VAWA cancellation of removal
INA 240A(b)(2) lets an immigration judge cancel removal and grant a green card to a person who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a United States citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent, or who is the parent of a child abused by such a person. It asks for three years of physical presence instead of ten, and for extreme hardship instead of the exceptional and extremely unusual standard, and the hardship may be to you. The abuser's cooperation is not needed.
Current as of September 2026. We re-check this page every quarter and after any rule change.
Congress wrote this provision for a specific situation: a person whose immigration status depended on an abusive citizen or resident, and who therefore had no way to get status without that person's help. VAWA cancellation removes the abuser from the equation. Nothing in the application depends on the abuser signing, appearing or agreeing. It is one of the three forms of cancellation of removal and one item on the full list of relief.
Who qualifies
Under INA 240A(b)(2), the applicant is a person who:
- has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent, or
- is the parent of a child who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by such a citizen or resident.
So there are three ways in: as the abused spouse, as the abused child, or as the parent of an abused child. In each, the abuser is the citizen or resident, and the relationship is what gave the abuser leverage.
The elements
| Element | What you show | Compare 240A(b)(1) |
|---|---|---|
| Abuse | Battery or extreme cruelty by a U.S.-citizen or LPR spouse or parent, or you are the parent of such a child | No abuse element; a qualifying relative instead |
| Presence | Continuous physical presence for 3 years | 10 years |
| Good moral character | During the period | Same |
| No disqualifying ground | Not inadmissible under 212(a)(2) or (3); not deportable under 237(a)(1)(G), (2), (3) or (4); no aggravated felony conviction | No conviction under 212(a)(2), 237(a)(2) or 237(a)(3) |
| Hardship | Extreme hardship to you, your child or your parent | Exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a citizen or resident spouse, parent or child |
Authority: INA 240A(b)(2). The application is Form EOIR-42B, the same form used for non-LPR cancellation, filed with the immigration court, with biometrics processed through USCIS.
Three years, not ten
The presence requirement is three years of continuous physical presence. The stop-time rule in INA 240A(d)(1) still applies: presence ends on service of a Notice to Appear under INA 239(a) or on the commission of an offense referred to in 212(a)(2) that renders you inadmissible or removable, whichever comes first, and a notice that omits the time and place of the hearing does not stop time under Pereira v. Sessions, 585 U.S. 198 (2018). Three years is a low bar compared to ten, and most people who are in proceedings and were in an abusive marriage or household for any length of time meet it. Proof is the same as for any presence period: leases, records, declarations, and anything that places you here month by month.
Extreme hardship, not the higher standard
This is the element that makes VAWA cancellation reachable for people who could not meet 240A(b)(1). The standard is extreme hardship, and it may be hardship to you, to your child or to your parent. Under the ordinary form, the Board requires hardship "substantially beyond" what usually follows from a family member's deportation, under Matter of Monreal-Aguinaga, 23 I&N Dec. 56 (BIA 2001), and hardship to the applicant does not count at all. Here it does. The abuse itself, its ongoing effects, the safety and treatment available in the country of return, and what happens to your children are all part of the showing.
The bars
The statute denies VAWA cancellation to a person who is inadmissible under INA 212(a)(2) (the criminal grounds) or 212(a)(3), deportable under 237(a)(1)(G), 237(a)(2) (the criminal grounds), 237(a)(3) or 237(a)(4), or convicted of an aggravated felony. The good moral character requirement is measured against the bars in INA 101(f), and the period runs backward from the final decision under Matter of Ortega-Cabrera, 23 I&N Dec. 793 (BIA 2005). Whether a conviction is one of the listed grounds is decided under the categorical approach, and under Pereida v. Wilkinson, 592 U.S. 224 (2021), the burden of showing it is not disqualifying is yours.
The one-time rule in INA 240A(c)(6) applies here too: a prior grant of cancellation, suspension of deportation or 212(c) relief bars this one.
Convictions that came from the abuse
People who were abused sometimes have arrests that arose from the abuse itself: a dual arrest after a call to the police, a charge the abuser pressed and later dropped, an offense committed under coercion. The disposition of each one has to be pulled and read against the bars. A dismissed charge is not a conviction. A plea taken without advice about immigration consequences may be open to post-conviction relief.
