If you are living in an abusive relationship and wondering whether you still have options under the Violence Against Women Act, the answer is yes. VAWA still protects survivors. What changed on December 22, 2025, is how United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reviews the evidence you submit. The standards are stricter, the scrutiny is higher, and the stakes of filing without proper preparation are greater than before. At Getachew & Ansari Immigration Attorneys, P.C., we help survivors in San Jose and throughout the Bay Area understand exactly where they stand under the updated rules.
What VAWA Is and Who It Protects
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), first passed in 1994, allows certain immigrants who have been abused by a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) to apply for immigration status on their own. The program is called a self-petition because you do not need your abuser to file anything on your behalf. You file Form I-360 independently, and your abuser is never notified.
VAWA covers abused spouses, children, and parents of U.S. citizens, as well as abused spouses and children of LPRs. Both men and women are eligible. You do not need a police report. You do not need to be in legal immigration status. And you do not need to leave your abuser before you file. The law was specifically designed to remove those barriers.
If your petition is approved, you may be eligible to apply for a Green Card and work authorization. In some cases, an approved petition may also support a request for deferred action. Because a denied petition under current enforcement policy can trigger removal proceedings, the decision to file should be made carefully and with the guidance of an experienced immigration attorney. Our firm can walk you through the full VAWA immigration process and help you assess your options before you file.
What USCIS Changed on December 22, 2025
USCIS published Policy Alert PA-2025-33 on December 22, 2025, rewriting the VAWA guidance contained in Volume 3, Part D of the USCIS Policy Manual. The agency cited a 360 percent increase in VAWA self-petitions between fiscal years 2020 and 2024 as the reason for the update. The guidance took effect immediately and applies to all petitions filed or pending on or after that date.
The core eligibility requirements for VAWA have not changed. What changed is how USCIS expects petitioners to prove they meet those requirements. The burden of proof has always rested with the petitioner. The December 2025 update makes it clearer that vague or thin evidence will not carry the weight it might have carried in prior years.
The specific changes that affect most filers are grouped below.
The Cohabitation Requirement Is Now Strictly Enforced
VAWA has always required that you lived with the abusive family member at some point during the qualifying relationship. The December 2025 update hardened this requirement in a specific way. Under the prior policy, it was sufficient to show that you had lived with the abuser at any time, including before the marriage took place. The updated guidance eliminated that flexibility. USCIS now requires that the cohabitation occurred during the qualifying relationship itself, meaning during the marriage or during the period of the relevant family relationship.
This matters practically. If you lived together before you were married but maintained separate households after the wedding, and the abuse occurred during the marriage, that pre-marital cohabitation alone no longer satisfies the requirement under the updated policy. You will need to document shared residence during the relationship itself.
There is no minimum time period specified, and cohabitation does not need to have occurred inside the United States. But you do need to show it. Evidence can include:
- Â Â Â Lease agreements or mortgage documents with both names or the same address
- Â Â Â Utility bills, bank statements, or tax records showing the same residence
- Â Â Â Letters, mail, or medical records addressed to both parties at the same location
- Â Â Â Affidavits from neighbors, landlords, friends, or family who witnessed your shared living situation
If you lived with your abuser only briefly, or if proving cohabitation is complicated by circumstances like the abuser controlling housing in your name only, an attorney can help you document this effectively.
Good-Faith Marriage Now Requires Primary Evidence
For self-petitioning spouses, proving that your marriage was genuine is a core requirement. The updated guidance raises the bar on what USCIS expects here. You must now establish good faith entry into the marriage by providing primary evidence of the marital relationship. Primary evidence includes documents that directly show you and your spouse were building a life together, such as:
- Â Â Â Joint bank accounts or financial records
- Â Â Â Joint lease or mortgage documents
- Â Â Â Federal tax returns filed as married filing jointly
- Â Â Â Insurance policies listing the other spouse as a beneficiary
- Â Â Â Birth certificates of children born to both spouses
- Â Â Â Photographs from the wedding and from your life together
USCIS still accepts a range of evidence and does not require you to have primary documents for every element. But the updated guidance makes clear that officers have sole discretion over what evidence they find credible and how much weight it receives. A strong, well-organized package reduces the chance that an officer will question your case.
Good Moral Character Standards Have Been Tightened
VAWA requires self-petitioners to demonstrate good moral character, generally measured over the three years immediately before filing. The December 2025 update removed language that previously said USCIS would not deny a petition solely for failure to submit certain evidence of good moral character.
The December 2025 update also removed language that previously said USCIS would not deny a petition solely for failure to submit certain evidence of good moral character. What this means practically is that a personal affidavit alone may not be sufficient in a case where there are any questions about your background. The updated guidance states that affidavits lacking detail, specificity, and reliability may receive little weight compared to other evidence in the record.
A personal declaration about your character remains important, but it should be supported by corroborating materials such as letters from community members, employers, religious leaders, or organizations you have been involved with. USCIS will also consider any criminal history that surfaces through biometric background checks, even if you did not disclose it. If there is anything in your background that could raise a question, addressing it proactively with the help of an attorney is the better approach.
