroline, a U.S. citizen. Felipe and Caroline quickly
became friends and started dating. After about six months of dating, Caroline suggested that Felipe move in with
her. Felipe was concerned that he would be a drain on her resources, since he was undocumented and also had a
disability. Caroline spent the next few months reassuring Felipe that their lives together would be wonderful.
Finally, after much convincing, Felipe finally moved in with her. They were married a year later. Felipe was very happy and thought that Caroline loved him as he loved her.
Unfortunately, shortly after their marriage, Felipe's happiness faded away. Caroline began subjecting him to on-going insults and emotional abuse. She would order him around and threaten to call the INS to have him deported
if he did not do what she wanted. She would say such things as: "I only married you because I felt sorry for you.
I deserve better than you. If you don't do as I say, I won't fix your papers." Caroline's two teenage sons also lived with them. The teenagers would repeatedly assault Felipe, hitting him with
their fists, kicking him, and taunting him with insults and threats. They would do this in Caroline's presence, and
she would do nothing to help Felipe. Caroline would also routinely withhold Felipe's medication from him and
refuse to assist him with the money to buy medication. After a particularly brutal beating by Caroline's sons, Felipe was rushed to the emergency room by his cousin.
Following that incident, Felipe was too afraid to return to Caroline's home. He moved back in with his cousins
and contacted an attorney. Since that day, he has petitioned for his residency under VAWA, and his petition has
been approved. Felipe has a significant, degenerative disability which renders him only marginally functional. He requires
constant care and supervision, as well as an ongoing medical regime of treatment. Because of his disability and
his need for care in the U.S., Felipe would face severe hardship if he were forced to return to Mexico to get his
green card under VAWA. Felipe has no family in Mexico to care for him if he returns. His only family is here in
the United States. In addition, his ability to make the trip to Mexico and successfully find his way to the consular
offices to get his green card is extremely limited. He would need help and support to make the journey, and he
cannot get that support in Mexico. This case originated in Oklahoma. CLARA Clara is originally from Mexico. Ten years ago, she met and fell in love with her husband Joe, a United States
citizen, and married him in Mexico. Throughout the following years of their marriage, Clara was forced to move
back and forth across the U.S./Mexican border with Joe, depending on whether Joe was working in the U.S. or in
Mexico at the time. As a result of the constant moving, some of Clara and Joe's five children were born in the
U.S., and some were born in Mexico. Clara and Joe's marriage was marked by violence and abuse from the very beginning. Joe would grow angry and
beat Clara on a regular basis. He also abandoned his family on more than one occasion. For example, when Joe
was working in Mexico and Clara and the children were living in Texas, he was imprisoned for running guns
across the border. While Joe was in prison, Clara and the children had no means of support. Clara was also
pregnant at the time. When she gave birth to their fifth child, she had no money to pay rent and no food to feed
the children. Joe had controlled her movements so completely that she was completely dependent on him and had
no idea how to seek help for herself and her children. Finally, Clara's family came from Mexico to bring Clara
and the children back to Clara's hometown. Once Joe was released from prison, he found out where Clara was living in Mexico. Then he came to her house
armed with an ice pick. He lunged at her stomach with the ice pick, and Clara jumped out of the way and wrested
the pick away from him. Joe began beating Clara's face with his fists. He grabbed her by the neck and strangled
her until she lost consciousness. Clara came to in the passenger seat of his car. Joe was brandishing a gun. He
told her that they were driving to her parents' house to get the children, and then they were leaving for the United
States. He threatened to kill their four-year-old son Billy with the gun if Clara did not reassure her parents that she
was all right and wished to go with Joe. Clara was nearly paralyzed with fear, but she did what Joe asked. She walked into her parents' house and told
them that she and Joe were taking the children to America. When they asked about the cuts and bruises on her
face and neck, Clara lied and said she had been in a car accident earlier that day. Clara was thinking the whole
time about how Joe was sitting in the car with his loaded gun. She knew that if she did not come out to the car
with the children, he would carry out his threat and start shooting. Eventually, Clara managed to get all the
children into the car, and she and Joe drove across the border into the United States. The family settled in
Oklahoma, where Joe's mother lived. Only about a month after moving to Oklahoma, Joe attacked Clara again. He beat her face and body with his fists
until she was covered with blood. Clara grabbed her two youngest children and rushed out of the house,
screaming for help as she ran down the street. A neighbor called the police, and Clara and the children were
brought to a battered women's shelter. Clara received a restraining order against Joe and began filing her VAWA
self-petition for residency. There are several reasons why Clara cannot go back to Mexico to get her green card based on VAWA. First, her
youngest child recently suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed on one side of his body. He requires
ongoing rehabilitative care which cannot be interrupted in order to go to Mexico with his mother. In addition,
Clara knows no one in America that she trusts to care for her children who can keep them safe from Joe if she
must return to Mexico for an unknown period of time to get her green card. Second, Clara is also very afraid that
Joe will follow her again to Mexico and hurt or kill her there. He knows where her family lives, and he knows that
her restraining order will not protect her in Mexico. He has vowed to kill Clara, and she believes that since he is a
U.S. citizen and can cross the border easily, he will carry out his threat if she returns to Mexico. For this reason,
Clara must be able to get her green card while she remains in the safety and protection of the United States. This case originated in Arkansas. SOLEDAD Soledad was born in Mexico. In her small town, she met a man named Eugenio, who was a lawful permanent
resident of the United States and also a native of Mexico. The couple fell in love and got married. Eugenio
brought Soledad to the U.S., and together they settled in Arkansas. Soledad soon learned that the man she married was violent and abusive. He beat her severely every week, giving
her cuts, bruises, and black eyes. The beatings were both frequent and unpredictable. Soledad never knew what
would provoke Eugenio into his rages. She grew to fear him. She believed he might kill her someday. Eugenio wanted Soledad to be completely dependent upon him. He isolated her in the family home and did not
permit her to leave or try to make friends. Consequently, Soledad never learned English, and she made no
contacts with other Americans. She was very fearful of reporting Eugenio's abuse to the police, since she believed
that this would result in her immediate deportation. Eugenio constantly used Soledad's undocumented status to
control her, and he threatened to report her to INS if she ever tried to leave him or seek help. Soledad and Eugenio had three children. All three are now under the age of nine. Soledad grew very concerned
that Eugenio would begin abusing the children just as he was abusing Soledad. She feared for her children's
safety and wanted to leave Eugenio. Unfortunately, the circumstances under which she finally left Eugenio are
grim. The last beating she ever endured from Eugenio left her hospitalized. Eugenio had punched and kicked her
all over her body, then he had taken a knife and slit open both of her arms from her wrists to her armpits. Soledad
might have died of the wounds and severe bleeding if she had not sought help in time. After Soledad was released from the hospital, she and her children were taken by the police to a battered women's
shelter. Before living at the shelter, Soledad had no idea that such resources were available to her. Soledad only
