Table 2.

Common Deficiencies of Medical Affidavits

Codes	Representative Quotes
Equivocal and vague language	“The hard thing with a lot of this is that there are nuances that the medical professional doctors are going to know well beyond anything we can figure, so walking that tight line between not overstating and saying things that are just not true because they’re stated too bluntly. You also don’t want to be too equivocal in a statement.” (Pro bono/university clinic)
Includes details of what happened in country of origin that contradict legal statement	“We’re putting in a 20-page declaration with this client, and if the doctor puts in a 10-page version of it, something’s missing or something’s slightly different, or the timing of two events is transposed, and then it’s just, ‘well, gee, there were 3 people in the room in our account, and there are 2 people in your account,’ so most of the time we don’t want [the affidavit] that detailed.” (Pro bono/university clinic)
Uses medical jargon that judges will not understand without defining terms	“I have no medical experience or knowledge, so give it to me in layman’s terms, and I know if I can understand it, then I know the [asylum] officer can understand it. Keep it simple, don’t use a lot of jargon in the letter, and then connect it to the topic at hand.” (Non pro bono/nonprofit)