Aggravated Felonies

(C)  Domestic Violence Waiver.  VAWA 2000 added a waiver for victims of domestic violence convicted of certain domestic violence offenses and deportable under INA § 237(a)(2)(E).  See § 2.46(G), infra.  This waiver can also be used to avoid being barred from cancellation of removal for non-lawful permanent residents, and special VAWA cancellation.[446]  This waiver waives the crime and, in the case of non-LPR cancellation, the Good Moral Character bar caused by the crime.[447] 

An applicant for the waiver must show that s/he was not the primary perpetrator of the violence in the relationship.  The waiver is applicable where the noncitizen was acting in self-defense, violated a protection order intended to protect him or herself, or was convicted of a domestic violence offense that did not result in serious injury and there was a connection between the crime and the noncitizen’s having been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty.  The Attorney General is required to consider any credible evidence in support of the application.

[446] See INA § 240A(b)(5), 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(5), added by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 § 813(c), Pub. L. No. 109-162, 119 Stat. 2960 (Jan. 5, 2006).

[447] Id.