Immigration Mental Health Evaluations in Alabama & Florida
I prepare mental health immigration evaluations for the following types of cases for people in Alabama and Florida. People from Mississippi are welcome to come to Mobile, AL for in-person meetings.
- Extreme Hardship/Cancellation of Removal
- Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
- Asylum
- U-Visa
- T-Visa
Email: diana@welcomelifecounseling.com or call 251-283-2112
I provide comprehensive, in-depth mental health evaluations to support USCIS applications.
My focus is on:
- Fully evaluating the impacts of immigration to the client based on their unique individual circumstances.
- Detailing the special needs of the client or family and how separation may impact the client.
- Using standardized assessments to comprehensively evaluate the client’s current mental state.
- Providing a valid psychological diagnosis, if necessary, from the standards outlined in the DSM-5-TR.
Education
Why are immigration mental health evaluations useful?
A mental health evaluation for an immigration case is useful because it can provide evidence to support the case. These evaluations document the trauma and mental health suffering experienced by the client and the possible effects of sending them back to their country of origin and/or separating the family. These assessments provide full case histories which can detail life threatening conditions in the country of origin and provide support for keeping families together.
How do immigration evaluations work?
The client hires me to provide a mental health evaluation to supply to their attorney to help support their immigration case. I will coordinate with the attorney on the details of the case. I will meet with the client on two separate occasions to gather the details of their experiences and how the immigration case will affect their mental well being. A detailed report is then prepared for the client and the attorney. This report is typically 8 to 12 pages long. I will happily work with interpreters during the two consultations with the client. Consultations can be either in person or online using Zoom. This process takes approximately 3 – 5 weeks from start to finish. Rush evaluations may be available.
Email: diana@welcomelifecounseling.com or call 251-283-2112
What I do
I provide assessments for the following types of applications:
| Extreme Hardship/Cancellation of Removal | Asylum |
| Identifying unique factors contributing to a client’s psychological distress such as illness; disability; professional or financial hardship; and adverse home-country conditions. | Explaining psychological reasons why a client missed the one-year filing deadline; detailing psychological symptoms providing evidence of past persecution. |
| Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) | T Visas & U Visas |
| Detailing the client’s symptoms which are common for victims of domestic violence; assessing credibility; explaining how the abuser used the client’s undocumented status to exert power and control. | Identifying the degree of suffering which occurred as a result of the substantial mental abuse experienced during the crime. Evaluating the extent of permanent or serious harm to the client’s mental soundness. |
Email: diana@welcomelifecounseling.com or call 251-283-2112
The Process
| Step 1 |
| Request a consult/book an appointment: Email me at diana@welcomelifecounseling.com to request a phone consultation or to say “I’m ready to start”. Please provide a phone number and the best times to reach you. Or I can answer any questions through email. |
| Step 2 |
| Fill out paperwork. I will need your email address and phone to send you consent forms, release of information forms (so I can talk with your attorney), credit card payment forms and some preliminary questions for you to complete. Once the paperwork has been completed in full, an appointment can be scheduled. |
| Step 3 |
| Schedule the first meeting & meet. Payment will be due at this time either in full or $600 prior to the first meeting. A time and place (online or in person) will be agreed upon. This meeting will be approximately 1 to 1.5 hours long. Additional paperwork may be requested at this meeting depending on the type of immigration case. |
| Step 4 |
| After the first meeting, you will receive several psychological assessments. These will need to be completed before the second meeting. |
| Step 5 |
| Second meeting. The second meeting will review the mental health assessments completed prior to the session. This meeting will be 1 to 1.5 hours long. This meeting takes place approximately one week after the first meeting. |
| Step 6 |
| I will prepare the report based upon the two meetings and notify the client when the report is completed. |
| Step 7 |
| Final payment is due and the report will be delivered to the client and the client’s attorney for review. The average report is 10 – 12 pages in length. |
Email: diana@welcomelifecounseling.com or call 251-283-2112
FAQs
How long do immigration evaluations take?
Immigration evaluations typically take 3 to 5 weeks from start to finish to schedule meetings, gather information, and write the report. Rush evaluations may be possible, time permitting, for an additional fee of $300.
Will an immigration evaluation help me win my case?
A mental health evaluation provides a professional evaluation by a licensed behavioral health provider detailing the current and long term mental health impacts on the client resulting from circumstances in the country of origin, on immigration, or family separation if the immigrant were to return to their country of origin. A mental health evaluation provides additional detailed evidence to support the immigration case. The Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine reported in November 2021 that for people using an attorney, the average success rate across all cases was 42%; those with an attorney and a mental health evaluation increased the average success rate to 75.4%. Those who did not use an attorney or an evaluation had an average success rate of 10%.
What are your fees?
A standard mental health evaluation for immigration cases is $1100.00. The full fee or $600 is due prior to the first meeting. When the report is delivered, the balance of $500 is due. Stripe is my credit card processor. Rush evaluations needed in less than 2 weeks will have an additional $300 rush fee added to the standard charge.
Get started!
Email me at diana@welcomelifecounseling.com and in the subject line put “immigration evaluation”. Let me know if you would like a phone consultation so I can answer any other questions. You can also send me questions by email. I need your email address and phone number to send out the initial paperwork to get started.
I have more questions…
Email me at diana@welcomelifecounseling.com with your questions. I will email you with the answers.
Asylum Medicine Training Institute Certification
Advanced training at the Immigration Evaluation Training Center & Asylum Medicine Training Institute
Atkinson, H. et al. (2021). Impact of forensic medical evaluations on immigration relief grant rates and correlates of outcomes in the United States. Vol. 84, November. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X21001578?via%3Dihub