Immigration

In terms of whether or not your spouse could remove your H4 visa, you may want to talk to an immigration lawyer to find out for sure. Generally, with dependent visas based on marriage, the primary visa holder cannot cancel the spouse’s visa - but if they parties get divorced prior to the approval of the adjustment of status, and the spousal status no longer exists for the dependent, the primary visa holder can inform USCIS of the divorce and “nondependent” status, which may cause USCIS to cancel the visa. Again, I cannot speak to your specific situation and so speaking to a knowledgeable immigration attorney is best.

In terms of other possible immigration options for someone who doesn’t have another legal status, it may be possible for a victim of domestic violence to get a U visa if s/he has been the victim of a qualifying crime and meets other requirements. You can read more about U visas on our website.

In addition, there are VAWA protections for H-4 visa holders and other certain dependents to apply for work authorization based on domestic abuse. Although it does not give someone legal resident status, it could give someone an EAD (employment authorization document) that allows them to legally work. You can see more information about this on the USCIS.gov website. However, as with any immigration situation, we strongly suggest that you talk to a lawyer for help and to see if you would qualify before applying.

As I mentioned, we strongly recommend that anyone who is considering applying for an immigration-related matter only does so with the help of a lawyer who is knowledgeable in immigration matters related to domestic violence. Here are links for lawyers in STATE [hyperlink] and some that are national organizations that you may want to contact to find one that specializes in U visas.