A same-sex spouse can self-petition under VAWA when the marriage and the abuse meet the federal requirements. Core requirements include the following.
- You are married to a qualifying spouse, who is generally a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
- That spouse subjected you or your child to battery or extreme cruelty during the qualifying relationship.
- The marriage was entered into in good faith.
- You lived with that spouse during the qualifying relationship.
- You are a person of good moral character.
A few special rules apply to U.S. nationals and to intended or former spouses, so those situations are worth assessing individually.
If you are a same-sex spouse who is afraid of the person you married, the practical worry is usually not the name of the law but whether your marriage counts and whether the evidence you already have is enough. VAWA, the Violence Against Women Act, lets an abused spouse ask USCIS for immigrant classification through a self-petition instead of relying on a petition filed by the abusive spouse. The name of the law does not limit it to women or to opposite-sex couples.
How a same-sex marriage qualifies for a VAWA self-petition
USCIS decides whether your marriage is valid for immigration purposes using the place-of-celebration rule. The USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part B, Chapter 6, section A, on the definition of spouse and types of marriage states that same-sex marriage is a lawful basis for all family-based immigration benefits, and that a same-sex marriage must meet the same requirements as an opposite-sex marriage.
Start with the law of the place where your marriage was formed. In the same chapter, USCIS explains that a same-sex marriage that is legally valid in the jurisdiction where it was celebrated is valid for immigration purposes even if the jurisdiction where the parties reside does not recognize same-sex marriage, unless the marriage falls within an exception. If the marriage was not recognized as valid in the place of celebration, it is not a valid marriage for immigration purposes.
Some relationships do not count even when they were lawful where they took place. The section of that chapter on the legal validity of marriage lists civil unions or domestic partnerships that are not marriages in the place of celebration, polygamous marriages, proxy marriages where one party was absent and the marriage was never consummated, marriages where a party was not legally free to marry or did not consent, and marriages entered into to evade U.S. immigration laws.
Your earlier marriages also matter. If you or your spouse were married before, you generally have to show that those prior marriages were legally terminated and that you were free to marry each other. A divorce decree that still carries an unexpired waiting period is not treated as final, so the earlier marriage has not been legally terminated yet. That requirement is explained in the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 3, Part D, Chapter 2, subsection 2, Self-Petitioning Spouse.
The qualifying relationship and the conditions that must be met together
For a spousal VAWA self-petition, your qualifying spouse is generally a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. A spouse whose child was abused by that same spouse can also qualify on that basis. USCIS treats a U.S. national the same way it treats a lawful permanent resident when adjudicating a self-petition, so a spouse abused by a U.S. national can qualify on that same basis.
The section on qualifying relationships in the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 3, Part D, Chapter 2 also covers situations that do not follow the current-marriage path. Intended spouses, whose marriage was not legitimate solely because of the abusive spouse's bigamy, and marriages ended by divorce or by the death of the abusive spouse each carry their own technical rules about timing and proof. If any of those facts describes your marriage, an individual assessment can clarify the timing and evidence rules that apply.
Alongside the relationship, USCIS looks at the marriage itself. For a self-petitioning spouse, the marriage must have been entered into in good faith, meaning you intended to establish a life together and did not marry to evade immigration laws. USCIS does not deny a self-petition only because the spouses are not currently living together and the marriage is no longer viable, and a separation shortly after the marriage does not by itself prove the marriage was not entered into in good faith. That guidance appears in the section on good faith marriage for self-petitioning spouses.
The general overview of eligibility requirements in the same chapter sets out the rest of what USCIS reviews. In a spousal case, USCIS reviews whether the qualifying spouse subjected you or your child to battery or extreme cruelty during the qualifying relationship. It also examines shared residence and good moral character. Abuse is not limited to physical violence. Battery or extreme cruelty can include threats, psychological or sexual abuse or exploitation, forced confinement or isolation, and conduct intended to gain or maintain power and control.
The residence requirement is separate from the marriage requirement. You must have lived with your qualifying spouse during the qualifying relationship. USCIS does not require the shared residence to last any specific length of time. The section on residence with the abusive relative explains how USCIS defines residence.
Marriage and evidence concerns for a same-sex self-petition
The marriage, the good faith of the marriage, and the shared residence are separate requirements, so the records you gather have to speak to each one. For the marriage itself, a marriage certificate issued by authorized civil authorities is the most direct evidence, and USCIS also accepts detailed and reliable affidavits and photographs of the wedding ceremony. If either of you was married before, you also have to show that those prior marriages were legally terminated. The subsection on self-petitioning spouses lists these examples.
Good faith and shared residence are shown through the life you built together. Typical evidence includes insurance or beneficiary documents listing one spouse for the other, joint leases, tax filings, or accounts, evidence of courtship or a shared residence, leases or deeds listing both of you, statements that show a common address, and detailed, reliable affidavits from people with personal knowledge of the relationship. Those examples appear in the good faith marriage and residence sections of the same chapter.
If your joint records are limited, USCIS can consider other credible evidence. USCIS considers any credible evidence you submit to establish eligibility, and the determination of what evidence is credible and how much weight it carries is within the sole discretion of USCIS. That is the General Evidentiary Requirements provision in the same chapter. It does not mean that a personal statement on its own will fill every gap. USCIS examines each piece of evidence for relevance, probative value, and credibility, both individually and within the totality of the record, so what you submit should be as specific, consistent, and corroborated as your circumstances allow. No single document or type of evidence is guaranteed to establish a requirement.
What filing Form I-360 does and does not do
Filing Form I-360 is not the same as approval, and an approved Form I-360 is neither a green card nor immigration status by itself. Approval gives you immigrant classification so that you may be eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence, and that later step has requirements of its own and its own case-specific filing rules. The USCIS page on the Green Card for a VAWA self-petitioner explains the adjustment requirements and notes that if you are otherwise eligible to adjust status and an immigrant visa is immediately available, you may file Form I-485 at the same time as your Form I-360 rather than waiting for approval. Our page on the VAWA green card goes through that stage in more detail.
A safe next step
Your safety comes before gathering paperwork. Collect or store records only when you can do so safely, and discuss a safe way to communicate with us before sharing sensitive details. Consider where official mail can safely reach you before anything is filed. USCIS allows a VAWA self-petitioner to provide a safe address in the mailing address field, and you do not have to be living at that address. The Safe Address and Confidentiality Protections section of the USCIS Green Card for a VAWA self-petitioner page describes those protections and cites 8 U.S.C. section 1367. Those protections limit what the government may disclose about your case. They are not a guarantee that your spouse will never learn about the filing, which is why the safe address and the way you store documents still matter.
When you are ready to look at your own marriage and your own evidence, we can review what you have and help you decide what to file. If you want more background first, our page on VAWA requirements and who qualifies for a self-petition sets out the full list of conditions, and our page on VAWA confidentiality explains how to keep correspondence away from an abusive spouse. You can start with our VAWA self-petition services, and we will look at your situation with you.