VAWA and Annulment - Impact

[HelpVictim]

Wanted to ask experts here what is the impact on an immigrant who has filed a VAWA Affidavit and there is an annulment proceedings going on.

I know VAWA can be filed during divorce/annulment and if already divorced they can still file within 2-years after the divorce. But more interested to know what will happen to VAWA affidavit if the marriage is annulled. Will it still be approved if not already approved, will it be revoked if already approved.

Please requesting only serious and knowledgeable answers. I am in a legal crunch and need to make a quick decision.

[HelpVictim]

Davdah, thank you for your response. I am bit confused as you are using some legal lingo.

When you say the records of the proceeding can become part of the case, I am lost there.

Here is an eg.

Applied 11/2007 for VAWA
Annulment Granted 06/2008

What are the consequences now? Can the VAWA be revoked?

[HelpVictim]

So lets assume if I get the evidence in court during annulment proceedings and if I send that evidence, will they consider it?

[Hudson]

Originally posted by HelpVictim:
Wanted to ask experts here what is the impact on an immigrant who has filed a VAWA Affidavit and there is an annulment proceedings going on.

I know VAWA can be filed during divorce/annulment and if already divorced they can still file within 2-years after the divorce. But more interested to know what will happen to VAWA affidavit if the marriage is annulled. Will it still be approved if not already approved, will it be revoked if already approved.

Please requesting only serious and knowledgeable answers. I am in a legal crunch and need to make a quick decision.

So, is the annulment being heard by the Catholic Diocese or by a state family court?

If it is religious, then no effect whatsoever. But since you have been married for so long, then the state family court is an extreme long shot. And as I recall, you were in the process of divorce and changing attorneys?

[Hudson]

Davdah,
HelpVictim has been married longer than 6 months. It is more like three or four years with a child, I think. In either case, annulment proceedings are a waste of time legally unless there is very obvious fraud, especially for a marriage longer than 3 or 4 years. Anything immigrant related, he will not have any chance. It will be a divorce, fault or no fault. From my memory, he accused his wife of everything, even attempting to use, more like misuse, Westernization attitudes by his wife and family. and this was an arranged marriage.

[swissnut]

I believe an alien pursuing a VAWA claim has to be able to demonstrate that the alien's intentions upon entering the marriage were bonafide. If the annulment is granted, whether or not this would have bearing on a VAWA claim would depend upon the reasons the annulment was granted.

Originally posted by HelpVictim:
So lets assume if I get the evidence in court during annulment proceedings and if I send that evidence, will they consider it?

[MakeItRight!]

Swissnut,

I Too Am Waiting For An Answer To your questions.
What Will Be Admissible? What Will The Courts/System Accept???

[Hudson]

Originally posted by davdah:
If she filed a vawa action last August the case may have already been decided. At present applications received up through Sept 8 2007 are being reviewed.

Not a lot you can do except make sure the truth is well documented in the court records. It doesn't matter that its an annulment or divorce. If you go the annulment rout the fraud had better be very provable. The vawa action might be usable in an indirect way. I'm in unchartered water here. But I would think since you know about it. The element of secrecy is gone and there is no good reason that those records can't be subpoenaed to illustrate the fraud element.

Hudson, you said there are kids? I didn't see any mention of that in the prior posts. Many were deleted though. If there are children I would take that as a strike against a claim of fraud. Having children would be seen as trying to establish a family with the accused.

If the purpose of all this is to clear your name and rescind the vawa claim you might be out of luck. That is assuming she was successful in getting it approved. If you know she did. Short of actually seeing the GC its tough to know.

Davdah,
I was not sure about the kid and why I said I Think in my post.

Helpvictim has been on this board and posted about his situation on more than one occassion. He even used PM, as I recall. But what stuck most in my memory is that divorce is not an option for him, for whatever reason. Personally, I believe he is attemting to use conspiracist arguments to prove, at least in his mind, fraud existed while never accepting his own actons. In other words, he wants it both ways. At least, that has been the impression from the discussions.

Helpvictim, I wish you luck in your endeavor. Personally, I think you need professional help with your issues in the divorce. Again, I am not saying none of this is her fault, but I truly hope you will find peace after this is all over.

From a professional side, any annulment proceedings is a waste of time if a marriage is longer than six months and there is not blatantly obvious signs of fraud. You might be able to prove divorce is her fault, not yours, but again, it is a long shot. And I think it will be a no fault from the postings you have made.

As for VAWA, it may or may not have processed. They take a year to decide in most cases. But again, it is predicated on the belief that you think she has filed a VAWA claim.

[4now]

Originally posted by HelpVictim:
Wanted to ask experts here what is the impact on an immigrant who has filed a VAWA Affidavit and there is an annulment proceedings going on.

I know VAWA can be filed during divorce/annulment and if already divorced they can still file within 2-years after the divorce. But more interested to know what will happen to VAWA affidavit if the marriage is annulled. Will it still be approved if not already approved, will it be revoked if already approved.

Please requesting only serious and knowledgeable answers. I am in a legal crunch and need to make a quick decision.

First you must make sure we are discussing a court annulment and not a church annulment.