knew that in Mexico, neither law enforcement nor free shelter services were available to assist battered women in
escaping from the abuse of their batterers. Soledad was thankful to have found help for herself and her children in
the United States. Soledad is now in the process of applying for her green card under VAWA. However, current law will be force
her to return to Mexico to get her green card. If she returns to Mexico, she could be exposed to more abuse and
danger. Eugenio makes frequent trips to Soledad's hometown in Mexico, and he has even threatened to hurt her
and the children in Mexico if she ever returns. Soledad fears that he will find her and the children easily if she
returns the Mexico to get her green card. She needs the protection of U.S. laws and law enforcement to keep her
safe from Eugenio's attacks. This case originated in Louisiana. JUANITA Juanita met her husband Alvaro in Mexico in 1994. They dated and had a son in early 1995. They both worked,
and Alvaro's mother provided child care for the baby. Alvaro then went to Mississippi to work for six months,
and became a lawful permanent resident. During that time, he never called or sent money for Juanita and the
baby. However, by March of 1998 he returned to Juanita and pledged his love for her. They were married the
next month and moved to Louisiana in June, to live with Alvaro's aunt and uncle. The abuse began as soon as they arrived in the United States. Alvaro began isolating Juanita from her family and
friends, and he forbade her from learning English in order to keep her dependent on him. Alvaro also began
beating Juanita and he frequently hit her in the face and head. Alvaro's aunt and uncle did nothing to stop the
abuse. In November of 1998, Juanita told Alvaro that she was suffering from severe headaches for the past few months
and asked to be taken to the hospital. Her head had been hurting so badly that she had lost feeling in her face for
one month. Her face and jaw were swollen on the right side, and she had lost her voice for a couple of days. Even
when she got her voice back, the numbness continued. However, Alvaro refused to acknowledge her pain or take
her to the hospital. He grew angry and beat her, and she ran to the neighbors for help, asking them to call the
police. Alvaro drove his car over to the neighbors and tried to force Juanita into the car. He threw her to the
ground, hit her in the face and pulled her hair. Then the police arrived, and Alvaro was arrested and taken to jail. Juanita was finally taken to the hospital, where doctors determined that her ailments were caused by the severe
trauma to the head she sustained over months of beatings. She then entered a shelter for safety. Juanita soon
began to receive threats from Alvaro's family in Mexico, stating that if she did not drop the charges against him,
they would see to it that she was deported and that her child was permanently taken away from her. This made
Juanita afraid to file a protective order against Alvaro. Eventually, however, she was granted sole custody of her
child, child support, and alimony. Alvaro was granted visitation of the child on every other Saturday. If Juanita is forced to return to Mexico to receive status as a lawful permanent resident, she knows that Alvaro can
follow her there. Further, she will have to take her child with her. She fears that Alvaro's family will harm her
there and try to take the child from her if she brings him with her. She also has no one with whom she can leave
him behind, and if she did, she believes that Alvaro would try to claim custody while she was away. Yet if she
does bring the child with her to Mexico, she will violate the terms of the court order allowing Alvaro to see the
child every other Saturday, giving Alvaro cause to bring legal action against her. Juanita must be able to receive
her green card without leaving the country in order to protect her rights and the safety of her child. This case originated in Louisiana. SHARIFA Sharifa was born in Israel, and she lived with her parents in Jerusalem until she was 22. One day while she was
working in the family garden, a man named Abdul noticed her from the street. He immediately decided he wanted
her for his wife, and went to her mother to request permission to marry her. Sharifa met Abdul, and she and her
mother agreed to the marriage. The couple was engaged for one year, during which Sharifa remained in Jerusalem
and Abdul returned to America where he was a lawful permanent resident and owned a business. Abdul often
wrote letters to Sharifa, declaring his love for her and describing all he wanted to do for her. When the marriage
became final, Sharifa came to America with her husband. For a short time, things were as he had promised they
would be. Abdul began coming home very late at night, each night later and later. Sharifa would always wait for him,
because he was all she had in America. She spent hours in solitude; Abdul forbade her to befriend American
women because they were too "loose" and Arabic women because they were too "gossipy." When Abdul would
finally arrive home at night and Sharifa would ask him where he had been, he would remind her of her subordinate
position and tell her she had no right to ask questions of him. Sharifa believed she had a right to know, and when
she would insist, Abdul would beat her. The beatings soon became so commonplace that Abdul no longer awaited
provocation, he simply beat her whenever he pleased. Frightened and isolated, Sharifa waited for her husband to
change and to give her the life he promised. He never did. In June of 1997, Abdul shot Sharifa with his gun, causing a serious wound to her arm. She begged him to bring
her to the hospital, but her refused until she promised to tell the doctor that she had shot herself. After this
incident, Abdul tried to force Sharifa back to Jerusalem, but she did not want to go. She would be ostracized there
for causing her marriage to fail, because her culture would never place the responsibility for a failed marriage on
the husband, however abusive. In hopes of avoiding this shame, she remained in America with Abdul and waited
for him to change. Abdul eventually stopped providing Sharifa with food, electricity, and money for rent. Out of desperation, she
reached out to the Arabic women in her town, and found several good friends who helped her find legal assistance
and a battered women's shelter. Her primary concern was the status of her residence in America, because she
refused to allow Abdul to force her back to Jerusalem. Sharifa was able to file a self-petition for legal residence,
and is now anticipating receiving her green card and obtaining a divorce. However, it is necessary that Sharifa is
able to receive here green card in the United States. If she is forced to return to Jerusalem, she fears Abdul will
follow. There, his abuses will be culturally accepted and legally difficult to obtain protection against without
suffering more harm from her community. In Jerusalem, Sharifa's community will regard her as the one who
acted shamefully, and it is doubtful that even her family will shelter her. Therefore, Sharifa must not be forced to
return to Israel, where she will be subject to undue hardship and danger. This case originated in Louisiana. WABEI Wabei is an East African woman who came to the United States in 1996 with her husband Raul. Raul is a lawful
permanent resident of the United States who is originally from the same country as Wabei. The marriage was
arranged by the couple's parents, and Wabei and Raul barely knew each other when they married. While in this
country, Wabei endured extreme ongoing emotional and physical abuse from Raul for one year. Raul kept Wabei hostage in their home, refusing to let her work or lead a normal life. He severely battered and
tortured her, beating her frequently. Raul even restricted her from eating, allocating for her only one small meal
per day. Finally, Wabei sought refuge at a hospital, where she met another person from her home country. With the
confidence she gained by having this new friend, Wabei left her husband for good. She filed for and received a
restraining order against Raul based on the history of the domestic violence she has experienced, and recently filed
for a divorce. Wabei has submitted a self-petition under VAWA and hopes to move past the trauma of her abuse. However, she
fears the possibility of having to return to her home country in East Africa for an indefinite period of time to
obtain her green card. In her home country, she would be branded as a social outcast for having left her husband.
