Abuse without violence

What the law reaches

Under 8 C.F.R. 204.2(c)(1)(vi), battery or extreme cruelty includes psychological or sexual abuse or exploitation, threatened acts of violence that threaten physical or mental injury, and acts that may not initially appear violent but are part of an overall pattern of violence.

Courts have read extreme cruelty to reach non-physical, coercive control, judged in the context of the whole relationship. The Ninth Circuit said so in Hernandez v. Ashcroft, 345 F.3d 824 (9th Cir. 2003), a published decision (not our client).

In plain terms, the kinds of conduct people describe include:

• threats against you, your children or your family, here or abroad;
• threats to report you to immigration, to withdraw a petition, or to have you deported (see threats of deportation);
• taking or hiding your passport, documents or mail (see documents the abuser took);
• control of money, work, the phone, or who you may see or speak to;
• isolation from family, friends, faith community or language;
• constant degradation, humiliation or monitoring;
• pressure or coercion around sex.

No list decides a case. One item alone may not meet the standard. Several together, over time, with the effect on you described, often tell the officer what the relationship was.

How it is proved

Under INA 204(a)(1)(J) and 8 C.F.R. 204.2(c)(2)(i), USCIS must consider any credible evidence, and decides what weight it gets. For abuse without violence, that usually means:

• Your declarationSpecific and in order: what was said or done, when, how often, and the effect on you.There is no substitute for this one. It is written with us over several sessions, at your pace.
• Statements from people who saw it or saw you changeFriends, family, coworkers, neighbors, clergy, teachers.If no one saw the abuse itself, people who saw its effects on you still help.
• Counseling, therapy or medical recordsWhat you reported, and what the provider observed.A letter from a counselor or advocate you see now can describe what you have told them and what they observe.
• Messages, emails, voicemailsThe abuser's own words, in context.If the abuser controls the phone or accounts, do not try to retrieve them in a way that puts you at risk. Describe them in your declaration instead.
• Records of controlBank records, a passport you could not access, a cancelled phone plan.Your description of how the control worked is evidence on its own.

Under 8 U.S.C. 1367(a)(1), DHS, the Justice Department and the State Department may not make an adverse determination of admissibility or deportability using information furnished solely by the abuser or the abuser's family, unless you have been convicted of a crime listed in INA 237(a)(2). That rule is narrower than it sounds. Under USCIS Policy Alert PA-2025-34 (December 22, 2025), USCIS does not apply it to the denial of an I-360, I-751 or I-765V, and 1367 protection ends at naturalization. On the petition itself, the answer to the abuser's version is your own evidence. Read more on confidentiality.

Read next: battery or extreme cruelty, writing your declaration, evidence without documents, or the self-petition overview.