“The goal is to create a world that we can each call home, a place in which we each have a voice, in which our flowing sense of group identities gives us more a sense of boundaries that include than of divisions that exclude.” (McGoldrick and Hardy 2008).
Abstract
In 2014, approximately one million individuals were granted legal permanent residence in the U.S., over 650,000 became naturalized citizens, and about 180 million foreign-born individuals were granted entrance into the United States on the condition of temporary status. Although the literature has been saturated with the mental health needs of this population, many mental health professionals lack knowledge of the legal process of receiving Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status, the restrictions on various U.S. visa types, and related pressures that impact mental health among individuals and families. The purpose of this paper is to inform mental health professionals of the LPR process and restrictions on nonimmigrant visas along with mental health implications for families and individuals whom are on their journey towards LPR. Future research may include the discussion of specific mental health needs among various immigrant groups in relation to the controversial legal process.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). (2015). AAMFT code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.aamft.org/iMIS15/AAMFT/Content/Legal_Ethics/Code_of_Ethics.aspx.
American Psychological Association. (2012). Crossroads: The psychology of immigration in the new century: Report of the APA presidential task force on immigration. Washington, D.C.: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.apa.org/topics/immigration/report.aspx.
Androff, D. K., Ayon, C., Becerra, D., & Gurrola, M. (2011). US immigration policy and immigrant children’s well-being: The impact of policy shifts. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 38, 77. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/jrlsasw38&div=7&id=&page=.
Androff, D. K., & Tavassoli, K. Y. (2012). Deaths in the desert: the human rights crisis on the U.S.-Mexico Border. Social Work, 52(2), 165–173. doi:10.1093/sw/sws034.
Bridges, A. J., Andrews, A. R. III, & Deen, T. L. (2012). Mental health needs and service utilization by Hispanic immigrants residing in mid-southern united states. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 23(4), 359–368. doi:10.1177/1043659612451259.
Cavazos-Rehg, P. A., Zayas, L. H., & Spitznagel, E. L. (2007). Legal status, emotional well-being and subjective health status of Latino immigrants. Journal of the National Medical Association, 99(10), 1126–1131. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2574408/.
Cheng, Z. H., Tu, M., & Yang, L. H. (2016). Experiences of social support among chinese immigrant mental health consumers with psychosis. Community Mental Health Journal, 52(6), 643–650. doi:10.1007/s10597-016-0008-4.
Chiu, M. L., Feldman, S., & Rosenthal, D. A. (1992). The influence of immigration on parental behavior and adolescent distress in Chinese families residing in two western nations. Journal Of Research On Adolescence (Lawrence Erlbaum), 2(3), 205–239. doi:10.1207/s15327795jra0203_2.
Falicov, C. J. (2002). Ambiguous loss: Risk and resilience in Latino families. In M. Suarez-Orozco & M. Paez (Eds.), Latinos: Remaking America (pp. 274–288). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Gong, F., Xu, J., Fujishiro, K., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2011). A life course perspective on migration and mental health among Asian immigrants: The role of human agency. Social Science & Medicine, 73(11), 1618–1626. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.09.014.
Gonzalez, R. G., Suárez-Orozco, C., & Dedios-Sanguineti, M. (2013). No place to belong: Contextualizing concepts of mental health among undocumented immigrant youth in the United States. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(8), 1174–1199. doi:10.1177/0002764213487349.
Gordon, C. (1966). Immigration law and procedure. New York, N.Y.: Bender, [1966-.
Heeren, G. (2015). The status of the nonstatus. American University Law Review, 64(5), 1115–1181.
Immigration Policy Center. (2011). Arizona SB 1070, legal challenges and economic realities. Retrieved from http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/clearinghouse/litigation-issue-pages/arizona-sb-1070%E2%80%8E-legal-challenges-and-economic-realities.
Kam, J. A. (2011). The effects of language brokering frequency and feelings on mexican-heritage youth’s mental health and risky behaviors. Journal of Communication, 61(3), 445–475. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01552.x.
Kanstroom, D. (2007). Deportation nation : outsiders in American history. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Kennedy, S., & McDonald, J. T. (2006). Immigrant mental health and unemployment. The Economic Record, 82(259), 445–459. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4932.2006.00358.x.
