Pinay allegedly abused by estranged American husband gets special visa

A Filipino mother from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, fighting for her young daughter whose custody was handed by a court more than year ago to the parents of her estranged husband she accuses of physically abusing her and molesting their daughter, was granted a special visa that will subsequently give her a green card.

 

Carina Barsotti, 38, lost custody of her daughter, now 8, after she and the child fled China for California to escape from the girl’s American father.

 

The father, however, managed to track them down in San Jose and got the court to rule in his favor.

 

Barsotti said she and her ex-husband had been married for nine years and lived together for 15 years.

 

But she said she did not apply for green card because they had been staying overseas, mostly in Asia, where her ex-husband was regularly assigned by a large Ohio-based company.

 

U.S. immigration laws require that an individual be in the U.S. for a certain period of time to be granted permanent residency.

 

With her visa expiring and the child’s custody on appeal, Barsotti in January 2011 sought the help of the Philippine Consulate General in New York’s Assistance to Nationals Unit, then headed by Consul Leandro Lachica, who asked legal support from the Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund (FALDEF) led by J.T. Mallonga.

 

FALDEF and the Consulate worked together to secure Barsotti a U visa or I-360 special petition under VAWA (Violence Against Women Act), wherein abused spouses of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents may self-petition to obtain lawful permanent residency in order to seek safety and independence from the abusive spouse.

 

In September 2012, Barsotti’s U visa was approved and she’s now in the process of applying for adjustment of status leading to a legal status to reside and work in the U.S., according to Mallonga.

 

“Carina is very elated about this latest development,” Mallonga said.

 

“She didn’t want to leave the U.S. because she didn’t want to be away from her daughter.”

 

“If there is anyone most truly deserving of justice, then it is this woman who has suffered so much and still continues to suffer as she still does not have custody of her young child,” Mallonga added.

 

Barsotti disclosed that she herself discovered the alleged abuse in their Pittsburgh bedroom as early as August 2006, when the child was only two-and-a-half years old.

 

“I saw it with my own eyes,” said the mother, who used to be a fitness instructor in the Philippines.

 

She said she confronted her husband, but he simply dismissed her accusations.

 

Barsotti said she thought that would be the end of it, but it happened again — this time in Thailand, when the girl was 4 and old enough to tell that her dad had been “kissing” and “touching” her.

 

Not helpful

 

When the family moved to Shanghai, the abuses continued, prompting the Filipino mother to report to authorities, including the local police and the U.S. Consulate, which was not helpful, Barsotti said.

 

She said a Chinese medical doctor and a psychologist managed to conclude that the girl indeed was being abused sexually.

 

It was in 2010 when Barsotti, with the help of a church in China, fled to San Francisco and stayed in a shelter in San Jose.

 

Barsotti reported everything to the shelter and to police detectives, but she was later told her case was out of their jurisdiction since it happened outside California.

 

Barsotti said her husband managed to track them down in San Jose and went to court in Pittsburgh.

 

She noted that instead of probing her claims of molestation — backed by medical records and testimony in China — and helping her protect her daughter from any further abuse, the Pittsburgh court took the child from her and handed custody to the paternal grandparents, with whom the girl’s father has been living with.

 

Unusual sex acts

 

Barsotti also claimed to be a victim of physical and emotional abuse and was subjected to unusual sex acts in the hands of her husband, who eventually divorced her.

 

Mallonga, meanwhile, won’t disclose his client’s next move.

 

He said the most important thing at present is that Barsotti will be able to stay legally in the country and be close to her daughter, whom she gets to visit every now and then.

 

Barsotti’s plight was reported exclusively by the Filipino Reporter in its Feb. 25-March 3, 2011 edition. - Filipino Reporter