New USCIS Policy Guidance provides more favorable interpretation of shared residence requirement for VAWA Petitioners.

On February 10, 2022, USCIS issued a Policy Guidance alert addressing certain changes to its interpretation of the shared residence requirement for petitioners under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). 

Specifically, USCIS will no longer require VAWA petitioners to currently reside or to have resided in the past with his or her abusive spouse during the qualifying relationship.  Instead, USCIS is now only requiring petitioners to show that they currently reside or have resided with the abuser at any time in the past when filing the I-360 VAWA self-petition.  This is a major benefit for VAWA petitioners who are not able to show that they lived with their abusive spouse during the qualifying relationship, but who can show that they lived with their spouse before they got married.

For more information regarding this new USCIS Policy Guidance affecting VAWA self-petitioners, contact U.S. Immigration Lawyer Sean D. Hummel to schedule a consultation.