This press release by INS announced the creation of the VAWA Information Line, a telephone information line -designed specifically to assist battered immigrants seeking to self-petition. Since the creation of the telephone line, the Vermont Service Center has expanded this service to include email. The line provides recorded information about the application process and updates on issues to applicants, attorneys, service providers and other assisting battered immigrants

Memorandum Affirms the Need and Benefit for a Specialized Central Unit. This memorandum prohibits local CIS offices from re-adjudicating self-petitions at page 1 and supports supervisor review in the central unit prior to revocation of the self-petition at page 2. This memorandum is a useful tool for educating local offices about their role in adjusting self-petitioners.

This interoffice memorandum notes the importance of conducting both a legal and discretionary analysis for adjudications. This memorandum reminds adjudicators of the importance of carefully analyzing the factual findings, legal requirements, and discretionary factors in adjudicating applications and petitions (at page 1). While the legal analysis is important, “it is not the end of the adjudication, regardless of whether the applicant has shown legal eligibility or not, and even if the requisite hardship for a waiver has been shown” adjudicators must conduct a discretionary analysis weighing the applicant’s equities including the applicant’s conduct, character, relationships, U.S. ties, and other humanitarian factors (at page 1 and 2).

This memorandum revises guidance to USCIS officers on how to process and prioritize cases in which a non-citizen appears to be removable, to include some self-petitioners whose adjustment of status application is found deniable (at page 3). Additionally, the memo also prioritizes removal for cases denied by USCIS based on fraud. In all pending cases, including VAWA self-petitions where there is a suspicion of fraud. In cases where fraud has been verified and the denial is at least in part based on a finding of fraud, USCIS will Issue an Notice to Appear (NTA) once it denies the case after the fraud is verified through an administrative inquiry by USCIS FDNS at (page 7).

This USCIS Policy Memorandum provides guidance on procedures for issuing Requests for Evidence (RFE) and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOID) for the adjudication of petitions, applications, and other requests to include VAWA Self-Petitions.The RFE and NOID process gives adjudicators an opportunity to request additional evidence “to determine whether each of the essential element has been satisfied by the applicable standard of proof” at page 2 for VAWA self-petitioners the standard is “any credible evidence”. The RFE and NOID is a mechanism built into the VAWA self-petitioning process which affords officers an additional prospect to identify deception and at the same time allows immigrant victims an opportunity to supplement an application with additional information or provide an explanation to cure a deficiency to show eligibility.