Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) allows immigrant victims of domestic violence, battery, and extreme cruelty the chance to seek legal immigration status in the United States independently of the abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
The abuse can be physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, or psychological. The application for VAWA can be made even if the marriage ended in divorce, as long as it can be proven that there was a direct link between the abuse suffered in the marriage and the subsequent divorce.