Asked 7/14/2016 – Houston, TX

My husband (1st time offender) was arrested and bailed for domestic violence, class A misdemeanor family assault as I pressed charges after he has grabbed my hand & pulled me from the bedroom to the hallway, spat on my face thrice & threw a mini light bulb at me. All evidence including medical report of my elbow contusion & photos were given to the DA. Now I returned back home from the shelter post MOEP expiry. He is living separately with no contact order in place till the end of this case. His 2nd appeal for PTD was rejected, set for deferred adjudication with no jail time. Until now he has completed 12 BIPP classes & also by himself enrolled for behavioral therapy. I am on h4EAD spouse visa, he is on h1b visa & baby is a US citizen. If he gets convicted or pleads guilty he will lose his visa/job with possible deportation. So I and my kid will have to leave the country too. I met & told my prosecutor about my visa harm & unwillingness for the 2 years U-visa wait. I said I won’t testify/ cooperate further in this case. I am trying to get a job on h4EAD for now and support my child on my own till I get my h1b visa. But with such verdict, it’s not possible. Court date 7/20. Please help.

Answer

Your husband will have to set the case for trial. Pretrial diversion is discretionary with each local District Attorney’s office, so there is no legal means to force a DA to offer the program to an individual. In the eyes of immigration, deferred adjudication is a conviction, so a 2 year deferred will likely cause your husband’s deportation. See if the DA will reduce the charges to a class c misdemeanor with no affirmative finding of family violence.