Immigration Evaluations in Washington State

An immigration evaluation is a comprehensive psychosocial evaluation conducted by a licensed mental health professional. During the evaluation, we'll talk with you about your situation and assess how it relates to your immigration case. The written report provides immigration officials with professional clinical information about the psychological aspects of your case, helping to ensure they have a complete picture of your circumstances.

I typically meet with clients 1-2 times, and we spend a total of 2-3 hours talking. If needed, we will schedule more time. I charge a flat fee for the evaluations, we do not charge by the hour. It is more important to me that I obtain all the necessary information, even if that takes a little more time.

For all clients, we ask about their personal/family history, education, and work, as well as their physical and mental health. We may also ask you to fill out some questionnaires about any symptoms you are experiencing.

For extreme hardship waiver cases and cancellation cases, we will ask about your relationship with the qualifying relative (your spouse, parent, or adult child). We will discuss in detail the ways you would be impacted if you were separated.

For asylum, VAWA, and U&T visa cases, we will ask you about the trauma you experienced and will talk about the impact this has had on all aspects of your life.

Clients meet with me 1-2 times (in some cases an additional meeting may be necessary). The clinical interview lasts 2-3 hours.

We will meet in my private office either via teletherapy or in person (if safety allows). For teletherapy, we meet via a confidential HIPAA compliant platform.

We ask you questions about your background, daily life, and circumstances as well as your current mood and functioning. Depending on the case, we may also ask you to complete some simple questionnaires that will help us in the assessment process.

You do not have to answer our questions if you are uncomfortable or don’t want to share particular details of your life. You can decide how much you share, but the more we know the more we will be able to write a robust evaluation.

We may also ask to see additional documents such as medical records or school reports that are relevant to your case.

After our meeting, we will write a comprehensive report that includes your personal history and any mental health diagnoses. We always include a section that summarizes our clinical findings and their relevance to your case. If applicable, we also offer recommendations for ongoing treatment.

In most cases, the report is completed 2 weeks after our last meeting. In urgent cases, I can have the report completed in a few days for an expedited fee. In most cases, the report will be completed within 2 weeks after the final meeting with the client. This is provided that all additional documentation (such as school or medical records) has been received. The report will be completed after documentation and payment have been received.

No. I can work with clients who speak other languages by using an interpreter, which I can help clients arrange.

The fee for an immigration psychosocial evaluation is $1,200 which includes the clinical interview, the written report, communicating with your lawyer, reviewing, and additional documentation. As a courtesy to all clients, we send a copy directly to your lawyer as well as a copy to you. Payment plans are available. Expedited evaluations are available for an additional fee.

Yes, you can divide the total fee into two payments. The first half is due before the first appointment and the remainder can be paid when the report is completed. A report will not be provided until the fee is paid in full.

At this time I do not work with anyone under the age of 18.

I do not, as it is considered unethical and can compromise a clinician’s objectivity. Completing an evaluation and being the client’s therapist constitutes a dual relationship, regardless of the order in which it is done (therapy first or evaluation first). The APA (American Psychological Association) has the best, most concise statement on the matter:

“Providing forensic and therapeutic psychological services to the same individual or closely related individuals involves multiple relationships that may impair objectivity and/or cause exploitation or other harm.” (American Psychological Association 2013. Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology. American Psychologist, January 2013.)

Research has shown that having an ongoing therapeutic relationship with the client does not have an effect on the outcome of their case.

I always provide clients with a list of resources and therapists near them should they wish to receive ongoing therapy.