Immigration

Generally, the law will protect any individual who is the victim of a crime, including domestic violence, regardless of the person’s immigration status. Generally, there may be criminal laws that the abusive person could be violating – and if so, the police can arrest the person and the victim can get an order of protection from the criminal court. Also, a person who is experiencing domestic violence may be able to file for a protection order in civil court, which is separate from the criminal court system – therefore, a person does not have to report the abuse to the police in order to file for a civil court protection order. Again, courts will help anyone regardless of the person’s immigration status. A protection order is a civil court order, signed by a judge, which tells an abuser to stop the abuse or face serious legal consequences. It can tell an abuser to stop threatening a person and abusing a person or to stay away and not contact a person. For more information on protection orders and how to get one, go here: [LINK TO STATES RO]

In general, in many states, to get a domestic violence protection order, the parties must have some type of relationship with each other. This page on our website explains the relationships in [STATE] that qualify a person for a domestic violence protection order: [LINK]

Additionally, a person requesting a domestic violence protection order must allege that some type of abuse has occurred. The legal definition of domestic violence for purposes of getting a domestic violence protection order in [STATE] can be found on our website here: [LINK]

There are also local and state programs that work with victims of domestic violence, which are able to provide support, shelter, and legal advocacy. These organizations usually have a lot of expertise working with domestic violence and can be a great source of information and support. The following link will help you find these organizations in [STATE]: [LINK]

I do not know if this is your case, but I just wanted to let you know that a person who does not have legal immigration status in the United States, may be eligible for a U visa due to domestic violence. The U visa can be granted to victims of certain crimes (including domestic violence) who are willing to help the police or another agency to investigate or prosecute a crime. Often times, this is done after the victim reports the crime to the police and then cooperates with the authorities (the police and the prosecutor) while they investigate or prosecute the accused individual. One of the key requirements of the U visa is that the victim needs to get a written certification from the police or other agency responsible for the investigation/prosecution that certifies that the individual helped or cooperated with their investigation or that the victim was willing to help.

You can find more information on the U visa on this page: http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?id=10271&state_code=US&lang=en

If you decide to pursue a U visa, you should seriously consider getting an attorney that will advise you through the process. This is for two reasons:

1. Immigration law is very complicated and although there is some information available on the Internet concerning immigration, an individual may end up with a very bad result due to a lack of understanding of legal language and processes related to immigration.

2. Before an undocumented person contacts the police unnecessarily, an attorney or an advocate can find out if the police would be willing to grant this individual a certification. The concern here is that if an undocumented person shows up at a police station to try and get a U visa certification, and they do not qualify for a U visa, the police could call Immigration and Customs Enforcement and there could be a removal (deportation) risk. An immigration lawyer could help you navigate this complicated process and advice on how the police will react to a U visa certification request in your county.

If you decide to pursue this route, here is a link to finding a lawyer in [STATE], including organizations that provide free legal help for people with low income: [LINK]

For more help with domestic violence please access our “Safety with an Abuser” page, to make sure that you can take any safety precautions necessary: http://www.womenslaw.org//laws_state_type.php?id=13416&state_code=PG&lan…

For more information on domestic violence and more help, feel free to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline phone number 24 hours/day: 1-800-799-7233