(For more information on U visas, see Appendix C .) A second reauthorization in 2005 added protections and expanded eligibility for abused foreign nationals. Authorization for appropriations for the programs under VAWA expired in 2011. VAWA was reauthorized by the 113 th Congress with the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 ( P.L. 113-4 ). The act includes a number of additional protections to assist foreign nationals who have been victims of domestic abuse (see " Legislation in the 113th Congress " below). The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) includes provisions to prevent marriage fraud such as the requirement for face-to-face interviews with trained adjudicators. Yet, concerns have been raised about the degree to which the VAWA provisions themselves and the manner in which VAWA petitions are processed by USCIS might facilitate marriage fraud, either through relatively lower standards of evidence or as the unintended result of procedural differences between local USCIS District Offices and the Vermont Service Center. How VAWA Immigration Provisions Work

Foreign national spouses of U.S. citizens and LPRs can acquire legal status through family-based provisions of the INA. Most notably, it maintained the annual number of U visas at its current limit of 10,000, in contrast with S. 1925 , which would have increased the number to 15,000. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law ( P.L. 113-4 ) on March 3, 2013. Among its immigration-related provisions, P.L. It allows federal judges as well as the Department of Justice (DOJ) to impose federal criminal penalties for specified marriage broker violations and criminally penalizes both the misuse of information obtained by international marriage brokers, and any fraudulent or false representations or lack of required disclosures made by U.S. clients to foreign nationals to foster a dating or matrimonial relationship. Comprehensive Immigration Reform

On June 27, the Senate approved by a 68-32 vote S. 744 , a comprehensive immigration reform bill entitled the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. S. 744 includes several VAWA-related provisions. It would expand, from 10,000 to 18,000, the number of U visas available for victims who assist law enforcement agencies' efforts to investigate and prosecute domestic violence, sexual assault, alien trafficking, and other crimes. It would grant aging-out protection, deferred status eligibility, and work authorization eligibility to any derivative child on a VAWA petition. Work authorization would be granted to petitioners no later than six months following the petition filing date. S. 744 would allow VAWA applicants to adjust status without being subject to the family based immigration numerical limits. Finally, S. 744 would permit battered immigrants access to assisted housing. Selected Issues for Congress

