If you are a mental health clinician already doing immigration evaluations OR interested in learning more about adding immigration evaluations to your psychotherapy business model, YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE!
I’m Ellie Vargas, LCSW and I’m so glad to connect with you!
Using my experience as the Founder of the Bay Area Center for Immigration Evaluations (BACIE), I am currently developing a Network of Immigration Evaluation Clinicians so that we may:
Harness the power of a unified network to meet the growing demand for immigration evaluations while lifting up individual clinicians (through shared SEO, improved web presence, shared marketing budget, etc.)
Host a centralized online presence in the form of a National Directory where immigration attorneys and their clients can look for clinicians specialized in these evaluations within their geographic area and easily contact them to schedule an evaluation.
Support each other, learn from each other, and improve the quality of immigration evaluations for all. I’m talking continuing education in the form of:
1) Best clinical practices,
2) Business Strategy around incorporating (and sustaining!) Immigration Evaluations as an offer within a psychotherapy practice business model, and
3) Updates on ever-evolving Immigration Law.
FREE RESOURCE
In the short term, I am offering a resource that I developed and refined over several years of doing this work: these are the Rubrics I have used to structure and guide my own immigration evaluation reports and those of the BACIE clinicians. They are yours for free, straight to your inbox. This resource includes Rubrics for Evaluations and Reports for immigrants in the process of Asylum, U Visa, T Visa, and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitions, as well as Hardship Waiver applications. Yes, all 5 Rubrics are included in this FREE GIVEAWAY!
WHY AM I GIVING AWAY THIS RESOURCE?
I feel called to share the knowledge and techniques I have accrued doing this important work. I want other licensed therapists to be empowered and confident to integrate immigration evaluations into their practices. And, real talk, I want immigrants to receive comprehensive, ethical, and thorough mental health evaluations to 1) support their path to legal residency in this country, and 2) receive compassionate and highly skilled evaluations because, in my experience, for the great majority of clients, this is their first impression of mental health assessment and care - this provides great opportunity as well as humbling responsibility. I don’t take any of this lightly.