Proving the abuse, and keeping it private
The abuser is not a party to your case and is not contacted by us. The application does not require a police report, a protective order or a conviction, though any of those helps. What it requires is a record that lets the judge find, on the evidence, that battery or extreme cruelty occurred. A typical record contains:
- Your declaration. Specific, chronological and in your own words: what happened, when, how often, and what it did to you. This is the center of the case and is written over several sessions, not in one sitting.
- Proof of the relationship and of the abuser's status. The marriage certificate or your birth certificate, and evidence that the abuser was a citizen or resident: a naturalization certificate, a green card, a passport, or records showing it.
- Corroboration. Declarations from people who saw injuries, heard threats or watched you change. Medical and counseling records. Texts, emails and voicemails. Police reports and protective orders where they exist. Shelter records.
- Hardship evidence. Your own medical and psychological records, your children's records, and country-conditions evidence on what a survivor of abuse would face in the country of return, including whether the abuser has reach there.
Testimony about abuse is hard to give in a courtroom. It is prepared for, and the judge and the government's attorney know what the application is. You will not be asked to relive it without support.
Fees and the cap
The government filing fee for Form EOIR-42B is $1,640 as of September 2026, for filings postmarked on or after February 1, 2026: the $100 EOIR fee plus a $1,540 fee added by the 2025 reconciliation law, plus a $30 biometrics fee per person. None of it is our legal fee. A fee waiver may be requested from the judge for the EOIR component; whether the 2025 component can be waived is a question we have not confirmed. The EOIR forms and fees page is authoritative. INA 240A(e)(1) caps grants of cancellation and suspension at 4,000 a year, and VAWA cancellation counts against that cap: 240A(e)(3) exempts only certain NACARA applicants and pre-1997 suspension applicants, so a grant can be held for a number like any other.
The self-petition, and how the two fit together
A person abused by a citizen or resident spouse or parent may also file a VAWA self-petition with USCIS, without the abuser, and without being in removal proceedings. For a person who is in proceedings, the two remedies are considered together: an approved self-petition can support adjustment of status in court, and VAWA cancellation is filed in the alternative. The self-petition is handled by our family practice.
Read next: cancellation for non-permanent residents, cancellation compared, adjustment in court, or the individual hearing.
Common questions
Do I have to still be married to the abuser?
The statute describes a person who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent. The abuse, and the relationship at the time of the abuse, are what the judge examines. Whether a divorce or the abuser's loss of status after the abuse affects eligibility depends on facts and timing we review case by case, and we do not summarize those rules here.
What does extreme cruelty mean if there was no physical violence?
Battery is one route. Extreme cruelty is the other, and it covers abuse that leaves no bruises: threats, isolation, control of money and documents, threats to report you to immigration, degradation. Evidence is usually your own detailed declaration, supported by anyone who saw the effects, and by counselors or medical providers. The judge decides on the whole record whether the conduct rose to extreme cruelty.
Is the hardship standard the same as regular cancellation?
No, and that is the main reason this form exists. Regular non-LPR cancellation under INA 240A(b)(1) requires exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a citizen or resident spouse, parent or child. VAWA cancellation under 240A(b)(2) requires extreme hardship, a lower standard, and the hardship may be to you, to your child or to your parent. Hardship to yourself counts.
Can I apply with USCIS instead of in court?
Cancellation of removal can only be granted by an immigration judge in removal proceedings, on Form EOIR-42B. A different remedy, the VAWA self-petition, is filed with USCIS and does not require being in proceedings. The two are often considered together, and a person in court may pursue both. The self-petition is handled by our family practice at visa4love.com.
Tell us where your case is. We will tell you what is still possible.
You get a free case review with an attorney, in your language. We speak English, Russian, Spanish and Uzbek in-house, and we bring in a live interpreter for anything else. We will tell you what stage you are at, which forms of relief are open to you, what your deadlines are, and whether we can help. If we cannot, we will say so.