Raul, who has maintained contact with Wabei's family and friends in their home country, has told them lies about
Wabei and his relationship with her. Her family and friends side with Raul and feel Wabei has disgraced them;
they want nothing more to do with her. Wabei fears that if she were to return home, Raul would follow her there. She would have no protection against
him, because the laws of her country do not protect women against domestic violence. Since she would be a
social outcast, she would have no one to aid or protect her during her stay. Wabei should not have to face the
danger of returning to a country in which her husband can reassert absolute legal control over her life and cause
her further harm, unfettered by legal restraints. Thus it is necessary that Wabei be permitted to remain in safety in
the United States, and not be required to return to her home country for any reason. This case originated in Tennessee. CATALINA Catalina is originally from Mexico. In Mexico, she met and married Ramón, a lawful permanent resident of the
United States who was also originally from Mexico. The couple settled in Mexico and had a son, Paco. They
were married and living in Mexico for close to eight years before Ramón decided to move Catalina and Paco to
Tennessee. Ramón both physically and mentally abused Catalina throughout their marriage. He subjected her to regular
beatings, during which he would slap and punch her with his fists, throw objects at her, and kick her. Ramón
would fly into uncontrollable fits of rage without any understandable reason. Catalina feared him and obeyed his
every instruction. She believed him when he said that she was "worthless" and that he really wanted to "get rid of
her." He was obsessive and jealous of her, and he vowed to follow her if she ever decided to leave him. While living in the United States, Catalina and Ramón had four more children, all U.S. citizens. Catalina
constantly feared for her and her children's safety around Ramón. His acts of violence were never predictable,
and Catalina often feared that Ramón might kill her. One day, Ramón beat Catalina severely about her face and
body, shoved her and the five children into the car, and drove to the next county. There, he left the children and
their bleeding and bruised mother by the roadside. The police eventually found Catalina and the children
wandering along the highway, and they picked them up and drove them to a shelter for battered women and
children. Ramón had abandoned his family and left them for dead by the side of the road. Catalina was so afraid that Ramón might find her and the children again that she refused to get a restraining order
against him. She did not want him to have any idea of where she was, and she feared that serving him with a
restraining order would fuel his anger and provoke him to look for her. She has no doubt that one day he will find
her and renew his abuse of her. With the help of an attorney, Catalina is now in the process of filing her VAWA self-petition. If she is made to
return to Mexico as the only way of getting her green card, she and her children will face serious hardships. First,
Catalina fears that Ramón will find her easily in Mexico. He has family in Mexico and travels there frequently.
He would find out if she ever came back to Mexico, and he would seek her out at her parents' home, a place he
knows well. Second, Catalina lacks the resources to make the trip to Mexico with her five children. She has
recently moved out of the shelter and is struggling to support the children entirely on her own. Third, Catalina's
five-year-old child, David, has a serious heart condition which requires constant monitoring here in the U.S. Since
David is a U.S. citizen, he is eligible for Medicare. He has already had an angioplasty performed on his heart, and
he will require valve surgery in a few months. David cannot interrupt his treatment to travel with his mother to
Mexico to get her green card, and Catalina has no friends or family in the U.S. with whom she can leave David.
Requiring Catalina to return to Mexico would effectively jeopardize her child's health and put him at risk of death.
Further, Catalina, Paco, and the other children cannot safely travel to Mexico for any period of time as their safety
from Ramon cannot be assured there. This case originated in New Hampshire. MARIE Marie is originally from Haiti. In her hometown in Haiti, she met and fell in love with a U.S. citizen named
Adam. Adam had a great deal of money and influence in Haiti, especially in Marie's town, and he had close ties
to the police department, as well. Not long after Marie and Adam were married in Haiti, Adam started to treat
Marie abusively. He was physically abusive to Marie on several occasions. He would burn her with cigarettes, hit her, and throw
objects at her. Adam also had girlfriends with whom he had open affairs. Once, when Adam discovered that
Marie had been asking questions about his girlfriends, Adam bribed the Haitian police to arrest Marie in order to
"teach her a lesson" so that she would not ask any more questions. Marie learned never to question Adam's
authority. Adam brought Marie to the United States a little while after they were married, promising that they would start
over and build a new life in a new country. Instead, things only got worse for Marie. Adam isolated her
completely, confining her to their remote trailer park home. Because their home was too far from the main town
for Marie to access on foot, she became completely dependent on Adam for food and money. When Marie tried to learn English by studying with a tutor, Adam forbade her from continuing the lessons. Adam
told her that she should only speak Creole, and that she had no need for learning English. Marie wanted to leave
Adam, but she felt trapped because of her lack of English skills. Also, she had no idea that services were available
for battered women. Marie thought that she was destined to live confined in the home, without friends or family,
and be a slave to her husband. Marie and Adam had two children after moving to the United States. Both children are under the age of five and
are U.S. citizens. Marie cared for the children on her own, but she was still dependent on Adam for food and
clothing for the children. Often, Adam would not give Marie enough money to buy winter clothes for herself and
the children, and Marie would be forced to steal money from Adam. He continued to physically abuse her in the
United States, as well. He would kick and hit Marie if she displeased him, and he would also encourage the
children to hit their mother and tell her to "go back to Haiti." Marie eventually received help and information from a battered women's service provider. She left Adam and
received legal assistance in obtaining a restraining order against Adam. This made Adam very angry. Marie
attempted to pursue criminal charges against Adam for domestic assault and battery, but Adam fled the country
before the hearing. Since then, Marie's family members in Haiti have informed her that Adam has resettled in
Marie's hometown. He has spread lies to Marie's family, telling them that she is a terrible wife and mother and
that she has committed crimes in the U.S. Adam is anxiously awaiting the day that Marie will come back to Haiti with the children. He may have his wish if
Marie is forced to return to Haiti as the only avenue to obtain her green card under VAWA. If she does return to
Haiti, Adam will probably kill her. He has said in the past that he "can't wait" for Marie to be deported so that he
can kill her for pressing criminal charges against him. Not only does he currently reside in her small hometown in
Haiti, but also he is able to bribe and influence the police in town so that they will not interfere if he abuses Marie.
Marie's restraining order will not protect her in Haiti. Marie is also afraid that returning to Haiti to get her green card could cause her to lose her two children. Adam
has threatened to kidnap the children as soon as Marie brings them to Haiti. Since Adam and the children are U.S.
citizens, Marie believes Adam will have no trouble reentering the United States after kidnaping both of the
children. If this happens, Marie fears she will never see her children again. Her and her children's lives will be in
constant jeopardy if she is forced to return to Haiti for any period of time. ESPERANZA Esperanza is a citizen of Honduras. She came to the United States on a visitor's visa to stay with her friend
Nancy. While living with Nancy, she met Nancy's brother, a United States citizen named Roger. Roger would
drop by his sister's house from time to time, and during his visits, he and Esperanza would chat and get to know
one another. Soon Roger and Esperanza began dating. They eventually fell in love and got married. It was not until after they married that Esperanza discovered many disturbing things about Roger. She found out
that he was unemployed and a habitual drug user. The drug use upset Esperanza and made her very fearful and
uncomfortable. She had never been exposed to drug abuse before, and she was horrified to find drug
paraphernalia all over the house. Roger began hitting Esperanza every day. He always found some excuse or other to get angry at her and hit her or
say insulting, demeaning things to her. He also threatened to have her deported if she ever sought help or tried to
call the police. She became so afraid of him that she could not sleep at night. She would lie awake listening to
him and his friends partying and doing drugs until the early morning hours. He refused to let her learn English, and he did not permit her to make friends. He locked her inside the house all
day long, and he would not provide her with a telephone inside the home. One evening, he arrived home drunk
and began hitting her. He then threw out her birth control pills and raped her. Soon after that incident, Esperanza
became pregnant with Roger's child. Roger nearly killed Esperanza while she was pregnant. One day, he left the house early to go to his sister's home.
