Asian Law Alliance
Success Stories - 2009
(Names changed to preserve confidentiality)

Immigration/Domestic Violence

When Tala became a young woman, her family made arrangements for her to be properly married and Tala bravely accepted her new life. The new life, however, included abuse by her husband whenever he felt she “talked back” to him. When Tala gave birth to their first born, it should have been a time of celebration, but the newborn son had a physical deformity and was cruelly shunned by his father who blamed Tala for not producing a superior child. Tala and the baby were sent back to her family in shame.

Months later, their doctor told Tala that hospital in the United States had agreed to operate on the boy and was making arrangements for their visa and travel. When her husband heard about this he demanded he accompany them to the United States. After several successful operations, their son started his recovery and physical therapy. While Tala spent her days at the clinic, her husband went elsewhere on this own. He managed to find someone to sponsor him for an immigration employment visa, allowing them to stay in the United States to let their son continue his therapy.

Once her husband started his new job, he began coming home at late hours with a bad temper, making angry demands for food and sex. His abusive behavior towards Tala became worse. One day while in their car, her husband became so angry that he ordered Tala to get out of the car, leaving her and her son stranded on the highway. A police officer saw them and dropped them off at a local women’s shelter. At the shelter, Tala begged to be taken home.

When she came home, Tala was even more careful with how she spoke to her husband. But when her husband purposefully made them miss an important doctor’s appointment for her son, Tala could not help but show how upset she was with her husband. As expected he got angry and the next she felt was the heat of her own blood on her head after repeated hits with a TV remote control. She ran in to the bedroom and called 911. The police arrived and took Tala and her child to a women’s shelter.

As part of a collaboration of agencies helping Tala, ALA worked to obtain immigration relief for Tala and her child. As a victim of a violent crime who was helpful to law enforcement, Tala was eligible for a type of immigration relief called a “U” visa. ALA worked with the rural police department where Tala had previously resided since the police verification was vital to her case for a “U” visa. With the understanding that immigration relief was possible to protect herself and her son, Tala was less afraid to expose the truth of her husband’s abuse and their situation. She eventually initiated other relief to obtain orders and custody of their child. Their request for immigration relief was granted and she is in the process of applying for a visa which will set her and her child on the path for permanent legal status.