For domestic violence survivor Gualdalupe Vasquez, permanent residency is a much needed pathway to freedom. However, changes to a specialized immigration process providing permanent residency for certain abuse victims may shut out the same people it was designed to help, advocates say.
After Vasquez arrived in the United States from Mexico in 1995, she married a man who went on to mentally and physically abuse her for 18 years. Her husband, a legal resident, would taunt Vasquez for being undocumented, threatening to call immigration authorities to have her deported so he could retain custody of their daughter.
When a final attack left Vasquez bruised all over her body, she decided to leave him and filed a restraining order in 2017. Through the Violence Against Women Act self-petition, Vasquez was able to obtain a work permit and is now waiting for a decision on permanent residency.
She credits the VAWA self-petition with freeing her from her abusive relationship. Now, Vasquez is living independently with her daughter, working as a housekeeper to support her family.
“It’s made a very big impact because there is hope of one day obtaining my residency,” Vasquez said in Spanish. “It’s helped me a lot; it’s given me hope, and most importantly, I’ve finally gotten my work permit.”
However, the protections provided to victims like Vasquez could be at risk, according to domestic violence advocates. On Dec. 22, citing suspected fraud, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made changes to program guidance that may impact the way VAWA and other humanitarian relief applications are considered.
Since February 2025, USCIS has increasingly issued visa and green card applicants with denied applications a “notice to appear,” which jump-starts deportation and removal proceedings, even if the application was denied for reasons other than fraud. Together, these policies could have a chilling effect on applicants in vulnerable situations, advocates say.
Small changes with potentially big consequences
Under VAWA, immigrants abused by a spouse, child or parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident are eligible to petition for lawful permanent residence and a work permit. Historically, victims of spousal domestic violence like Vasquez have been the largest beneficiaries of the VAWA self-petition, though in recent years, petitions from applicants claiming elder abuse have catapulted.
“It is at quite a high level of abuse before [victims] come forward. I get clients who show me videos of their spouse throwing their food on the floor and stamping on it, or screaming at them, or demanding their location is on,” immigration attorney Stacey Rogers said.
According to immigration attorneys and domestic violence advocates, the new USCIS policy language sets stricter standards of evidence, requiring victims of abuse to provide more extensive documentation proving their relationship with their abuser.
Immigration attorney Nkechi Gillman says the higher burden of proof puts victims at risk as many already struggle to obtain documentation proving their abuse. Both Gillman and Rogers say that their clients have received requests for more paper evidence of abuse in recent months, even before the policy update was released.
“This really goes to the heart of the reason why VAWA was created, because victims don’t have access to documents,” Gillman said. “It’s intrinsically tied to abuse, right? So, no, you’re not going to have the bank statements; no, I’m not going to put you on the lease; no, you’re not going to have access to the insurance.”
The updated policy also requires spousal applicants to prove they lived with their abuser during the length of their marriage. Previously, it was sufficient for the victim to show they had resided with their abuser at any point, even before they were married.
“Sometimes that’s what the evidence is,” said Cristina Velez, legal and policy director for Asista, a national advocacy organization for immigrant survivors of domestic violence based in Connecticut.
“Sometimes they may not have evidence of their joint residence during the marriage, because they don’t have access to that information or documents.”
USCIS also made policy changes that broadly apply to VAWA and other humanitarian relief pathways, including the U and T visa programs. U visas are intended for victims of crime, including domestic violence, who may be able to assist law enforcement, while T visas are specific to victims of human trafficking.
Applicants may be required to provide a physical address, a major barrier for victims residing in domestic shelters, which often have strict confidentiality policies, Cecelia Levin, advocacy coordinator for the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors, said.
When deciding whether to deny a case, USCIS can now rely on information from previously “prohibited sources,” including abusers, without independently verifying that information.
The original provision, which recognized the unreliability of abuser-provided information, prevented the weaponization of the immigration system against victims like Vasquez, Levin said.
“People will write these poison pill letters or call ICE and say, ‘Hey, my partner is undocumented,’” Levin said. “Abusers sort of use the immigration system as a way to maintain power and control in relationships.”
Spike in humanitarian visa petitions
USCIS says the updates are intended to address rampant fraud, pointing to exponential increases in VAWA, T visa and U visa applications in recent years. USCIS received around 70,000 VAWA self-petitions in 2024, compared to just under 15,000 in 2020.
“Immigration benefits are a privilege, and it is our priority to ensure we administer these programs lawfully and appropriately for qualified aliens with legitimate claims, while rooting out bad actors and fraudsters,” USCIS said in a news release.
Several high-profile cases of fraud have been reported in recent years. In February 2025, Bronx immigration attorney Kofi Amankwaa was sentenced to almost six years in prison for filing fraudulent VAWA self-petitions.
But Minneapolis attorney Abigail Wahl says that in many of these cases, unscrupulous attorneys are acting without the knowledge of their clients.
Amankwaa, for example, had unsuspecting clients sign petitions falsely claiming their U.S. citizen children had abused them. After his conviction, many of his victims were left in immigration limbo, some facing deportation orders, while others considered self-deportation.
“The people that are most exposed to poverty, homelessness, difficulty finding a job are more likely to benefit from VAWA,” Wahl said. “They should not be punished because of fraud that may have occurred.”
According to court documents, 97% of the 2,413 VAWA petitions Amankwaa filed were denied, withdrawn or abandoned. The documents also say that between FY2017 and FY2023 Amankwaa was responsible for almost half of VAWA petitions withdrawn nationwide. Cases like these prompted the Biden administration to start administering interviews to some VAWA applicants in December 2024.
Advocacy groups representing immigrant survivors of abuse are also concerned about fraud, but feel the new changes will only make it more difficult for abuse victims to come forward.
“We want to make sure that the right benefit goes to the right person,” Levin said.
“But that does not necessarily mean that you have to take these overbroad policy positions in a way that is going to create a chilling effect.”
An uncertain future
Because the VAWA process is lengthy — processing times hover around three to four years — attorneys and advocates say it is difficult to say the impact the new policy language is having.
Comfort Dondo, executive director of Twin Cities advocacy organization Phumulani and survivor of domestic violence, says she has seen how the VAWA self-petition has changed her clients’ lives.
“I did not have anyone who mentioned VAWA to me. And I wish I had known. I think it would have reduced the pain and suffering I had to endure,” she said.
“Because, in my story, my abuser did not only use the criminal justice system and the courts, because he had wealth, to take my children away from me, but he also tried to get me deported.”
While the ramifications of the new policy changes remain unclear, VAWA remains a lifeline for thousands of abuse victims in the United States. As the Trump administration’s crackdown on legal and undocumented immigration continues nationwide, those denied access to the VAWA program will face increasingly narrow pathways to permanent residency.
That means for Vasquez, despite the uncertainty, VAWA remains her best option.
“I have hope that through VAWA, I will build a better future in this country,” she said. “But there is also fear, because even a work permit isn’t respected anymore.”