When he returned, he was high on drugs and in a violent rage. He pulled Esperanza to the couch by her hair and
began punching her in the face, bloodying her nose. Then he pushed her to the ground and began strangling her,
saying he was going to kill her. Esperanza lost consciousness. When she woke up, she found Roger brandishing a
knife, saying he was going to cut her "so no man would want her." He hit her repeatedly in the back, causing her
severe pain and bruising. Then he passed out on the couch. Esperanza grabbed her jacket and fled to a neighbor's
house. She did not call the police because she believed that Roger would find her and kill her for doing so.
Eventually, she returned home to him. A few days later, Esperanza became very ill. She was two months pregnant. She sensed that something was
wrong with the baby, so she went to the hospital. There, the doctors questioned her about the bruises around her
neck and all the cuts and scratches on her face and body. She did not tell the doctors she had been abused because
she feared what Roger would do to her in retaliation. After a thorough examination, the doctors informed her that
her baby was dead inside of her, and that they would have to induce labor to take the baby out. Esperanza was
devastated. She knew that the beatings and near strangulation that Roger had inflicted upon her had caused the
death of their baby. The very day that doctors induced labor and removed Esperanza's dead fetus, Esperanza returned home to Roger.
She told him that he would have to change his ways, or she would leave him. He told her "wherever you go, I will
find you and kill you." Esperanza finally found the opportunity to leave Roger when Roger was placed in jail for violating his probation.
He had committed several drug offenses, and now he had been caught with drugs again. Esperanza went to a
shelter and got a restraining order against Roger. She also found an attorney to help her petition for her green card
through VAWA. Esperanza is trying to build a life of her own away from Roger's abuse. With the help of friends
from her church, she has enrolled herself in English classes and is now taking classes to earn her GED If Esperanza is forced to return to Honduras as the only way of getting her green card under VAWA, she will face
several hardships. To begin with, the recent hurricane that devastated Honduras has left the entire country in
disarray. Esperanza lacks the money to make the trip to Honduras, and she is afraid that she could be trapped
there for a very long period of time, waiting to get her green card. Several services agencies, administrative and
government offices, and the police force have all been crippled by the hurricane. Since Roger has vowed to hunt
her down and kill her when he gets out of jail, she believes it is likely he will follow her to Honduras, where he
knows she will be unprotected. Esperanza believes that the laws of Honduras will not protect her from Roger, and
the police force will not enforce her U.S. restraining order against him. In addition, Esperanza cannot discontinue
the psychological counseling she is receiving in the U.S. to help her cope with the abuse she endured. She needs
ongoing treatment for depression and insomnia--treatment only available to her in the U.S. This case originated in Illinois and is now in Connecticut. Angela is 34 years old and is originally from Mexico. She met her husband Aldo, a lawful permanent resident of
the U.S., in Mexico in February 1992. Aldo was living in Chicago and made several trips to Mexico to see
Angela. In December 1994, Angela and Aldo were married in Mexico. After the wedding, Aldo asked Angela to
move to Chicago, and she soon followed him there. Their relationship progressed smoothly for about a year, but then Angela began to experience changes in Aldo's
behavior. Aldo would not allow her to talk to anyone, including neighbors and his own sisters. He would not give
Angela money for expenses, and over time, he began to ignore all other responsibilities. He even refused to
continue providing food. In January 1995, Angela found out that Aldo had a child by another relationship. Based on a court order, Aldo had
to pay child support for this child. Angela was shocked at Aldo's secrecy, and the relationship suffered under
financial strain. In September 1995, Angela and Aldo had a daughter of their own. Aldo resented Angela because she was not able to work. They had bought a house and were deep in debt. Aldo
would frequently become drunk and verbally abuse Angela, accusing her of being the reason for their debt.
Following these episodes, Aldo would often leave home, not returning for days. Angela was left without money,
food, or any means of support. Angela's family in Mexico sent her a check for one hundred dollars. Angela had no means by which to cash the
check, not having any identification papers. She gave the check to Aldo to cash, but Angela never saw any of the
money; Aldo took everything. Aldo began spending most of his days and evenings drinking with a friend and a neighbor in the neighbor's garage.
Any questions by Angela were met with fury and verbal abuse. Aldo told her he would do absolutely nothing to
support her and would not help her get a green card. Angela was frightened of Aldo and the power he had over
her immigration status. Aldo soon disappeared again, leaving Angela to fend for herself and their little girl. In August 1997, during another argument that took place in their home, Aldo grabbed Angela and began to
squeeze her throat. He would have strangled her, had she not managed to somehow break away from him. She
called the police, who came and arrested Aldo. The next day Angela was given a restraining order. In order to
protect herself and her daughter, Angela decided to move to Connecticut, where her brother lives. If Angela is forced to return to Mexico to obtain status as a lawful permanent resident, she faces a dangerous
situation. Aldo is himself Mexican. He is very familiar with the community Angela would have to return to as he
has traveled there many times in the past. Angela fears that Aldo could follow her there and harm her, because her
restraining order would not be valid there. Mexican law will not protect Angela against abuses by her husband. In
order to protect her safety, Angela must be allowed to remain in the United States to achieve lawful permanent
resident status. This case originated in Wisconsin. GENOVEVA Genoveva is a 32-year-old woman from Mexico. In 1990, she came to the United States and married Maurice, a
lawful permanent resident. The couple had two daughters, now seven years and seven months old. In the eight
years of their marriage, Genoveva has been subject to physical abuse and violence from her alcoholic husband. Although Maurice is employed, most of his money goes to drinking and gambling. There have been times when
he has left on Thursday night and not come home until Sunday night, leaving Genoveva without money or food in
the house for her and the children. When she was pregnant with her second child, Maurice disappeared, later
calling her from Mexico saying he was visiting his family. While he was gone, Genoveva was hospitalized with a
kidney infection, and had to leave her daughter with a neighbor. Maurice's family who lived nearby refused to
take care of the child, for fear that Maurice would become angry with them for meddling in his affairs. Maurice has filed papers asking that INS grant Genoveva lawful permanent residency. However, he threatens that
he will withdraw the papers if she does not obey him. Genoveva is constantly subjected to Maurice's beatings and
physically violent behavior. She has never called the police, for fear of retaliation by Maurice, for fear that he will
withdraw her papers, and because she does not want her daughter to see her father being arrested. The beatings
have been so severe throughout their marriage that she has gone to the hospital on several occasions with serious
injuries. However, Maurice always forces her to state that she fell, and has avoided suspicion. Maurice also
threatens Genoveva with deportation, and dehumanizes and demeans her. As a result of Maurice's abuses,
Genoveva lives in a constant state of terror. She has tried to leave, but has no money to sustain herself since she
cannot work. Lately, Genoveva has become severely depressed over her situation, and has lost all her hair as a
result of her depression. She is now seeing a therapist, but Maurice refuses to seek any help; he claims Genoveva
is the crazy one. Lately, Maurice's drinking is worsening, and last year he was prosecuted for driving drunk. He is most violent
when he drinks, and usually throws Genoveva and the children out of the house. Genoveva is now trying to save
enough money to leave Maurice. She is self-petitioning for residency under VAWA. Genoveva's family members
