The VAWA green card, step by step

Step 1: Approval of the I-360

On approval, three things change.

• Work. An approved self-petitioner, and derivative children, are eligible for work authorization (INA 204(a)(1)(K)). A principal can request the first work permit on the I-360 itself. Renewals, replacements and derivative children use Form I-765, category (c)(31) (Form I-765 instructions; 3 USCIS-PM D.5). See work permit.
• Deferred action. Approved self-petitioners and their derivatives may be considered for deferred action on a case-by-case basis (3 USCIS-PM D.5; INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(II), (IV)). See deferred action.
• A protected priority date. A child listed on your petition who turns 21 before approval is treated as a self-petitioner with your priority date, as long as the child stays unmarried (INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(III), (D)(ii)). If the abuser once filed an I-130 for you, its priority date can carry over (8 C.F.R. 204.2(h)(2)).

An approval is not untouchable. Before you adjust status, USCIS may revoke it for good and sufficient cause, such as a loss of good moral character or ineligibility at filing, after a notice of intent and a chance to respond; an appeal is due within 15 days of service, or 18 days if the decision was mailed (3 USCIS-PM D.6(A); 8 C.F.R. 205.2(b)-(d); 8 C.F.R. 103.8(b)). Good moral character has to continue through the decision on the I-485 (3 USCIS-PM D.2(G)(1)).

Remarrying after approval is not a basis to revoke it (INA 204(h)). Remarrying before approval is a basis for denial (8 C.F.R. 204.2(c)(1)(ii)). If a citizen abuser dies after approval, the petition is not affected and you can still adjust (INA 204(a)(1)(A)(vi); 3 USCIS-PM D.3(D)(1)). See VAWA after divorce or death.

Step 3: Clear the admissibility questions

Every green card applicant must be admissible. For VAWA self-petitioners, Congress removed or softened the grounds that most often trap survivors whose status depended on the abuser.

• Entry without inspection. With an approved VAWA self-petition you may apply to adjust even if you were not inspected and admitted or paroled (INA 245(a)). The present-without-admission ground does not apply if there is a substantial connection between the abuse and the unlawful entry (INA 212(a)(6)(A)(ii)). See VAWA and entry without inspection.
• The 245(c) bars. None applies to a person with an approved VAWA self-petition, including unauthorized employment, unlawful status or failure to maintain status, crewmen, transit without visa and visa-waiver entrants (INA 245(c)).
• Public charge. VAWA self-petitioners are exempt from the public-charge ground and need no Form I-864 (INA 212(a)(4)(C)(i), (E)(i)). See public charge and VAWA.
• Unlawful presence. The 3- and 10-year bars do not apply where there is a substantial connection between the abuse and the violation of the terms of your visa (INA 212(a)(9)(B)(iii)(IV)). The permanent bar in 212(a)(9)(C) can be waived for VAWA self-petitioners with a connection to the abuse (INA 212(a)(9)(C)(iii)).
• Other waivers. Waiver routes exist for VAWA self-petitioners under INA 212(h)(1)(C) (certain criminal grounds, not including murder or torture) and 237(a)(1)(H) (fraud at admission). The 212(i) waiver for fraud or misrepresentation is available too, but for a VAWA self-petitioner it requires showing extreme hardship to you or to your citizen, permanent resident or qualified-alien parent or child (INA 212(i)(1)). That is a waiver standard, not an element of the self-petition. See waivers for VAWA self-petitioners.

Step 5: Live, work and travel while you wait

Work. Keep your work permit current. The VAWA work permit in category (c)(31) requires an approved I-360. Before approval, a person with a pending I-485, for example one filed together with the petition, may apply as an adjustment applicant in category (c)(9) (Form I-765 instructions; 3 USCIS-PM D.5(D)(2)). The I-765 carries no government fee for a VAWA self-petitioner as of October 2026 (8 C.F.R. 106.3(b)(6)).

An interview. USCIS may require an interview on a VAWA case, at the field office with jurisdiction, possibly together with the I-485. Being called in is not in itself a bad sign, and the interview is non-adversarial (3 USCIS-PM D.5(C)). We prepare you for it and attend with you.

Translations. Every foreign-language document needs a full English translation, certified by the translator as complete and accurate (8 C.F.R. 103.2(b)(3)).

Benefits. A self-petitioning spouse or child whose petition showed a prima facie case, or was approved, can be a "qualified alien" for certain federal public benefits, if the abuse happened in the United States, the benefits agency finds a substantial connection between the abuse and the need for benefits, and the abuser no longer lives in the same household (8 U.S.C. 1641(c); 8 C.F.R. 204.2(c)(6)). Self-petitioning parents are not covered. See public benefits.

Travel. Talk to us before you leave the United States for any reason. With a pending I-485 you may request advance parole on Form I-131, which carries no government fee for a VAWA self-petitioner (8 C.F.R. 106.3(b)(6)). Leaving without advance parole generally abandons the I-485 (8 C.F.R. 245.2(a)(4)(ii)). Leaving with it is now riskier than it was: since Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA 2026), a trip on advance parole counts as a departure, so a person with more than 180 days of unlawful presence may be inadmissible on return (uscis.gov, I-131 page alert). The VAWA exception to the unlawful-presence bars reaches only a connection between the abuse and a violation of nonimmigrant visa terms (INA 212(a)(9)(B)(iii)(IV)). See travel and advance parole.

Your address. Keep USCIS informed of a safe mailing address, and make sure the abuser cannot reach it. See the safe filing checklist.