Law Office of
D.Ray Mantle, pllc

SERVING CLIENTS
ACROSS THE NATION
AND THE WORLD

Attorney Profile

D.Ray Mantle has devoted his legal career to immigration law. His thorough research and writing skills were relied on by Immigration Judges while he served as an Attorney Advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice, and he has advised Fortune 100 companies on complex immigration cases. Find out how you can benefit from his experience and have Mr. Mantle work for you:

Why Mantle Works.

Immigration News

For up-to-date developments in immigration law, visit the Immigration News section and the Immigration Resources page.

Contact

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972-567-8809 (phone)
888-567-0896 (fax)

2591 Dallas Parkway
Suite 300
Frisco, Texas 75034

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Member,
American Immigration
Lawyers Association

Legal Rights and Resources for Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence

Confidential Legal Consultation

D.Ray Mantle provides confidential legal consultation to discuss immigration solutions for individuals who may be victims of persecution. For more information, please contact our office.

Information about immigrating to the United States as a Fiancé(e) (K-1 visa) or as a Spouse (K-3 visa) of a U.S. Citizen

Certain U.S. citizens with a history of committing domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse or other crimes, but who may not have a criminal record for such acts, may use the K nonimmigrant visa process to help a foreign national fiancé(e) or spouse to immigrate to the United States.

Though the length of a courtship with your fiancé(e) is not necessarily indicative of your chances of being a victim of domestic violence, the more fully you know your fiancé(e), the more likely you are to know his or her character and temperament. Brief courtships conducted over long distances do not usually allow an immigrant the time to know his or her fiancé(e) as completely as one might if the courtship was conducted over a longer period of time and over shorter distances.

The following information is intended to inform you of your legal rights and obligations, and of the possibility that your fiancé(e) or spouse may not have provided all of the information you might want to know about his or her character. In addition, this information explains the legal immigration process and penalties for marriage fraud under U.S. law.

K-1 Requirements
K-3 Requirements
Questions and Answers
Immigration Help for Victims of Abuse

K-1 Fiancé(e) Requirements

As someone who will be entering the United States in K-1 nonimmigrant status (as the fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen), you are required to either marry the U.S. citizen within ninety (90) days of entry into the United States or to depart the United States at the end of the ninety (90) day period. Following your marriage to the U.S. citizen fiancé(e) who petitioned for you, you must file an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485). If your Form I-485 is approved, your status will be adjusted from a K-1 nonimmigrant to that of a conditional permanent resident. You will have that conditional status for two years.

Ninety (90) days before the two-year anniversary date of your conditional permanent residency, you and your U.S. citizen spouse will be required to jointly file a Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence (Form I-751). Failure to file this form timely will result in the termination of your status as a conditional permanent resident. Other requirements for this petition are included in the instructions to the Form I-751.

If you are unable to jointly file the Form I-751 with your U.S. citizen spouse, some waivers of this requirement may be available. For instance, in certain situations, such as the death of your U.S. citizen spouse, divorce, or domestic violence, you may still be eligible to file a Form I-751 on your own, without the assistance of your U.S. citizen spouse.

In cases of domestic violence, you may also qualify for permanent resident status as the abused spouse of a U.S. citizen by filing a Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er) or Special Immigrant (Form I-360).

K-3 Spouse Requirements

As someone who will be entering the United States in K-3 nonimmigrant status (as the spouse of a U.S. citizen), you will be required to complete your immigrant process in the United States in lieu of waiting for issuance of an immigrant visa. You must file an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485) to seek adjustment of your status to permanent resident. If your Form I-485 is approved and you are adjusting your status based on a marriage of less than 24 months in duration, your status will be adjusted from a K-3 nonimmigrant to that of a conditional permanent resident. You will have that conditional status for two years.

Questions and Answers

What is domestic violence?

The term “domestic violence” refers to crimes of violence committed by a current or former spouse of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction where the violence occurs, or by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction. It includes, but is not limited to, acts of physical violence, forced sexual acts, child abuse, and mental or emotional cruelty.