in Milwaukee are afraid to offer Genoveva their support because Maurice has threatened to harm them. Returning
to Mexico to obtain her green card would be extremely dangerous for Genoveva. She could not stay with her
family members in Mexico who would not have space or finances to support her and her children if she were to
travel to Mexico. She would therefore have to stay at the house Maurice owns in Mexico. Maurice would surely
find her there and abuse her further, since the law will not protect her in Mexico. Genoveva could not afford the
expense or the risk of taking her children into Mexico where Maurice could kidnap them, nor is she able to leave
them behind. There is no one who could care for them and protect them. It is therefore necessary that Genoveva
is able to obtain lawful immigration status while remaining in this country. This case originated in Texas and is currently in Wisconsin. ROSITA Rosita, originally from Mexico, moved to Texas as a young girl. Her mother died when she was four years old,
leaving her and her two brothers with an aunt in Texas. They never knew their father. Rosita met and married
Max, a lawful permanent resident, in Texas when she was fifteen years old. Shortly after Rosita and Max were
married, they had a baby girl and moved to Wisconsin to be with Max's family. The problems began as soon as the couple was married. Rosita learned that Max was using and dealing drugs,
along with his brothers and uncles. He had many affairs during the marriage, from which he contracted sexually
transmitted infections. He infected Rosita many times, and then blamed her for it. Realizing the relationship was
troubled, Rosita did not want to have any more children after her first. However, Max would not use protection
and insisted on having more children. He told her if she did not have them, he would have them with other
women. The couple eventually had two more children. Max continued to go out with other women, and these women would often call Rosita at home and harass her with
stories of their love affairs with her husband. When Rosita would complain, Max would beat her. One day, a
young girl called Rosita and told her to divorce Max, because she was having his baby. When Rosita questioned
Max about this, he was drunk. He became very angry and threw bleach in Rosita's eyes. She had to go to the
hospital, and the police were called there. However, Max told the police that Rosita was the one who threw the
bleach, showing them his bleach-spattered shirt. Rosita did not say anything, and the police did not arrest Max. Max bought a house and a bar, but put them in his sister's name so that Rosita would have no right to them if she
ever dared to divorce him. Max also makes all the family purchases to prevent Rosita from having access any of
the money. She is not permitted to go anywhere without his permission, and if she does, he beats her. On one
occasion when he beat her, her face was so disfigured that she took the children and left in fear for their lives.
However, she could not survive on her own for long, and returned a few days later. Recently, Max was arrested for drunken driving and was jailed for three months. When he got out, he came home
at 1:00 a.m., while Rosita was still at work. Because she did not know when he was supposed to come home, she
went out to eat with a girlfriend from work and did not return home until 1:30 a.m. The young children were in
the care of their uncle and their older sister Regina. Max was enraged that Rosita was not home for his return, and
called the police, charging Rosita with child neglect. She was not arrested, which only further enraged Max. Rosita lives in constant fear of Max's temper, and is very concerned for the impact his violence is having on their
children. Rosita's oldest daughter Regina has suffered from the effects of the abuse. Regina is very angry at her
father and has a lot of confused emotions about family. She was just expelled from Catholic school for fighting,
cursing, and lying. She does not want to go back to school, but wants to work instead so that she can afford to
take her mother and siblings away from Max's abuse. Rosita is devastated that her children have been so
adversely affected, and that they feel responsible for protecting the family against Max. She wants to change that,
and is ready to leave Max and provide for her children on her own. However, in order to become a lawful permanent resident, Rosita will be required to return to Mexico for consular
processing. This would pose severe hardship for her and her children. Since Rosita first came to this country at
the age of four, she has no family or friends in Mexico. She cannot afford the trip on her own and has no one to
rely upon for assistance once she reaches Mexico. Having to take the children would be an additional expense, but
she would not dream of leaving them behind. Max could claim that she has abandoned them and have her parental
rights revoked. Furthermore, Max could follow Rosita to Mexico, where he could take his revenge upon her for
leaving him without facing legal consequences. For these reasons, it is important that Rosita be permitted to
remain in the United States to obtain her green card, and not be forced to risk her safety and rights by returning to
Mexico. This case originated in Wisconsin. ATALANTA Atalanta came to the United States from Venezuela to visit friends and family. While at a baseball game, she met
James, an American citizen. Even though there was a language barrier, the two became friends and fell in love.
Atalanta thought James was a very nice person, and the couple enjoyed going out with friends together. However,
before long Atalanta's visa expired and she had to return to Venezuela to her 5-year-old son and her parents who
were caring for him. James said he loved her and did not want her to leave, and said he would marry her so she
would stay. Atalanta agreed, and sent for her son after the marriage. She was happy to get him out of Venezuela,
where her son's father was using and dealing drugs. James made Atalanta sign a prenuptial agreement so that she would not be entitled to any of his belongings or
assets. A few months after the wedding, she noticed James began to become even more possessive. He would
make Atalanta buy her own groceries for her and her son, not allowing her to touch any of the food he bought
himself. James started to drink more and more, and soon became violent. He beat Atalanta on several different
occasions. He also abused Atalanta sexually and routinely forced sex upon her. Atalanta did not call the police
because she was afraid James would have her and her son deported back to Venezuela. While all this abuse was going on, James's ex-wife decided to sign custody of their two daughters over to James.
For a while, James was nicer to Atalanta so that she would care for his older daughters. By this time, Atalanta had
become depressed and was seeking mental health therapy. She thought about divorcing James, but he convinced
her not to, bullying her about her immigration status. Recently, Atalanta found marijuana in James's dresser and questioned him about it. He had been drinking, and
verbally attacked her for questioning him. His anger made Atalanta nervous, and she retreated to the basement to
smoke a cigarette. James followed her, and accused her of trying to burn the house down. He then pulled her by
the hair and threw her outside in the cold without shoes or a coat. As he was pushing her out, she hit him in self
defense. James then called the police and claimed Atalanta abused him, but the police could see that James was
drunk and did not arrest her. After this incident, Atalanta filed for and received a protection order against James, feeling her life was in danger.
Atalanta is self-petitioning for residency under VAWA and will be pursuing a divorce. However, if she is forced
to return to Venezuela for consular processing, she could again be in danger. Her restraining order against James
would not be valid in Venezuela. This would give him incentive to follow her and take his revenge upon her
there, where he could escape legal consequences. Atalanta has no support system in Venezuela as her family sides
with him. Further, her ex-husband, who has been involved in criminal activity and drug dealing in Venezuela is
angry about her bringing their son to the United States. She fears that returning to Venezuela with her oldest son
would be dangerous. However, he must be able to travel with her to be able to obtain her green card based on
Atalanta's VAWA petition. For these reasons, it is important that Atalanta and her son be allowed to remain
within this country to obtain lawful immigration status. This case originated in Wisconsin. BONITA Bonita is a 26-year-old woman from Mexico. She moved to Wisconsin with her family when she was seventeen
and began attending college. At college, she dated Julio, a Nicaraguan student, and became pregnant at age 19.