Kim, S. Y., Wang, Y., Weaver, S. R., Shen, Y., Wu-Seibold, N., & Liu, C. H. (2014). Measurement equivalence of the language-brokering scale for Chinese AMerican adolescents and their parents. Journal of Family Psychology, 28(2), 180–192. doi:10.1037/a0036030.
Lacayo, A. E. (2012). The wrong approach: State anti-immigration legislations in 2011. Washington D. C.: National Council of La Raza. Retrieved from http://www.nclr.org/images/uploads/publications/The_Wrong_Approach_Anti-ImmigrationLeg.pdf.
Lee, E., & Mock, M. R. (2005). Asian families. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (pp. 269–289). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Lee, Y. M. (2007). The immigration experience among elderly Korean immigrants. Journal Of Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing, 14(4), 403–410. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2850.2007.01098.x.
Leong, F., Park, Y. S., & Kalibatseva, Z. (2013). Disentangling immigrant status in mental health: Psychological protective and risk factors among latino and Asian American immigrants. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 83(2, 3), 361–371. doi:10.1111/ajop.12020.
Leu, J., Walton, E., & Takeuchi, D. (2011). Contextualizing acculturation: Gender, family, and community reception influences on Asian Immigrant mental health. American Journal of Community Psychology, 48(3/4), 168–180. doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9360-7.
Lipsicas, C., & Mäkinen, I. (2010). Immigration and suicidality in the young. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(5), 274–279. doi:10.1177/070674371005500502.
McGoldrick, M., & Hardy, K. V. (2008). Introduction: Re-visioning family therapy from a multicultural perspective. In M. McGoldrick & K. V. Hardy (Eds.), Re-Visioning family therapy (pp. 3–24). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Orloff, L. E., Jang, D. & Klein, C. F. (1995). With no place to turn: Improving legal advocacy for battered immigrant women. Family Law Quarterly, 29(2), 313–329.
Smith, J. P. & Edmonston, B. (1997). The new Americans: economics, demographic, and fiscal effects of immigration. Washington D. C.: National Academy Press.
Szapocznik, J., Rio, A., Perez-Vidal, A., Kurtines, W., Hervis, O., & Santisteban, D. (1986). Bicultural effectiveness training (BET): An experimental test of an intervention modality for families experiencing intergenerational/intercultural conflict. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 8(4), 303. doi:10.1177/07399863860084001
Tummala-Narra, P., Sathasivam-Rueckert, N. & Sundaram, S. (2013). Voices of older Asian Indian immigrants: Mental health implications. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 44(1), 1–10. doi:10.1037/a0027809.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). (2015). Visa availability and priority dates. Retrieved from: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/visa-availability-and-priority-dates.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). (2016). Filing Fees. Retrieved from: https://www.uscis.gov/fees.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2016). Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2014. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2014#*.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2003). Changes to national Security Entry/Exit Registration System (NSEERS): Fact sheet. Retrieved from: http://www2.gtlaw.com/practices/immigration/news/2003/12/01a.pdf.
Valdez, C. R., Lewis Valentine, J. & Padilla, B. (2013). “Why we stay”: Immigrants’ motivations for remaining in communities impacted by anti-immigration policy. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19(3), 279–287. doi:10.1037/a0033176.
Venters, H., Adekugbe, O., Massaquoi, J., Nadeau, C., Saul, J., & Gany, F. (2011). Mental health concerns among African immigrants. Journal Immigrant Minority Health, 13(4), 795–797. doi:10.1007/s10903-010-9357-1.
White House. (2017a). Executive Order Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States. Retrieved from: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/06/executive-order-protecting-nation-foreign-terrorist-entry-united-states.
White House. (2017b). Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements. Retrieved from: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/25/executive-order-border-security-and-immigration-enforcement-improvements.
Yip, T., Gee, G. C., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2008). Racial discrimination and psychological distress: The impact of ethnic identity and age among immigrant and United States-born Asian adults. Developmental Psychology, 44(3), 787–800. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.3.787.
Yoshikawa, H., & Kalil, A. (2011). The effects of parental undocumented status on the developmental contexts of young children in immigrant families. Child Development. Perspectives (Gerontological Nursing Association (Canada)), 5(4), 291–297. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00204.x.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lewis, F.J., Paik, S.E. & Tseng, CF. Deconstructing the Legal Process for the Immigrant Population in the United States: Ethical Implications for Mental Health Professionals. Contemp Fam Ther 39, 141–149 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-017-9418-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-017-9418-x