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Without knowing the details of your situation, it appears on the surface that you may be eligible to self-petition for an immigrant visa under the Violence Against Women’s Act (“VAWA”). A VAWA self-petitioner files Form I-360, which replaces the Relative Petition (Form I-130) filed by the spouse. VAWA allows the immigrant to control the process instead of relying on the abusive United States citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident spouse. Any immigrant, male or female, is eligible to self-petition under VAWA if all of the following requirements are met:

• There is/was a good faith marriage between the immigrant and a United States citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident
• The marriage is/was legally valid
• There is/was abuse (physical, emotional, mental, psychological)
• There is/was joint residence
• The self-petitioner is a person of good moral character

The abovementioned list does not include some nuances that may affect VAWA eligibility, such as divorce.

It is very important that the self-petitioner be able to provide substantial amounts of supporting evidence to prove all of the above requirements. The self-petition should begin by writing a detailed statement about his or her life, including details about life before meeting the abusive spouse and continuing to the present day. Other evidence, for example, that should be submitted includes a police report (if one was filed) as proof of the incident in this question. The filing of a self-petition can be emotionally challenging, not to mention confusing and time-consuming. Persons who believe they qualify for VAWA should contact an experienced immigration attorney to assist with this process.