However, Julio broke up with her when he found out she was pregnant, and took no interest in seeing the baby. Bonita later met another man at work, an American citizen named Matthew. Matthew seemed kind and treated
Bonita nicely, and she married him when she was 23. When they were first married, they lived with Bonita's
parents, but soon they moved to a dairy farm in Nebraska. There, Matthew became a different man. He often
came home angry, hitting furniture and slamming doors, yelling at Bonita that it was her fault things were not
working out for him. The physical abuse soon started, and Matthew would frequently pull Bonita's hair, hit her in
the face with the palm of his hand, shake her, hit her arms with his fists, and push her into walls. Matthew also abused Bonita in other ways. He kept her isolated from family, friends, and community, and refused
to give her any money for expenses. He also forced her to have sex with him against her will. After about two
months, Matthew went to Texas to live with his mother. There, he was arrested on an old warrant for abusing his
first wife and was sent to jail for two weeks. During this time, Bonita was deported to Mexico. When Matthew
got out of jail, he found Bonita in Mexico and convinced her to return to Texas with him. When the couple moved into Matthew's mother's house, the abuse continued. Matthew was unemployed and sat
around the house all day drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. He was angry all the time, and took his anger
out on Bonita. He used to wake her in the middle of the night just so he could beat her. He waited until no one
was around to hear the abuse. Bonita became pregnant, but suffered a miscarriage because of the beatings.
Eventually, her mother brought her back to Wisconsin, away from Matthew. Bonita wishes to remain in the United States, where her family and friends live and are available as a support
system. If she is forced to return to Mexico to obtain her green card, she will face danger and will not be protected
by the law. Matthew could easily again follow her to Mexico, where he could abuse her without fear of being
prosecuted. Bonita does not have any family or friends in Mexico, and will have no means of financial or
emotional support while she is there waiting for her green card to be processed based on her VAWA self-petition.
There is no indication of how long she would be forced to remain in Mexico for consular processing. For these
reasons, Bonita must be allowed to adjust her immigration status in the United States, where she will be protected
by the law and supported by her community. This case originated in Ohio. ELSA Elsa is a 52-year-old woman from Hungary. Three years ago, she traveled to the United States to work as a nanny
for an Hungarian family in Ohio. She taught the children Hungarian, and took them on outings to the park. One
day in the park, Elsa met Patrick, an American citizen. The two began to see each other often, and before long
they decided to marry and Elsa left her job. After their marriage, Patrick's behavior completely changed, and he began to abuse Elsa emotionally, verbally,
and physically. He frequently threatened to kill her and constantly called her obscene names. Knowing Elsa was
especially fearful of fire, Patrick would threaten to set the apartment on fire after he left. He would often scream,
"I'll spend the rest of my life in jail to see you dead." Elsa was terrified of Patrick, but did not know how to seek help. She was not familiar with the English language
or her surroundings and felt completely isolated. The only place Elsa was allowed to go was the grocery store,
and even then she had to be accompanied by Patrick. On these occasions, he would accuse her of looking at other
people and planning to leave him. He would then hit her in the car on the way home. On several occasions, Patrick beat Elsa so severely that she called the police, but this only made Patrick more
angry. Elsa knew if she stayed with Patrick any longer, he would eventually maim or kill her. She sought refuge
in shelters, frequently changing her location so Patrick could not find her. Elsa has now become an independent, self-sufficient member of the community, having learned English and found
employment, housing, and a supportive network of friends. She is proud of her accomplishments here, and knows
such success would not be possible for her in Hungary. Her VAWA self-petition was approved and she would like
to file for her lawful permanent residency as soon as possible. But returning to Hungary to do so would present an
extreme hardship. Elsa would lose her job, as she would have to be out of the country for an indeterminate period
of time. She would not be able to afford the trip even with the salary she makes now; without it, she would lose
everything. Elsa has two grown children in Hungary, but the economic conditions there are so unfavorable that
they cannot find work or support themselves. They are not in a position to help Elsa if she were forced to return to
Hungary, and Elsa has no other family there to provide lodging or financial support. Finally, Patrick would be
free to follow Elsa to Hungary, where the law would not protect her against his abuses. Forcing Elsa to return to
Hungary to obtain her green card poses an increased risk to her safety and robs her of our legal system's ability to
protect her. For these reasons, it is necessary for Elsa to obtain her green card without being forced to leave the
United States and face the hardship of returning to Hungary. This case originated in Ohio. LEE Lee is originally from Thailand. She married Eddie, a United States citizen, after he dated and courted her. She
believed Eddie loved her, and she placed a high value on having a family. She never imagined that Eddie would
abuse her. Shortly after their marriage, Eddie began controlling Lee's behavior. He refused to let her leave the house, and he
would not cooperate in petitioning for her legal residency. He began to insult her and treat her like a servant,
forcing her to follow his orders at all times. Eddie would get extremely angry and fly into destructive rages in
which he would throw objects, break Lee's personal possessions, and ruin furniture. His violence escalated soon
after their son, Brian, was born. He would slap Lee when he would get angry, and he would also slap little Brian,
as well. Lee's marriage to Eddie was marked with significant sexual abuse. Eddie forced sexual intercourse on Lee while
she was asleep. He also raped her many times while he was an angry rage. On one occasion, when Lee fled to her
father-in-law's house after Eddie beat her in the face, Eddie's own father tried to force her to have sex with him.
When she refused him, he ordered her and Brian to get in his car, and he drove them to Eddie's house and charged
Lee $40 for the ride. When Lee told Eddie that his father had tried to force himself on her, Eddie shrugged and
told her that she must have done something to provoke his father. Eddie began telling Lee that she was crazy and that she needed to go to a mental hospital because she was making
him abuse her. Lee's self-esteem plummeted, and she began blaming herself for the abuse she was suffering. She
was afraid to tell anyone about the abuse because whenever she called the police or tried to get help, Eddie would
punish her by turning off the electricity in their home for days, cutting off Lee's ability to cook or obtain heat or
air conditioning. The most severe incident of abuse occurred just before Lee separated from Eddie. Eddie had just come home from
work, and he appeared to be angry about something. When Lee asked what was the matter, Eddie grabbed her by
the neck and choked her, telling her he wanted her to die. After she collapsed to the ground from lack of oxygen,
he stomped on her stomach and watched her writhe in agony. When Eddie left the house later that night, Lee and
her son fled to a battered women's shelter. Lee has since received psychological counseling services and has been
assisted in applying for a visa through VAWA. Forcing Lee to return to Thailand to obtain her green card would be emotionally and financially devastating to her.
She lacks financial resources to make the trip to Thailand, since she is currently living in a shelter with her son
and is looking for work. She has no family in the United States with whom to leave her U.S. citizen son, who is
now two years old, so she would have to take him with her to Thailand. Doing this would be both financially
impossible and emotionally painful for Lee. She has not kept her family in Thailand informed as to the abuse she
suffered with Eddie, and she knows that her family would view her separation from her husband as a humiliating
disgrace and fears their treatment and rejection of her. Lee strongly believes that once her family finds out she has
left her husband, they will refuse to shelter and support her and her son in Thailand. A second factor preventing Lee's departure to Thailand is her need to continue psychotherapy in the U.S. Lee's
therapist has informed her attorney that she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Lee has recurrent
nightmares about the abuse she suffered at Eddie's hands. She also becomes paralyzed during the day with
frightening "flashback" memories of her husband beating her. Lee requires psychotherapy to treat this disorder, as
well as her feelings of worthlessness and lack of self-esteem. If she were to leave the country and discontinue her
therapy, her condition would worsen, and all the progress she has made would be reversed. Lee needs to obtain
her green card in the U.S. so that she may continue her therapy and seek permanent housing and employment to
support her son. This case originated in Alabama. CARMEN Carmen is a citizen of Panama. She met and married her United States citizen husband, Andrew, when he was
stationed in Panama with the U.S. military. After the couple married, they moved to the United States. Andrew
always promised Carmen that he would apply for her residency, but he never did. Carmen and Andrew settled in Alabama. Andrew kept Carmen completely isolated from others. She was not
allowed to socialize with anyone, make friends, speak to anyone on the telephone, or leave the house on her own.
