She is required to do so even though, by successfully self-petitioning, she has already proven to the INS that she would face extreme hardship and possibly danger by leaving the U.S. As a result, these women are left without the protection of U.S. laws, court orders, custody decrees and law enforcement. Mothers who are the sole caretakers of their children may be separated from them for an indeterminate amount of time. Even worse, these women often may be required to stay out of the country so long that they run the risk of losing custody of their children to their abusive spouses. These circumstances force battered immigrant women to stay in abusive relationships and undermine the government's ability to prosecute the batterer. While the ability to self-petition is an essential option, it is only available to women married to their abusers.
Abusers often sabotage self-petitioners by filing for a divorce.
In this situation, cancellation of removal is the only remaining option. Cancellation of removal is a last resort procedure that stops deportation proceedings that have already begun. To qualify, the woman must have been in the U.S. continuously for three years, be of good moral character, and prove that her deportation would cause extreme hardship to herself or her children. Moreover, an immigrant could be denied cancellation of removal simply because the annual cap had been reached. Thus, a battered immigrant woman can be denied relief even if she has been in the U.S. more than 10 years and has several children who are U.S. citizens.