Changes to VAWA (Violence Against Women Act)
Summary: Effective immediately, there are two big changes for those applying for immigration relief under VAWA. The first change applies to when the applicant resided with their US Citizen abuser – it must have been during the qualifying relationship. The second change impacts the Prohibited Source Provision, which will no longer apply to those applicants with a criminal record.
On December 22, 2025, USCIS made very big changes to the requirements for petitioners who want to apply for immigration relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Under VAWA, a petitioner had to show that they experienced battery and/or extreme cruelty at the hands of a US Citizen spouse, child, or parent. The requirements for this type of petition include evidence of a qualifying relationship, a good faith marriage, the battery and/or extreme cruelty, a requirement that the petitioner resided with the US Citizen abuser, among other things.
The first big change in a VAWA petition involves the residency requirement. Prior to December 22, 2025, the petitioner was required to show that they resided with the abuser in the past. Effective immediately, the petition must now show that they resided with the abuser during the qualifying relationship. In a VAWA case where the abuser is a US Citizen spouse, the qualifying relationship is the marriage to the US Citizen. So, the petitioner would have to prove that they were living together while they were married.
The second major change is the elimination of the prohibited source provision in various situations.
By way of background information, the prohibited source protection exists for people applying for immigration relief under VAWA, T Visas, and U Visas. It prohibits government agencies, such as USCIS, ICE, etc., from using negative information about the applicant where that information came from a tainted source, such as an abuser or trafficker. An example would be an immigrant wife who is married to her US Citizen husband, and he finds out that she has filed a VAWA petition. If he was to call and make a fake allegation that she was a terrorist, the prohibited source provision would make it so that USCIS officer did not investigate this fake allegation because it came from the abuser – a prohibited source.
However, this prohibited source protection no longer exists for those who have been convicted of a crime under INA 237(a)(2). Crimes under this statute can include crimes of moral turpitude, aggravated felonies, controlled substance offenses, firearms offenses, crimes of domestic violence, and trafficking. So, if someone has a criminal conviction under one of these categories and is trying to apply for a VAWA petition, T Visa, or U Visa, the prohibited source protection does not apply to them. This means that an abuser could call USCIS and falsely claim that they are a terrorist, the USCIS officer reviewing the case may now investigate this claim, even though the only source of information is coming from a prohibited source.
Both of these major changes will affect who can apply for VAWA and other victim-based petitions and what information can be considered when their file is being reviewed. It is extremely important for anyone who is considering applying for these types of petitions to work with an attorney or DOJ accredited representative to know the pros and cons of filing such a petition.
