Physical
Hitting, shoving, or threatening to
Any act or threatened act of violence, including holding you so you cannot leave.
8 C.F.R. 204.2(c)(1)(vi)
Battery or extreme cruelty
What counts as abuse for VAWA
The law covers battery or extreme cruelty. That includes violence, but also threats, isolation, control of money and documents, and other conduct used to gain or keep power and control over you. It happens to women and to men. Here are twelve examples of what it can look like.
Current as of October 2026. We re-check this page every quarter and after any change in the law.
Every example below is drawn from what the law describes. Whether your experience is battery or extreme cruelty depends on the whole relationship, not one moment. The regulation covers any act or threatened act of violence, including forceful detention, psychological or sexual abuse or exploitation, and acts that may not initially appear violent but are part of an overall pattern of violence, 8 C.F.R. 204.2(c)(1)(vi). Since December 22, 2025, USCIS also asks whether the conduct reflects an intent to gain or keep power and control, 3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1). The examples show women and men, because abuse does not depend on gender.
Threats
“I’ll call immigration on you”
Using your status as a weapon to keep you afraid and obedient can be part of a pattern of control.
3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1)
Documents
Taking your passport or green card
Keeping your papers from you is a common way abusers control a spouse who depends on them for status.
3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1)
Isolation
Keeping you in, cutting you off
Taking your keys or phone, keeping you from family or friends. Forced confinement or isolation is on the Policy Manual’s list.
3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1)
Money
Controlling every dollar
Taking your pay, your cards, or keeping you from working, so leaving feels impossible.
3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1)
Monitoring
Reading your phone, tracking you
Checking every message, tracking where you go, demanding passwords: surveillance used for control.
3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1)
Humiliation
Constant insults and degradation
Psychological abuse that wears you down, often combined with control of your papers.
8 C.F.R. 204.2(c)(1)(vi)
Papers
Tearing up or withdrawing your petition
Destroying your forms or withdrawing a petition filed for you. You can file your own.
INA 204(a)(1)(A)(iii)
Intimidation
Rage, smashing things, fear
Acts that may not look violent on their own but are part of an overall pattern of violence.
8 C.F.R. 204.2(c)(1)(vi)
Children
Threatening to take the children
Using the children, or threats about custody and deportation, to keep you from leaving.
3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1)
Parents
An adult child abusing a parent
A parent abused by a U.S. citizen son or daughter who is 21 or older can self-petition.
INA 204(a)(1)(A)(vii)
Control
Locking away what is yours
Physical control over your things, your movements, your food or medical care.
3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1)
What USCIS looks for
No single item above proves a case, and none is required. USCIS decides on the whole record, case by case, and must consider any credible evidence, INA 204(a)(1)(J). The Policy Manual says hurtful conduct alone, or adverse interactions of limited severity, is not enough for extreme cruelty; the conduct must reflect an intent to gain or maintain power and control, 3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1). Abuse by someone else in the family counts only if the citizen or permanent resident willfully condoned or took part in it.
For a spouse, the abuse must have happened during the marriage. For VAWA in immigration court, see VAWA with USCIS or in court.
If any of this is happening now
If you are in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. When it is safe, ask us for a private call back.
Read next: battery or extreme cruelty, abuse without violence, evidence when you have nothing, or the eligibility questionnaire.
Common questions
Does one bad argument count as abuse?
Usually not on its own. Under the USCIS Policy Manual as revised on December 22, 2025, hurtful conduct alone, or adverse interactions of limited severity, is not enough for extreme cruelty. The conduct must reflect an intent to gain or maintain power and control. USCIS looks at the whole relationship, case by case. 3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1).
Can a man be a victim of abuse under VAWA?
Yes. The self-petition is written for any spouse, child or parent, of any gender, and the abuser can be any gender. The same rules and the same evidence apply.
I was never hit. Do I still have a case?
Possibly. Battery is one route; extreme cruelty is the other. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 204.2(c)(1)(vi) includes psychological or sexual abuse and acts that may not appear violent but are part of an overall pattern of violence. The Policy Manual lists forced confinement or isolation, physical control, and denying access to food, family or medical care among its examples.
Does the abuse have to be reported to the police?
No. USCIS must consider any credible evidence, INA 204(a)(1)(J). Your own detailed account, supported by whatever exists, such as messages, counseling notes, or statements from people who saw what happened, can carry a case.
What if someone else in the family did it?
Abuse by a third party counts only if the citizen or permanent resident abuser willfully condoned or took part in it, under the Policy Manual. 3 USCIS-PM D.2(E)(1).
Reviewed by Mikhail Usher, Esq.
Mr. Usher is the managing attorney of Usher Law Group, P.C. and is admitted in New York, New Jersey
and Florida. He reviewed this page on October 26, 2026. This page explains the law in
general terms and is not legal advice about your case.
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