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Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [August 9, 2013]
"The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) includes provisions to assist foreign nationals who have been victims of domestic abuse. These provisions, initially enacted by Congress with the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, afford benefits to abused foreign nationals and allow them to self-petition for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of the U.S. citizen or LPR relatives who originally sponsored them. [...] During the debate of the VAWA reauthorization in 2013, two potential concerns for Congress were emphasized regarding the immigration provisions of VAWA. The first was whether the VAWA reauthorization would provide sufficient relief to foreign nationals abused by their U.S. citizen or LPR sponsoring relatives. Advocates for battered foreign nationals suggested that additional provisions were needed to assist this population in obtaining legal and economic footing independently of their original sponsors for legal immigrant status. [...] The second related concern was the degree to which VAWA provisions unintentionally facilitate immigration fraud. Critics of VAWA argued that such fraud might be occurring through what some perceived as relatively lenient standards of evidence to demonstrate abuse; as the unintended result of processing procedures between the District Offices of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which adjudicate most immigration applications, and the USCIS Vermont Service Center, which adjudicates VAWA petitions; or as an unintended consequence of the structure of current law. [...] While addressed to some extent in the VAWA reauthorization of 2013, these two issues remain ongoing and reflect the tension found in other provisions of U.S. immigration policy. Such policies often involve balancing the granting of immigration benefits with adequate enforcement to reduce fraud and ensure intended eligibility."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Kandel, William
2013-08-09
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Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [February 15, 2013]
"The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) includes provisions to assist foreign nationals who have been victims of domestic abuse. These provisions, initially enacted by Congress with the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, afford benefits to abused foreign nationals and allow them to self-petition for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of the U.S. citizen or LPR relatives who originally sponsored them. Congress reauthorized VAWA with the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, which also created the U visa for foreign national victims of a range of crimes--including domestic abuse--who assisted law enforcement. A second reauthorization in 2005 added protections and expanded eligibility for abused foreign nationals. Authorization for appropriations for the programs under VAWA expired in 2011. The 112th Congress passed two bills, S. 1925 and H.R. [House Resolution] 4970, reauthorizing most VAWA programs, among other provisions. Despite containing some related immigration provisions, H.R. 4970 differed in substantive ways from S. 1925. It did not extend protections to new groups to the same extent as S. 1925 and included more restrictions with the purpose of curtailing immigration fraud. Most notably, it maintained the annual number of U visas at its current limit of 10,000, in contrast with S. 1925 which would have increased the number to 15,000. To fund the increase in U visas, S. 1925 included a revenue provision that created a 'blue slip' procedural complication. Negotiations stalled between the chambers, and neither bill was enacted into law."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Kandel, William
2013-02-15
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Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [August 28, 2012]
"The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) includes provisions to assist foreign nationals who have been victims of domestic abuse. These provisions, initially enacted by Congress with the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, afford benefits to abused foreign nationals and allow them to self-petition for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of the U.S. citizen or LPR relatives who originally sponsored them. Congress reauthorized VAWA with the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, which also created the U visa for foreign national victims of a range of crimes--including domestic abuse--who assisted law enforcement. A second reauthorization in 2005 added protections and expanded eligibility for abused foreign nationals. VAWA expired in 2011. On November 30, 2011, Senator Leahy introduced S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011. It was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and reported favorably on February 7, 2012. On April 26, 2012, the Senate passed it by a vote of 68 to 31. In the House, Representative Adams introduced H.R. [House Resolution] 4970 (To reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994) on April 27, 2012. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee where it was reported favorably on May 8, 2012. The House passed the bill in the nature of a substitute on May 16, 2012, by a vote of 222 to 205."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Kandel, William
2012-08-28
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Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [June 7, 2012]
"This report describes how the VAWA [Violence Against Women Act] provisions work in practice. It discusses improvements suggested by immigration attorneys and law enforcement observers to increase the utilization of VAWA provisions by abused foreign nationals as well as ways to reduce immigration fraud. The report closes with possible immigration-related issues that Congress may choose to consider should it reauthorize VAWA."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Kandel, William
2012-06-07
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Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [May 15, 2012]
"The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 and its subsequent reauthorizations in 2000 and 2005 authorized funding related to domestic violence for enforcement efforts, research and data collection, prevention programs, and services for victims. VAWA also increased penalties for certain domestic violence-related crimes and expanded the Federal Criminal Code to include new categories of crimes. With respect to noncitizens, VAWA gave abused noncitizen spouses the opportunity to 'self-petition' for themselves and/or their abused children for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of their sponsoring spouses. In addition, the VAWA reauthorization in 2000 created the U visa, which protects and assists victims who assist law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting an array of crimes that includes domestic violence. It is available to any foreign national who suffered physical or mental abuse as a victim of a qualifying crime that violated U.S. laws; has information about the crime; and was, is, or is likely to be helpful in the investigation or prosecution of the crime. (For more information on U visas, see Appendix C. For a detailed legislative history of the immigration provisions in VAWA, see Appendix B.)"
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Kandel, William
2012-05-15
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Immigration Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [April 10, 2012]
"The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) includes provisions to assist foreign nationals who have been victims of domestic abuse. These provisions, initially enacted by Congress with the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, afford benefits to abused foreign nationals and allow them to self-petition for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of the U.S. citizen or LPR relatives who originally sponsored them. Congress reauthorized VAWA with the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, which also created the U visa for foreign national victims of a range of crimes--including domestic abuse--who assisted law enforcement. A second reauthorization in 2005 added protections and expanded eligibility for abused foreign nationals. VAWA expired in 2011. On November 30, 2011, Senator Leahy introduced S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011. It was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and reported favorably on February 7, 2012. On March 27, 2012, Representative Gwen Moore introduced a similar bill in the House, H.R. 4271. […] Two potential concerns for Congress have been emphasized regarding the immigration provisions of VAWA. The first is whether the proposed VAWA reauthorization provides sufficient relief to foreign nationals abused by their U.S. citizen or LPR sponsoring relatives. Advocates for battered immigrants suggest that additional provisions are needed to assist this population in obtaining legal and economic footing independently of their original sponsors for legal immigrant status. Critics of expanding immigration, however, question the extent to which these provisions may increase the number of legal immigrants and cost the U.S. taxpayers. The second related concern is the degree to which VAWA provisions might unintentionally facilitate marriage fraud. This may occur through what some perceive as relatively lenient standards of evidence to demonstrate abuse; as the unintended result of processing procedures between the District Offices of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which adjudicate most immigration applications, and the USCIS Vermont Service Center, which adjudicates VAWA petitions; or as an unintended consequence of the structure of current law. While some suggest that VAWA provides opportunities for dishonest and enterprising immigrants to circumvent U.S. immigration laws, reliable empirical support for these assertions is limited."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Kandel, William
2012-04-10
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