The US immigration law gives permission to an immigrant to get permanent citizenship by marrying a US citizen.
This is one of the easiest way a person can get a green card, application of which is always a very complicated procedure, not to mention the amount of time it takes.
Once the US citizen marries the immigrant, he/she can ask for a green card and immigrant visa to be issued to the spouse from the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) division of the American government.
However, this is also one of the most common means of spouse abuse.
In order to counter this, the American government has enforced a law from 1994, which is known as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
The act was amended in 2001, and is a major support for women who have been victims of spouse abuse, and also helps in preventing such incidents.
This law authorizes immigrants who are married to a US citizen to go ahead with a green card application on their own, without the consent or knowledge of their spouse.
But there was still another issue, pertaining to the status of the immigrant's application if either of the couple had applied for divorce, or had been granted the same.
But recently, much clarity has been provided on that part as well.
According to official authorities, an immigrant who has experienced spouse abuse can file a green card application even if a divorce has already been applied for on the grounds of spouse abuse by the partner.
Further, even in case the immigrant has already separated from the partner, she can still apply if the divorce has been granted less than two years ago from the date of the filing of the application.
The most important step to take in such a scenario is to approach an attorney who specializes in VAWA cases, since there is also a special court for these kind of cases.