IB6 Green Card: VAWA Self-Petition Eligibility and Evidence

An IB6 green card is the lawful permanent resident card issued to an abused spouse of a U.S. citizen who self-petitioned under the Violence Against Women Act and adjusted status inside the United States. IB6 is the class-of-admission code printed on the card; it identifies the legal basis for the residency. VAWA protects victims of any gender, and because the spouse of a U.S. citizen counts as an immediate relative, there is no visa waiting line once U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approves the underlying petition.¹ The entire process is built so the abusive spouse never needs to know it is happening.

What the IB6 Code Means on a Green Card

Every green card carries a class-of-admission code showing why the holder was granted permanent residency. IB6 sits inside the Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens category and is specifically the code for a self-petitioning spouse who adjusted status in the United States.² Seeing IB6 on a card confirms three things at once: the holder was married to a U.S. citizen, they filed on their own behalf under VAWA, and they became a permanent resident from inside the country rather than through a consulate abroad.

Who Can Get an IB6 Green Card

You can self-petition if you are or were the spouse of a U.S. citizen and you or your child suffered battery or extreme cruelty by that citizen during the marriage.³ You also have to show that you married in good faith, that you lived with your spouse at some point, that you are a person of good moral character, and that you are admissible to the United States or eligible for a waiver of any grounds that would otherwise block you.¹

You do not have to still be married. If the marriage ended within the two years before you file and you can show the divorce was connected to the abuse, you remain eligible. The same two-year window applies if your abusive spouse died or lost citizenship because of a domestic violence incident.³

What Counts as Abuse

USCIS reads battery and extreme cruelty broadly. You do not need broken bones or hospital records. The definition covers any act or threat of violence that causes or could cause physical or mental injury, along with sexual abuse, forced detention, and controlling behavior like denying access to food, family members, or medical care.⁴

A single severe incident can qualify. So can a pattern of emotional or psychological abuse where no single event involved physical contact. Destroying immigration documents, threatening deportation, or isolating you from friends and family can all establish extreme cruelty when they fit into a broader pattern of control. USCIS looks at the totality of the circumstances rather than requiring a specific type of proof.

How to File the VAWA Self-Petition

The self-petition is Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant. There is no filing fee.⁵ You file it without your abusive spouse’s knowledge or consent, which is the feature that makes this pathway workable for people still living with or near the person who harmed them.¹

Because spouses of U.S. citizens are immediate relatives, a visa number is always available. You can file the green card application (Form I-485) at the same time as the I-360, while the I-360 is still pending, or after it is approved.¹ Filing both together saves time and lets you request work authorization while you wait.

Evidence That Supports the Petition

A VAWA case is built on documents. USCIS looks at four areas: the marriage itself, whether you lived together, the abuse, and your good moral character. Nothing needs to be perfect in any one category if the record as a whole tells the story.

Marriage and Shared Home

Begin with the marriage certificate. Add whatever shows the relationship was real: joint tax returns, shared bank accounts, leases in both names, insurance policies naming each other as beneficiaries, and photos together. For cohabitation, utility bills, mail addressed to both of you at the same place, and statements from landlords or neighbors help establish that you actually shared a home.

The Abuse

Many petitioners worry they have no proof, but USCIS accepts a wide range of evidence. Police reports, restraining orders, criminal court records, medical records, photographs of injuries, shelter records, and counseling notes all count. Your own detailed personal declaration is central. Statements from friends, family, counselors, teachers, or clergy who witnessed the abuse or its effects add weight. Medical records still help even if you did not tell the doctor the real cause of your injuries at the time; USCIS understands that victims frequently hide what is happening.

Good Moral Character

USCIS generally focuses on the three years before you file but can look further back when there is reason to. A local police clearance letter is standard. An aggravated felony conviction on or after November 29, 1990, and participation in persecution, genocide, torture, or extrajudicial killings are permanent bars.⁴ Other issues are weighed case by case against the standards of the average community member.

Getting the Green Card Itself

Once the I-360 is approved, or while it is pending if you filed concurrently, Form I-485 is what actually produces the green card. You must be physically present in the United States when you file.¹ The I-485 has a filing fee, and applicants who cannot afford it can request a waiver on Form I-912.⁶

You also need a medical examination by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon, recorded on Form I-693. The exam covers communicable diseases and required vaccinations, and the sealed envelope goes in with your I-485 package.⁷ While the I-485 is pending, you can request an employment authorization document on Form I-765 so you can work legally during the wait.¹

Confidentiality Protections

Federal law bars USCIS, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State from using information provided solely by your abuser to decide anything about your case. Those agencies also cannot disclose information about your petition to anyone outside sworn employees acting in their official capacity.⁸

Your abusive spouse will not be notified that you filed. USCIS will not contact your spouse to verify your claims. If your spouse separately contacts USCIS to report you or make accusations about your immigration status, the agency cannot use that information against you. These protections run from filing through the final decision and continue even if your petition is ultimately denied, ending only after any appeals are exhausted.

Children on the Petition

Your unmarried children under 21 can be included as derivative beneficiaries on your I-360. They do not need their own self-petition. If a child turns 21 before adjusting status but the self-petition was filed before their 21st birthday, the child automatically converts to a principal self-petitioner and keeps the parent’s original priority date.⁴ Each child still files their own I-485 and completes their own medical exam, but they draw on the evidence submitted with the parent’s petition.

Divorce and Remarriage Rules

Divorce before filing does not automatically disqualify you. You can still self-petition if the marriage ended within two years of filing and you show the termination was connected to the abuse.⁹ A divorce after the petition is on file generally does not affect it.

Remarriage is different, and timing is everything. If you remarry before your I-360 is approved, USCIS will deny the petition. Remarriage after approval does not invalidate an already-approved self-petition.⁹ The simple rule: do not remarry until the I-360 is approved.

What to Expect After Filing

USCIS mails a Form I-797C, Notice of Action, once it accepts your filing. The notice includes a receipt number for checking status online.¹⁰ A biometrics appointment notice follows for fingerprints and a photograph, which USCIS uses for background checks.

Some applicants are called in for an in-person interview where an officer reviews the evidence and asks about the marriage and the abuse. Not every case gets one. Processing times vary by office and caseload, and VAWA cases do not follow a single predictable timeline. The final decision arrives by mail.

When the petition and adjustment are both approved, the green card is issued with IB6 as the class of admission, marking the holder as a VAWA self-petitioning spouse of a U.S. citizen. As a lawful permanent resident, you can live and work anywhere in the country.² Once you meet the residency and other requirements for naturalization, you can apply for U.S. citizenship.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for VAWA Self-Petitioner
2
Office of Homeland Security Statistics. Immigrant Classes of Admission
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1154 – Procedure for Granting Immigrant Status
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 3 Part D Chapter 2 – Eligibility Requirements and Evidence
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Now Requires Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record to be Submitted with Form I-485 for Certain Applicants
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1367 – Penalties for Disclosure of Information
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Questions and Answers – Abused Spouses, Children and Parents Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action