She was completely dependent upon Andrew for money, food, and clothes. She felt helpless, like a prisoner in her
own home. As time went on, Andrew's behavior grew more abusive and controlling. He would get very jealous and
possessive of Carmen. He would even instruct her on how to do her makeup and would select her clothes in the
morning so that her appearance would be to his liking. When Carmen gave birth to their child shortly after their
marriage, Carmen became even more dependent on Andrew for support. She had absolutely no family or friends
to rely on in the United States, but she attempted to leave Andrew more than once and seek refuge in a shelter. Each time that Carmen would leave Andrew, he would threaten to report her to INS and have her deported. He
also threatened that if she were deported, she would not be able to take their child back to Panama with her. He
told her he would petition for custody of the child and have his family raise him here in the U.S. These threats
frightened Carmen enough to return to Andrew and leave the shelter. Andrew refused to provide money or
clothing for the baby unless Carmen returned to live with him as his wife. Carmen only recently separated from
Andrew and sought the counsel of an attorney. If Carmen is forced to return to Panama to get her green card under VAWA, she will face losing her only child in
a custody battle. Andrew has petitioned for sole custody, and Carmen has temporary custody of the child until the
matter is adjudicated. Andrew would like nothing more than to see Carmen deported. Failing that, he would
certainly take advantage of her situation if she had to go to Panama for a potentially long period of time to get her
green card. She cannot travel to Panama with her child while the child's custody is in dispute. She is afraid to
leave the child with her abuser, Andrew, or with any of his family. Furthermore, she is convinced that if she
leaves the U.S. for any period of time, no matter how brief, Andrew will petition the court for custody of their
child on the grounds that Carmen abandoned the child. For these reasons, Carmen cannot go back to Panama for
even the shortest amount of time to get her green card. This story originated in Georgia. ANOU Anou and Omar met and married in Egypt, their native country. Their marriage was arranged by their parents.
Omar is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, and returned to live there after the marriage. Anou
followed him soon after, and Omar promised her parents he would apply for her legal residency. Once they began living together, Omar treated Anou poorly. He started to delay the immigration paperwork
process, and shouted at Anou if she brought it up. He ordered her around and demeaned and insulted her. Anou
quietly obeyed Omar out of fear, but she was dissatisfied. She asked him why he treated her this way, and
wondered what made him change. This only enraged Omar, and his verbal abuse escalated. He told Anou that he
was sorry he had to marry her, because she was a bad wife. He then began going out more often, staying out late
and locking Anou in the house, leaving her without any way to exit the house for full days at a time. Anou was terrified to be alone in a strange country where she knew no one, and devastated that her new husband
had rejected her. Omar's cruelty was unbearable for her, especially since she was not allowed to leave the house
and had nothing else in her life. His treatment of Anou worsened, and before long he began to threaten her with
the ultimate punishment. Omar knew that if he sent Anou back to Egypt, her uncle would kill her for dishonoring
her family. Traditional Egyptian cultural practices dictate that when a husband is dissatisfied with his wife, she
shames her family and has failed her purpose in life. Egyptian women are usually killed for this. Anou begged Omar not to send her to her death, but he said he did not care about her or what happened to her. He
told her she deserved to die, and arranged for her to travel to Egypt the following day. He then locked her in the
house and left. Anou was so frightened that she fainted. When she regained consciousness, she realized she had
to escape. The only open exit was the second floor balcony, and she decided to leave behind her belongings and
climb down. Reaching the ground, she began to fear that Omar would come after her in his car, and she started to
run. She ran for two hours, until she reached a police officer in the street. Although she did not speak English
well, she communicated her danger, and he brought her to a shelter. Anou then contacted her mother in Egypt, who warned her never to return to Egypt. Her mother told her that her
uncle was sure to kill her and that she could not protect Anou if she returned. Anou resolved to remain in the
United States and succeed on her own, away from Omar's abuse. She has self-petitioned for residency, but cannot
return to Egypt to obtain her green card. Her uncle and father are still determined to end her life for the dishonor
she has brought them, and would surely find her as soon as she entered the country. It is therefore imperative that
Anou be allowed to obtain lawful immigration status within the United States, where she is independent and safe. This case originated in Hawaii. LEA Lea came originally from Micronesia to Hawaii. There she met Mark, an American citizen, and the two began
dating. Before long, Lea realized she was pregnant, and she and Mark got married. The relationship was strong until their daughter Haley was born. Around this time, Mark began drinking
excessively and frequently became angry when intoxicated. He took his anger out on Lea, first mentally abusing
her with harsh language and frightening threats. He often told her he would have her deported if she did not obey
him. This lead to physical abuse, which took the form of severe beatings. After these beatings, Lea fled with
Haley to friends' houses, but always returned to Mark out of fear and desperation. After one particularly brutal beating, Lea began to fear for her life and for Haley's safety and well-being, and
entered a shelter. She obtained a restraining order against Mark, and she and Haley hid from him in the shelter.
After that she moved in with friends, but had neither money nor a valid work permit. Mark continued to threaten
her, saying he would take Haley and never let Lea see her again. Lea is working to become an independent provider for herself and her American citizen child here in the United
States. She is filing a self-petition so that she can become a lawful permanent resident and can work to support
herself and her child. But she fears having to return to Micronesia to obtain her green card. Currently, Lea has
gone into hiding and Mark is being kept at bay by the restraining order filed against him. Friends, however, have
informed her that Mark is trying to find her. If Lea leaves the country, he will be able to find out she has left and
he will soon follow. Lea's protective order would not be valid in Micronesia, and Mark has told friends that if she
went there he would find her. Additionally, because she is not working, Lea cannot afford a trip to Micronesia.