Issues surrounding the VAWA immigration provisions often resemble those of other U.S. immigration policies: balancing the granting of immigration benefits with adequate enforcement to reduce fraud and ensure that persons whom the law is intended to protect are the only persons who receive its benefits. 113-4 does not, however, expand the annual number of U visas, which remains at 10,000. The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 represents a milestone in this legislative history by providing for the first time the opportunity for abused foreign nationals to self-petition for lawful permanent resident status independently of their abusers. The VAWA reauthorization in 2013 added "stalking" to the definition of criminal activity covered under the U visa. It increased DHS' congressional reporting requirements, extended VAWA coverage to derivative-status children of deceased self-petitioning parents, and provided waivers to VAWA petitioners who faced being classified as inadmissible immigrants because of a disadvantaged financial position. It included protections for children included in their parents' U visa petitions who "age out" of child status, for unknowing victims of bigamous marriages, and for foreign nationals under age 18. It required more extensive background checks for U.S. citizen petitioners of alien fiancés, imposed greater penalties for VAWA violations, and permitted VAWA information sharing by DHS for national security purposes. Prior to the enactment of the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000 (see below), an applicant for cancellation of removal under the special battered foreign national rule had to demonstrate that he or she
had been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by a citizen or LPR spouse or parent, or was the parent of a child who had been subjected to such abuse by a citizen or LPR parent; had been continuously physically present in the United States for at least three years prior to petitioning for cancellation of removal; had been a person of "good moral character" during the period of continuous physical presence in the United States; was not inadmissible to the United States on criminal or security grounds; was not deportable based on marriage fraud, criminal offenses, document fraud, or security-related activities; had not been convicted of an aggravated felony; and if removed, would have themselves experienced, their child would have experienced, or, if the foreign national was a child, the alien's parent would have experienced, extreme hardship. BIWPA included other related provisions. Most notably, it extended the aging out protections in the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) for abused children and children of abused foreign national spouses; removed the two-year custody and residence requirements for abused adopted children; expanded eligibility for self-petitioning to foreign nationals abused by their U.S. citizen sons and daughters; and allowed abused spouses of certain nonimmigrants to apply for work authorization. 106-386 ), which reauthorized VAWA.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) includes provisions to assist foreign nationals who have been victims of domestic abuse. These provisions, initially enacted by Congress with the Immigration Act of 1990 and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, afford benefits to abused foreign nationals and allow them to self-petition for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status independently of the U.S. citizen or LPR relatives who originally sponsored them. Congress reauthorized VAWA with the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, which also created the U visa for foreign national victims of a range of crimes—including domestic abuse—who assisted law enforcement. A second reauthorization in 2005 added protections and expanded eligibility for abused foreign nationals. Authorization for appropriations for the programs under VAWA expired in 2011.
The 113th Congress passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 in February. The bill was signed into law (P.L. 113-4) by President Barak Obama on March 7, 2013.
Among the immigration provisions, P.L. 113-4 includes "stalking" in the definition of criminal activity covered under the U visa. It increases the number of reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must submit each year to Congress. It extends VAWA coverage to derivative-status children of deceased self-petitioning parents. It allows abuse victims to petition to waive their being classified as an inadmissible immigrant because of a disadvantaged financial position that otherwise might classify them as a "public charge." It includes protections for children who are included in their parents' U visa petitions but who "age out" of eligibility by turning 21 before their parents' petitions have been adjudicated. The bill also extends protections to unknowing victims of bigamous marriages and to foreign nationals under age 18.
P.L. 113-4 requires more extensive background checks and demands more consistent self-disclosures for U.S. citizen petitioners of alien fiancés or fiancées to provide the latter with greater information about potential abuse. It imposes additional penalties for marriage broker violations as well as false or incomplete representations by U.S. clients to foreign nationals to foster dating or matrimonial relationships. It permits information sharing of VAWA data by DHS for national security purposes and maintains the annual number of U visas at 10,000.
On June 27, 2013, the Senate approved S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. S. 744 includes the following VAWA-related provisions. It would expand the annual number of U visas from 10,000 to 18,000. It would grant protection against aging out of status, deferred status eligibility, and work authorization eligibility to any child included on a VAWA petition. It would grant work authorization to VAWA petitioners no later than six months after they filed their petitions. It would allow VAWA petitioners to adjust status without being subject to numerical limits found in the INA. Finally, S. 744 would permit battered immigrants access to assisted housing.
During the debate of the VAWA reauthorization in 2013, two potential concerns for Congress were emphasized regarding the immigration provisions of VAWA. The first was whether the VAWA reauthorization would provide sufficient relief to foreign nationals abused by their U.S. citizen or LPR sponsoring relatives. Advocates for battered foreign nationals suggested that additional provisions were needed to assist this population in obtaining legal and economic footing independently of their original sponsors for legal immigrant status. Critics of expanding immigration, however, questioned the extent to which the provisions would increase the number of legal immigrants, thereby incurring costs to U.S. taxpayers.
The second related concern was the degree to which VAWA provisions unintentionally facilitate immigration fraud. Critics of VAWA argued that such fraud might be occurring through what some perceived as relatively lenient standards of evidence to demonstrate abuse; as the unintended result of processing procedures between the District Offices of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which adjudicate most immigration applications, and the USCIS Vermont Service Center, which adjudicates VAWA petitions; or as an unintended consequence of the structure of current law. While some have suggested that VAWA provides opportunities for dishonest and enterprising foreign nationals to circumvent U.S. immigration laws, the available empirical evidence offers little support for these assertions.
While addressed to some extent in the VAWA reauthorization of 2013, these two issues remain ongoing and reflect the tension found in other provisions of U.S. immigration policy. Such policies often involve balancing the granting of immigration benefits with adequate enforcement to reduce fraud and ensure intended eligibility.