Domestic violence occurs among all national, ethnic and social groups. While most recorded incidents of domestic violence involve men abusing women or children, men can also be victims of domestic violence.

Immigrants are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence because many do not speak English, are often separated from family and friends, and may not understand the laws of the United States. For these reasons, immigrants are often afraid to report acts of domestic violence to the police or to seek other forms of assistance. Such fear causes many immigrants to remain in abusive relationships.

Domestic violence may range from “punishment” from the U.S. citizen spouse for any transgressions (either real or imagined) by the immigrant spouse to forms of intimidation, isolation and control exerted by the U.S. citizen spouse on the immigrant.

Intimidation and control can take the form of not allowing any access to the immigrant’s own finances (or those allegedly shared by the couple), restricting access to everyday necessities (such as food or medical services) or threatening to take or deport the immigrant’s child (either a child of the marriage to the U.S. citizen or a child from a prior relationship).

Isolation may include preventing attendance at worship services for the immigrant’s chosen religion and monitoring or restricting the immigrant’s communication with others (family, neighbors, or others in his or her national origin or ethnic group). The means of prevention are not always as direct as physically restraining the immigrant. Other more subtle forms of abuse can be employed, such as the use of degrading and insulting language, berating of the immigrant’s culture, insulting the immigrant’s appearance or intelligence in an effort to erode his or her self-esteem and sense of self-worth, thus making the immigrant completely dependent upon his or her U.S. citizen spouse.

Who is entitled to protection from domestic violence?

All people in the United States (regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, national origin, citizenship status, or ethnic background) are guaranteed basic protections under the law. Domestic violence is illegal in the United States. All spouses of U.S. citizens are entitled to protection from domestic violence.

What are the legal rights for victims of domestic violence?

Immigrant victims of domestic violence may seek the protection of law enforcement. They may also seek orders of protection, abuse prevention orders or restraining orders against their U.S. citizen abusers.

Abusive U.S. citizens will often threaten their immigrant spouse with deportation in an attempt to prevent their immigrant spouses from calling the police or from otherwise seeking legal protection from the domestic violence. Please note that seeking law enforcement protection from domestic violence cannot be the basis of termination of your immigration status. You will not be deported for being the victim of domestic violence.

What are the child support obligations of U.S. citizens?

In the United States, parents are required to provide financial support for their children. In the event of separation, you may be entitled to child support from your child’s other parent. You may wish to contact a lawyer or voluntary help agency for additional information on how to obtain this support.

What are the penalties for marriage fraud?

Immigrants cannot receive immigration benefits if they knowingly enter into a marriage for the purpose of evading immigration laws or solely for an immigration benefit. Conviction for marriage fraud can involve imprisonment for up to five (5) years and fines up to $250,000 (U.S. currency). Immigrants who commit marriage fraud may be removed from the United States and may be permanently barred from future immigration benefits in the United States.

Can I depend on an international marriage broker to provide criminal background information on my U.S. citizen fiancé(e) or spouse?

The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (IMBRA) requires that international marriage brokers provide their foreign national clients with background information on their U.S. citizen clients. The information includes searches conducted through Federal and State sex offender public registries, as well as information provided by the U.S. citizen clients.

Even if there is a lack of adverse criminal information on a U.S. citizen, it is possible that the .individual has perpetrated acts of domestic violence, but has no arrests or convictions for these acts. Lack of adverse information regarding the U.S. citizen may also be due to the U.S. citizen's failure to fully disclose his or her prior marital or criminal history.

For more information please contact:
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
National Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

Immigration Help for Victims of Abuse

D.Ray Mantle assists immigrants who have been victims of domestic abuse in obtaining positive immigration results in a timely, personal, and professional manner. Your individual circumstances are carefully reviewed by an experienced immigration attorney to determine which options are available to you. Mr. Mantle provides guidance and help in gathering the necessary information and documents for your case, prepares all of the necessary application forms, and also ensures that your final application meets all government requirements.

If you would like to understand more about the application process and to find out if you qualify for immigration benefits, please contact D.Ray Mantle for a consultation.

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