Can you get MICA if your spouse mistreats you?

Once your spouse (husband or wife):

• Did he threaten to hit you or your children?
• Is violence physical? – Has he hit you, punched you and / or slapped you? Have you pushed or hurt you or your children in any other way?
• Have you abused you emotionally? – Does this usually happen with insults to you or your children at home or in public?
• Does it force you to have sex when you do not want to?
• Have you threatened to take your children or hurt them?
• Did he threaten to throw you out to the “migra” or immigration authorities to deport you?
• Do you control your exits, what you do, and even who do you go out with?
• Do you control the money that you give and have run from your house?

If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, you and your children can qualify to get:

• Work permit.
• Temporary permission to live in the United States while you process your application for permanent residence (“mica”).
• Request and get the mica without the help of your spouse.
• You can apply for medical care and government benefits such as money or stamps.

The requirements to qualify for the application for immigration against violence against women *, better known as VAWA (Violence Against Women Act), are the following:

• Living in the United States (if you are abroad you can qualify if you show special circumstances).
• If you lived with your spouse for some time no matter if it was in the United States or abroad.
• If your spouse mistreats you or your children during the marriage.
• If your spouse is a US citizen or permanent resident of the United States, like:
  • If your spouse was a resident, but was deported for having committed domestic violence, you may still be entitled to apply for VAWA.
  • If you recently divorced due to the abuse you suffered, you can qualify for VAWA.
• You have to prove that your marriage was in good faith and not in order to receive a migratory benefit.

What can you do to document the abuse and have a successful application?

• Keep reports from the police, the doctor or any other document that helps you prove abuse.
• Keep a copy of any document that shows that you lived with your spouse. These documents can be bank statements, contracts or rent receipts, documents from your children’s school, cell phone receipts, etc.
• Proof that you live in the United States.
• Copy of important official documents such as marriage certificate, previous divorces record, birth certificates, passport or mica copies of your spouse.
• It is also important to write the dates of the mistreatment incidents and a narration of what happened in each incident.

If you need immediate assistance because your life is in danger, call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

*The fact that the petition is called an immigration request against violence against women does not mean that only women qualify. Men are also victims of domestic violence and qualify for this request.