How to File a VAWA Self-Petition: Forms, Evidence, and Filing

To file a VAWA self-petition, you submit Form I-360 to USCIS with evidence that you were abused by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent, or (if the abuser is a citizen aged 21 or older) adult child. There is no filing fee, and federal law bars USCIS from telling your abuser you filed or using anything they say against you.¹ The petition is designed so you can pursue immigration status on your own, in secret, and without your abuser’s cooperation.

Form I-360 has a field for an alternate safe mailing address if home is not safe.² A trusted friend’s address, a shelter, or an attorney’s office all work. Confidentiality protections stay in place through any appeal and only end after a final denial.

Confirm You Are Eligible

Three groups can self-petition when the abuser is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident:

Abused spouses. Current spouses, spouses whose partner also abused their child, and former spouses whose marriage ended by divorce connected to the abuse within the two years before filing. If a U.S. citizen spouse died, you have two years from their death to file.
Abused children. You must be unmarried and under 21 at filing, with protections if you turn 21 while the case is pending.
Abused parents of a U.S. citizen son or daughter who is 21 or older.

You must have lived with the abuser at some point. Filing from outside the United States is possible if the abuser is a U.S. government employee or armed forces member, or the abuse occurred in the United States.³ If the abuser lost citizenship or LPR status, you can still file when the loss happened within two years of filing and was connected to domestic violence. Spouses must also show the marriage was entered in good faith.

Spouses and children can include their own unmarried children under 21 as derivative beneficiaries on the same petition. Self-petitioning parents cannot add derivatives.⁴

Understand What Counts as Abuse

The legal standard is “battery or extreme cruelty,” which USCIS reads broadly. What matters is a pattern reflecting intent to gain or keep power and control over you. Isolated hurtful comments do not qualify on their own; sustained controlling behavior does.⁴

Recognized forms include physical violence and threats, sexual abuse, forced confinement or isolation, control over food, medical care, or money, and coercive patterns whose individual acts may not look violent but add up to domination.

The Forms You File

Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, is the core form.² VAWA self-petitioners skip Part 1 and complete Part 3, which asks for your biographical information, the abuser’s name and immigration status, your relationship to the abuser, and a description of the abuse.

If an attorney or accredited representative is helping you, they file Form G-28 with your package.⁵

There is no filing fee for a VAWA I-360, and the exemption extends to the related work authorization application.⁶ You can request an initial Employment Authorization Document directly on Form I-360, without submitting a separate Form I-765.⁷

Documents and Evidence to Gather

Strong petitions combine the form with well-organized supporting evidence. No single document controls the outcome, but the more you can provide, the better.

Proof of the Qualifying Relationship

Marriage certificates, divorce decrees, birth certificates, or adoption records establish the legal tie. Spouses should also include good-faith marriage evidence: photos together, joint financial accounts, shared leases, correspondence.

Evidence of the Abuse

Your own detailed personal declaration is typically the strongest piece of evidence. Write it yourself, and be specific about dates, locations, and incidents. You do not need a police report or hospital records to prove abuse. Supporting documents can include police reports, protective orders, medical records, photographs of injuries, texts or emails from the abuser, and affidavits from anyone who witnessed the abuse or its aftermath. A psychological evaluation from a licensed mental health professional can document emotional impact and helps when physical evidence is limited.

Proof of the Abuser’s Immigration Status

Copies of the abuser’s passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or green card work. If you cannot safely obtain these, USCIS can sometimes verify status through its own records.

Proof You Lived Together

Joint leases, utility bills, insurance policies, or mail addressed to both of you at the same address. If no joint records exist, affidavits from neighbors or community members can substitute.

Good Moral Character

You must show good moral character, generally covering the three years before filing. Get police clearance letters from every jurisdiction where you have lived during that period. If you have arrests or convictions, include certified court records.⁴

Aggravated felonies are a permanent bar. Crimes involving moral turpitude, controlled substance violations, and giving false testimony for immigration benefits are conditional bars. If your criminal history is connected to the abuse, USCIS can waive the conditional bars. You need to show a causal or logical relationship between the act and the abuse, not that the abuser literally forced the act. An arrest during a domestic disturbance your abuser provoked, or substance use tied to the trauma, are the kinds of connections that qualify.

Where and How to Mail Your Petition

USCIS handles VAWA petitions through regional lockbox facilities in Elgin (Illinois), Dallas (Texas), Phoenix (Arizona), and Chicago (Illinois). Each covers a different set of states and territories. Check the USCIS filing locations page for the correct address before you mail.⁸

Put Form I-360 on top, then Form G-28 if you have one, then the supporting evidence grouped by category with tabs or dividers: relationship, abuse, shared residence, and good moral character. Send by certified mail with return receipt or a trackable courier so you have proof of delivery.

What Happens After You File

USCIS mails a receipt notice (Form I-797C) confirming the filing date and giving you a receipt number to track the case.⁹

The first substantive step is a prima facie review. USCIS looks at whether your evidence, on its face, meets the basic requirements. If it does, you receive a Notice of Prima Facie Case. This is not an approval, but it makes you a “qualified alien” eligible for certain public benefits while the case is pending, and you can renew it until USCIS decides.¹⁰

USCIS will schedule a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center to collect fingerprints and a photograph for background checks.¹¹ If more documentation is needed, USCIS issues a Request for Evidence. Respond thoroughly and before the deadline; a late or incomplete response can lead to denial. In-person interviews are uncommon in VAWA cases but can happen in complex ones.

The decision arrives by mail. Processing times vary and can range from several months to well over a year.

Work Authorization and the Green Card

Because you can request the initial EAD on Form I-360 itself, your work permit moves through the system alongside the petition. Once the I-360 is approved, you and any derivative children are eligible for employment authorization under category (c)(31). Derivative children, and anyone renewing or replacing an EAD, file Form I-765 with a copy of the approval notice. No fee applies.⁷

An approved I-360 is not a green card. To become a lawful permanent resident, you file Form I-485 to adjust status. You must be physically present in the United States, have an immigrant visa immediately available, be admissible or eligible for a waiver, and merit a favorable exercise of discretion.¹²

When you can file the I-485 depends on the abuser. If your abuser is a U.S. citizen and you filed as a spouse, parent, or child under 21, you are an immediate relative with a visa always available. You can file I-485 at the same time as I-360 or later.¹³ If your abuser is an LPR, you fall into a family-based preference category with limited visa numbers, so you may wait months or years for a visa before filing I-485. Your approved I-360 and work authorization keep you in a protected status during the wait.

If Your Petition Is Denied

You have 33 days from the date of the denial notice (30 days plus 3 for mailing) to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office using Form I-290B. There is no fee to appeal a VAWA denial.¹⁴ If the denial was based on missing evidence, filing a new, stronger petition is sometimes more practical than an appeal.

Where to Get Help

You can file without a lawyer, but the case rewards strong evidence and careful organization. Many nonprofits accredited by the Department of Justice represent VAWA self-petitioners at low or no cost, and USCIS publishes a list of recognized organizations and accredited representatives on its website.

If you are in immediate danger or need help with a safety plan, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-799-7233 (voice) and 1-800-787-3224 (TTY). Calls are confidential and advocates can connect you with local shelters, legal services, and safety planning.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1367 – Penalties for Disclosure of Information
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. About Abused Spouses, Children and Parents
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Eligibility Requirements and Evidence for VAWA
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-765, Instructions for Application for Employment Authorization
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Addresses for Certain Forms Filed in Connection With a VAWA, T, or U Visa Application/Petition
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Adjudication of VAWA Self-Petitions
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for VAWA Self-Petitioner
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Questions and Answers: Appeals and Motions