What is the annulment of marriage being based on?

Is it marriage fraud.. or something else?



Only then can an accurate answer be given.

[MakeItRight!]

Originally posted by davdah:
Which court? The vawa court? Forget it. You as the accused are not to know the proceedings are being conducted.

This was where the argument between RN and WUSC was going to end up when they were starting the debate. Although vawa has a negative impact on the accused somehow or another it skated by the due process & facing the accuser requirement of the 6 amendment.

Its considered an administrative action and falls outside the scope of the 6th amendment. In other words the hearing is held in secret. You as the accused are not permitted a defense. You may not attend. You can not subpoena the records in most cases. The case will be heard by the likes of Hudson. In other words by definition you are guilty.

The requirements are supposed to be 'extreme' violence or abuse against the victim. The definition of extreme has been watered down to include such things as threatening to or revoking your sponsorship of the immigrant. One would think stopping the immigration process would be a defacto step in divorce proceedings. Guess again. Not to say this will guarantee a GC. Is one of several factors looked at. Since the hearing is in secret and the results are not published its tough at best to even guess what the success rate is.

Much of it depends on the immigrant. As well as the immigration attorney. If you have two accomplices working for mutual benefit at the expense of a third with no chance of reprisal, what are the odds?

Swiss nut made the comment about bona fide marriage. Usually the victim provides that. I mean the victim of the false vawa claim. The defrauded spouse who married the perp will do what a normal spouse would do in building a true marriage. The joint lease, insurance, credit cards, etc. Those pieces of evidence will be used by the accuser as said evidence and claimed as their own.

A good idea would be to read prior posts on this subject. There are many throughout this site. Doing a 10 second google search netted a few interesting pieces of info here.

I Suppose If sponsorship Is Withdrawn and The "Immigrant Spouse" Obtained a DUI, It Matters????

[MakeItRight!]

Originally posted by davdah:
A DUI isn't relevant to anything aside their driving record. Unless it involved a crime of moral turpitude, drugs, or prostitution. Then you might have something.

From my reading the give aways of a GC for the mere assertion of abuse is overstated. Just keep out of trouble and don't give her anything real to use against you. The more you mettle the more likely it will happen. You can't do much to stop it anyhow.

I Read An Article Where any Misdemeanor Even DUI, Can Have An Impact? I Will Have To Try And Find It. Believe Me! I Stay Far away From Her/Them!!! Many Times They Attempted Their Deceitful Kindness To Draw Me In. I Didn't Take The Bait! THANK GOD! So Very Very BAD!!!!

[MakeItRight!]

Originally posted by davdah:
If that was the case then you made the right decision. Keep a wide berth and your sanity. Aren't you the one where they were in the house you were paying for it? Your still not paying for it are you?

NOPE! the reason for most of the problems. they lied about putting my name on the deed/title.

when i was forced out, no obligation to pay. they had plenty to pay the mortgage, utilities, etc. 12 people x $300 each. "4 Bedroom house"! thats why enough $$$ leftover to put volkswagon sized pig pitt in the backyard.

[David Roberts]

OK Boys and Girls we have hope !!!! A case in Texas involves VAWA immigration fraud, an annulment was granted several years into the mariage and it withstood appeal, we finally have case law to refer to and use !!!! Spread this far and wide DO NOT file for divorce, go for an annulment !! http://texasfamilylawyers.me/2012/05...iage-annulled/

[pdarsini]

What is the impact on accused naturalized USC if VAWA petition filed by spouse is approved? what are the negative impacts on the accused? will the approved VAWA result in USC's federal USCIS file? will it have impact on accused USC's ability to sponsor GC for future spouse after remarriage?

[Hudson]

OK Boys and Girls we have hope !!!! A case in Texas involves VAWA immigration fraud, an annulment was granted several years into the mariage and it withstood appeal, we finally have case law to refer to and use !!!! Spread this far and wide DO NOT file for divorce, go for an annulment !! http://texasfamilylawyers.me/2012/05...iage-annulled/

I have read the case and it is not the panacea you are hoping it is.

For starters, from the very onset of the relationship, one party was constantly misrepresenting themselves in the relationship. From the determined facts: the immigration originally claimed he was living in Miami, Florida AND claimed he had a job as an engineer. They agreed to meet in the hometown of the girl. That did not happen and the immigrant confessed that he was not an engineer, but a student studying engineering while living in Bogota, Columbia. The immigrant then requested and she agreed to a meeting in Mexico. At that time, he propsoed and she said no. He demanded payment and she paid. But they continued their relationship. They met again in Bogota, Columbia and again he proposed. She accepted. The constant lying, manipulating, and arguments led the person to file for divorce while the immigrant filed for a VAWA. AS the evidence points out, and there was LOTS OF EVIDENCE, that an annulment was granted on the basis that the immigrant lied, minaipulated, and intentionally frauded the other person.

In other words, if an annulment was to work, you have to have significant evendence to prove the preponderance of your arguemnt. This is not the case with most divorces between the immigrant and the USC.

Below is the link to the case. Read it. All of it.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-...s/1598802.html