Our client “Sara” entered the US in August 2002 with a tourist visa and she overstayed her visa. In early 2008, she was questioned by an immigration officer at Logan airport while she was waiting for her mother’s arrival. She was subsequently presented with a Notice to Appear before the Immigration Court and was placed in deportation proceedings. During that time, Sara was involved in a serious relationship with a US citizen and decided to marry in mid 2008 and file a marriage petition with the immigration service. Unfortunately, the relationship became physically abusive and our client sought two restraining orders against her husband.
In 2009, she submitted visa petition under VAWA (Violence Against Women’s Act) due to the physical abuse she suffered from her husband without the help of an experienced immigration attorney. In 2010, Immigration issued a request for more evidence (RFE) of the abuse and at this point Sara decided to contact us for help. Our Experienced Boston immigration lawyers worked extensively to obtain and prepare a detailed affidavit from our client, detailing the abuse and mistreatment she suffered from her husband. We carefully reviewed her documents and found specific language in the restraining orders that proved she was being “battered” by her US citizen husband. In early 2011, Sara’s VAWA petition was approved and she has hired us again to help her with her permanent legal residency petition.