Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Evaluations

An immigration attorney may ask you to get a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) evaluation in Miami (or anywhere in Florida) when you are applying for immigration relief. The Act provides benefits to men and women who may have been physically and/or mentally abused by their U.S. citizen/legal permanent resident spouse. These evaluations may be anxiety-provoking because is difficult to talk about endured verbal, physical, or sexual abuse. The evaluation can help establish the psychological impact of your experience.

 VAWA evaluations include a comprehensive interview about your life prior to meeting your spouse and your life with them before, during, and after the marriage if you are divorced. We can review your medical, psychological, and other important documents that help us understand your psychological and emotional functioning. We will administer questionnaires and we may need to administer other psychological tests if needed. Once the evaluation is completed, we will write a comprehensive report integrating your history and our findings.

 VAWA evaluations can be conducted in-person at our Miami office, or via Telehealth if you live anywhere else in Florida. Evaluations last several hours and are typically done over a full day or over several appointments, depending on the timeline of your petition. It is important that you provide us with as many documents as possible, including affidavits, police reports, medical records, and any other documents related to your case.

 VAWA evaluations are difficult, and we make everything possible to provide professional, ethical, and compassionate care to you. We look forward to helping you.