Immigration evaluations

A Better Life Therapy, LLC provides bilingual immigration evaluations in our Center City, Philadelphia office or from the comfort of your own in using a virtual platform. Click here to read in Arabic (للغة العربية، انقر هنا)

What are immigration evaluations?

Immigration evaluations are evaluations provided by a licensed clinician during the immigration process. These evaluations are often recommended or required by attorneys during the immigration process to help individuals resolve their immigration status.

The evaluations help to describe the mental health of the applicant and also describing hardships that have been faced during the process.

What is an immigration therapist?

A therapist who conducts immigration evaluations in a licensed professional in the field of mental health. At A Better Life Therapy, our immigration evaluations are done by a licensed professional who also has specialized training in conducting immigration evaluations.

Immigration Evaluation Therapist

Eman Almusawi, LMFT conducts immigration evaluations at our Center City, Philadelphia office. Eman is fluent in both English and Arabic. Eman understands the challenges immigrants face as an immigrant herself and works to help the applicant feel safe throughout the process. Eman has years of experience as psychotherapist and has undergone specific training for immigration evaluations.

Method

Eman Almusawi, LMFT uses evidence based practices to explore the applicant’s mental health and hardships they have faced. Her interviews go at the pace that the applicant is comfortable with. Eman works closely with the applicant and seeks to capture as much information as possible to support their case. The interview process can be done in our Center City, Philadelphia office or virtually via a confidential Telehealth platform. Eman offers services in both Arabic and English. After the interview, Eman will then work closely with the attorney to articulate the applicant’s immigration challenges. The attorney will then use this report as a part of the immigration process.

Timeline

Immigration evaluations tend to take 2-3 weeks from the time of the interview. Eman works to complete the interviews in a timely fashion while also making sure they are done professionally with all needed information. For an extra fee, evaluations can be expedited depending on availability.

The Evaluation Process

It might feel scary to open up to someone you don’t know during such an important process in your life. We believe it’s important you understand ahead of time what will be discussed in your evaluation process. This helps to relieve the unknown and to help you understand that the therapist is looking out for your best interest during their interview with you and wants to understand who you are as a person.

The mental health evaluations conducted by Eman Almusawi, LMFT consist of a reviewing important documents, including medical documents and therapeutic records. You will also talk with Eman about your personal and family history during a verbal interview process. Eman will also conduct a mental status evaluation and will objectively assess for signs of mental and psychological distress. Assessing for these things brings greater credibility to your evaluation.

Eman Almusawi will also look for symptoms of a mental disorder and if applicable will use the DSM-5, a manual for assessing psychological symptoms, to include a detailed description of what is being experienced in the evaluation. Please note, that you do not need to have a psychological disorder in order to be approved for a psychological hardship waiver. This is just one part of the process.

Eman pays special attention to the personal story of the applicant being assessed to understand and describe in detail the severity of the hardship and the psychological distress endured by the person and their loved ones. In all, Eman works to create a clear and compelling narrative of the applicants experiences through a therapeutic and clinical lens.

It’s important applicants select a trained and experienced professional in the area of immigration proceedings because immigration applications are often denied due to a lack of a mental health/psychological assessment and because the assessments were not detailed enough and did not include the level of information a clinician can provide. With this in mind, Eman understands from her years of experience true impact of trauma, loss, emotional and physical abuse, articulating in her reports the short and long-term effects they can cause.

Cost

The cost of an evaluation is dependent on the specific circumstance. Please contact Eman Almusawi at eman@abetterlifetherapy.com to get an accurate quote for your immigration evaluation.

Type of Immigration Evaluations Performed

Hardship immigration Evaluations (I-601)

Hardship Evaluations (I-601) are done to document extreme hardship as a part of the immigration process.

U-Visa immigration Evaluations

Evaluations done for the U-Visa are related to experiences of human trafficking, sexual assault, mental and physical abuse and domestic violence. These visas are set aside to victims who are helpful towards prosecuting criminal activity. Congress created the U nonimmigrant visa with the passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (including the Battered Immigrant Women’s Protection Act) in October 2000. The legislation was intended to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking of noncitizens and other crimes, while also protecting victims of crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse due to the crime and are willing to help law enforcement authorities in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. The legislation also helps law enforcement agencies to better serve victims of crimes.

VAWA Immigration Evaluations

These immigration evaluations are done for people seeking a VAWA Evaluation. VAWA evaluations are done for abused partners who are seeking to petition for immigration status separately from an abusive partner or family member.

Political Asylum evaluations

If you are seeking political asylum, your attorney might ask that you get an immigration evaluation from a psychotherapist. People seek to obtain asylum in the United States when they are afraid of persecution or harm in their home country.

T-Visa Evaluation

T-Visas are granted to those who have been the victim of severe human trafficking. These visas tend to grant immigration status for up to 4 years. Your attorney will need a therapist to conduct an evaluation in order to strengthen your case.

Cancellation of Removal immigration evaluation

Cancellation of removal is an immigration benefit that both non-permanent and permanent residents can use to petition a judge to adjust their status from deportable to permanent. You can read more here.

Scheduling an Immigration Evaluation

Please contact Eman Almusawi to schedule your immigration evaluation by e-mailing eman@abetterlifetherapy.com

Further reading:

Common Myths About Psychological Immigration Evaluations