Prima Facie Determination for VAWA Petitioners Provides Hope, Help and Dignity

Prima Facie is a latin term meaning "on its face" or "at first look." In the immigration legal world, it's an important status determination for Violence Against Women Act or *VAWA cases, and often the first glimpse of hope for abused spouses who have applied for the VAWA program. While it's not the final case decision, Prima Facie Determination is a conditional approval that gives petitioners a work permit, as well as eligibility to receive benefits like Medi-Cal, CalWorks and food assistance programs. Vital resources that provide hope, help and dignity on their immigration journey.

I recently let a VAWA client know that she was granted Prima Facie, and this was her response: 

"Muchas gracias por todo el esfuerzo que hace día a día al ayudarnos y mantenernos al tiempo de todo muchas gracias Y estoy feliz también con la noticia. Y espero con entusiasmo que lleguen los demás documentos con ayuda y fe aprobados."

English translation: "Thank you very much for all the effort you do day by day in helping us and keeping us up to date with everything. Thank you so much And I am happy with the news. And I am eagerly waiting for the other documents to arrive, with help and faith, approved."

Bree Salthouse
DOJ Accredited Representative | Representante Reconocida por el Departamento de Justicia

*The original Violence Against Women Act, passed in 1994 and authored by then-Senator Joseph R. Biden, was the first federal legislation acknowledging domestic violence and sexual assault as crimes and provided federal resources to encourage community-coordinated responses to combating violence against women. 

VAWA was reauthorized by bipartisan majorities in Congress in 2000 as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (H.R. 3244), and again in December 2005, and signed by President George W. Bush. In 2022, President Biden signed into law the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, bipartisan legislation passed by Congress as part of the Omnibus appropriations package.