Because of Mark's threats, it would not be safe to take Haley with her or to leave her behind. Therefore, it is
necessary for Lea to obtain her green card in the United States where she can remain protected by the law. This case originated in Hawaii. VANESSA Vanessa, a Mexican native, traveled to Hawaii where she met Frank, a United States citizen. They fell in love and
got married, and were together for three years. During that time, Vanessa endured many forms of abuse from
Frank, and lived in constant terror. After they were married, Frank kept postponing filing an immigration petition for Vanessa. If she would mention
it, he would become angry and hostile, threatening her with deportation. Vanessa worked part time for cash, but
Frank took away all the money she earned. She had no money of her own, and relied on Frank to purchase
everything they needed. He even picked out and purchased her clothes, although he only rarely bought anything
for her. After a while, Frank's controlling behavior escalated into mental and physical abuse. He demeaned and
threatened Vanessa, and frequently beat her. Eventually, Vanessa reached a point where she could stand no more abuse, and sought refuge in a shelter. She
obtained a protective order against Frank and was safe for a time. However, she felt helpless without Frank and
returned to him on two occasions. Shortly after both reunions, she returned to the shelter because of Frank's
continued severe beatings. Vanessa has filed a self-petition and wishes to remain in the United States where she can be protected from
Frank's continued abuse. However, she is terrified of being forced to return to Mexico to obtain lawful
immigration status. Vanessa currently feels safe because her protective order is succeeding in keeping Frank away
from her. Yet her protective order will not be enforced in Mexico, and Frank could follow her there where he can
abuse her without legal consequences. It is therefore necessary for Vanessa to receive her green card while safely
remaining within the boundaries of the United States. 1. 1. 2. 2 . 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5. 6. 6. 7. 7. 8. 8. 10. 10. Id. at 36 11. 11. See Power and Control Wheel Produced by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project,
Duluth, MN. 12. 12. See Mary Ann Dutton, et. al. Characteristics of Help-Seeking Behaviors, Resources and
Service Needs of Battered Immigrant Latinas: Lega l and Policy Implications. Georgetown
Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, Volume VII, Number 2, 6-7( Summer 2000). 13. 13. House Report No. 395, 103rd Cong., 1st Sess. (1993) 25. 14. 14. Id. 15. 15. See Mary Ann Dutton, et. al., Characteristics of Help-Seeking Behaviors, Resources and
Service Need of Battered Immigrant Latina=s: Legal and Policy Implications at 15. 16. 16. House Report No. 395, 103rd Cong., 1st Sess. (1993) 26-27. 17. 17. Id. at 26. 18. 18. Id. at 37. 19. 19. Id. at 37. 20. 20.
Section 245(i) was scheduled to sunset on September 30, 1997.(30)
B. Loss of custody of the children
A battered immigrant who must travel abroad will be separated from her children
for an indeterminate period of time if forced to leave the U.S. to obtain her green
card. Often, a battered immigrant woman is the sole caretaker of her children and
has a court order awarding her custody of the children. Knowing that she will have
to leave the U.S. and potentially remain abroad for several months to obtain her
green card will create significant problems for a battered immigrant. For example,
she may have to take her children with her so that she can protect them from her
abuser; however, taking the children with her may be economically impossible,
since she cannot predict how long she will have to remain abroad. Taking the
children with her also may result in the violation of a court order awarding her
abuser visitation of the children. The abuser may even succeed in having parental
kidnapping charges filed against her.
VI. Legislative Solutions
ANGELA
21. 21. Id. at 25, 27.
22. Immigration and Naturalization Service, November 1999.
23. 23. See Hughes, HM et al (1989). Witnessing spouse abuse and experiencing physical abuse: A
24. 24.
25. 25. Immigration and Naturalization Service, International Matchmaking Organizations: A Report to Congress,@ March 4, 1999, 5 <http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/aboutins/repstudies/Mobrept.htm>.
0 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1796, 1953-1955 (1994) (codified at 8 U.S.C.A. §1554). For overviews of the VAWA provisions affecting battered immigrants, see Linda Kelly, Domestic Violence Survivors: Surviving the Beatings of 1996, 11 Geo. Immigr. L.J. 303, 313-314 (1997) (detailing the Congressional rationale for adopting VAWA); Note, Trapped in Domestic Violence: The Impact of United States Immigration Laws on Battered Immigrant Women, 6 B.U. Pub. Int. L.J. 589, 600-603 (1997) (noting that VAWA became effective in 1995, but the INS did not issue interim regulations for the implementation of VAWA until March 26, 1996); and Linda Kelly, Stories from the Front: Seeking Refuge for Battered Immigrants in the Violence Against Women Act, 92 Nw. U.L. Rev. 665, 671-688 (1998) (outlining VAWA's evidentiary requirements).
0 Congress set the fine at $1000 in 1996; before then, the amount of the fine had fluctuated. H.R. Conf. Rep, 104-863, 104th Cong. §376 (1996).
0 Revenues were used, in large part, to fund detention centers for illegal and criminal aliens. S.Rep. 105-48, 105th Cong. (1997).
0 Gabrielle M. Buckley, International Legal Developments in Review: 1997, 32 INTLLAW 471, 474 (1998).
0 H.R. Rep. 105-845, 105th Cong. (1998).
31. Except that immigrants who entered lawfully and were spouses or children of US citizens who violated the terms on their visas may continue to adjust their status within the United States.
0 Id.
0 Id.
0 Id.
0 Id.
0 Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-119, H.R. 2267 (1997).
0 INA §204(a)(1)(A)(iii)(II); INA §204(a)(1)(A)(iv)(II); INA §204(a)(1)(B)(ii); and INA §204(a)(1)(B)(iii)(II).
0 Leslye E. Orloff, Deeana Jang & Catherine F. Klein, With No Place to Turn: Improving Legal Advocacy for Battered Immigrant Women, 29 Fam. L.Q. 313, 327 (1995).
0 Kelly, supra note 1, 92 Nw. U.L. Rev. at 686.
0 Id. at 677 (explaining that battered women must often struggle to obtain custody of their children because of the perception that they are "weak" and thus unable to care for their children).
0 See Shawn Foster, Law's Demise Puts Immigrant Wives at Risk, SLTR, January 25, 1999, at B1.
0 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, supra note 1 at Sec. 40221.
0 Kelly, supra note 1, 11 Geo. Immigr. L.J. at 303, citing Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, Pub. L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009 (1996).
0 In some countries, shelters and services for survivors of domestic violence may not exist. In other countries, laws against domestic violence may be greatly underenforced, either because the laws have only recently been passed or because law enforcement fails to respond to domestic violence reports. See Kelly, supra note 1, 92 Nw. U.L. Rev. at 681-682. See also Uma Narayan, "Male-order" Brides: Immigrant Women, Domestic Violence and Immigration Law, 10 HYPA 104 (1995), where the author describes the ostracism of Indian women who return home after having left their abusive husbands.
0 Id., citing Nilda Rimonte, A Question of Culture: Cultural Approval of Violence Against Women in the Pacific-Asian Community and the Cultural Defense, 43 Stan. L.R. 1311 (1991), and giving the example of Asian women at a Los Angeles battered women's shelter who refrained from reporting domestic violence due to a need to "preserve the family honor."
0 Michelle J. Anderson, A License to Abuse: The Impact of Conditional Status on Female Immigrants, 102 Yale L.J. 1401, 1420-21 (1993).
0 Deborah Weissman, Protecting the Battered Immigrant Woman, 68-OCT Fla. B.J. 81, 82 (1994).
0 Id.
0 See Catherine F. Klein and Leslye E. Orloff, Providing Legal Protection for Battered Women: An Analysis of State Statutes and Case Law, 21 Hofstra L. Rev. 801, 1020 (1993), noting that the effective provision of legal assistance and services to battered immigrant women requires that advocates, attorneys, police, and courts receive training and education on domestic violence issues.
0 Kelly, supra note 1, 92 Nw. U.L. Rev. at 675.
0 Pena v. Kissinger, 409 F.Supp. 1182 (S.D.N.Y. 1976).