What Did Not Change
Amid the tightened standards, several core protections remain exactly as they were. Understanding what has not changed is just as important as understanding what has.
You can still use any credible evidence to support your petition. USCIS has not moved to a rigid documentary checklist. Personal declarations, affidavits from people who witnessed the abuse, statements from medical or mental health professionals, photographs, and records of calls to domestic violence hotlines can all be part of your case.
Police reports are not required. If you never called the police, or if calling was not safe, that does not disqualify you. The absence of a police report is not treated as evidence against you.
Confidentiality protections remain in place. USCIS cannot contact your abuser or share information about your petition with them. The December 2025 updates to the confidentiality provisions clarified procedures but did not weaken these protections.
You also do not need to be divorced or currently separated. You can file while still in the relationship. And if your marriage has already ended, you can still file within two years of the divorce as long as the divorce is connected to the abuse.
What Type of Abuse Qualifies
VAWA covers battery and extreme cruelty. Physical violence clearly qualifies, but it is not required. Extreme cruelty is broadly interpreted and can include:
- Â Â Â Psychological abuse, threats, and intimidation
- Â Â Â Isolation from family, friends, or community
- Â Â Â Controlling financial access or economic coercion
- Â Â Â Threats to report your immigration status to authorities
- Â Â Â Using children as leverage or making threats involving them
- Â Â Â Sexual abuse or coercion
The December 2025 policy adds an important qualification. USCIS now states that hurtful conduct alone, or adverse interactions that are limited in severity, are not sufficient to establish “extreme” cruelty on their own. The conduct must reflect an intention to gain or maintain power and control over you. An isolated incident that was upsetting but did not reflect a pattern of domination may not meet the threshold without additional context.
The updated guidance also says USCIS must evaluate not just whether harmful conduct occurred, but the motivation behind it and the impact it had on you. This means documenting the pattern of the relationship, not just individual incidents, strengthens a petition significantly.
Confidentiality: Your Abuser Will Not Find Out
One of the most common fears survivors have is that filing will somehow alert the abuser. Under federal law at 8 U.S.C. 1367, USCIS is prohibited from disclosing that you have filed a VAWA self-petition. They cannot proactively contact your abuser for information or share your filing with them. These core statutory protections were not eliminated by the December 2025 updates.
At the same time, a companion December 22, 2025 policy update on confidentiality procedures clarified circumstances under which DHS may consider information that originates from a prohibited source, which includes your abuser. Immigration advocates have raised concerns about how this provision may be applied in practice. This is one more reason why having an experienced attorney review your case before you file is important, both to build the strongest possible petition and to protect your interests if questions arise during adjudication.
You can provide a safe mailing address on your petition, which does not need to be the address where you are living. USCIS will send all correspondence to that address. If your address changes after filing, there is a specific procedure for updating it in a way that maintains your safety.
How These Changes Affect Cases Already Pending
This is a question we have heard from many people since December 2025. The updated policy applies to all cases that were pending on or after December 22, 2025. If your case was already in progress when the guidance published, USCIS will apply the updated standards when reviewing your petition.
If you have a case pending and your evidence package was assembled under the prior standards, it is worth having an attorney review it. The cohabitation requirement, the heightened scrutiny on good-faith marriage evidence, and the updated approach to good moral character are the areas most likely to affect petitions that were filed before the change.
USCIS may issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) if they find that a pending petition does not meet the updated standards. Responding to either document quickly and with complete, well-organized evidence is critical.
Why Filing With an Attorney Matters More Now Than Before
The December 2025 changes did not make VAWA unavailable to survivors. They made it less forgiving of incomplete or poorly prepared petitions. A well-built case, with strong evidence across every required element, still succeeds. What has become harder is filing without guidance and expecting that goodwill or sympathy will bridge gaps in documentation. For survivors navigating removal proceedings or other open immigration matters at the same time, the stakes of a weak petition are even higher.
An experienced VAWA attorney reviews your situation before you file, identifies where your evidence is strong and where it needs more support, and helps you build a record that holds up to the heightened scrutiny the updated policy describes. They also know how to document evidence in situations where the abuser controlled the household finances, limited your access to records, or isolated you in ways that make traditional documentation difficult to obtain.
Contact an Experienced VAWA Attorney at Getachew & Ansari Immigration Attorneys, P.C.
Leaving an abusive situation is hard enough without worrying about your immigration status. The law exists to protect you, and even with the December 2025 updates, survivors with genuine cases still have a clear path forward. At Getachew & Ansari Immigration Attorneys, P.C., we understand what is at stake for you and your family. Attorney Medya Ansari immigrated to the United States herself and brings both legal expertise and genuine personal understanding to every client she represents.
Our firm serves clients in San Jose and throughout the Bay Area in English, Amharic, Spanish, Dari, and Farsi. If you have questions about whether you qualify under VAWA, what the December 2025 changes mean for your specific situation, or how to build the strongest possible petition, call our team today at (408) 292-7995 or visit our contact page to schedule a consultation. You are not alone, and you do not have to figure this out on your own.
