An Immigration Psychological Evaluation is a psychological assessment that is used to help immigration courts determine whether an individual can lawfully remain in the United States. The immigration evaluation itself includes in-depth interviews that occur over the course of 2 to 3 meetings. There are several different types of immigration cases including Extreme Hardship, VAWA, Asylum, U-visa and T-visa evaluations.
Types of Immigration Evaluations:
Hardship – Extreme and Exceptional Hardship Waiver cases involve a citizen of the United States ( legal permanent resident) who is the spouse, fiancée, parent, or child of an individual who could be deported from the United States. The U.S. citizen applies for a waiver on the basis that deportation would result in an extreme and exceptional hardship. The purpose of the psychological evaluation is to assess and explain the hardships that all of the relevant family members would face if the waiver were not granted.
VAWA – Violence Against Women’s Act immigration provisions benefit both women and men. In spousal abuse cases, a woman or man from a foreign country marries a citizen or a legal permanent resident (LPR) of the United States. After the marriage, the immigrant claims the presence of domestic abuse and seeks to file for legal status separately from their U.S. citizen spouse. The immigrant can file a VAWA petition even if the marriage ended in divorce as long as there was a connection between the divorce and domestic violence and/or abuse. The purpose of the evaluation is to identify the psychological impact of the abused spouse. This petition provides protection to battered immigrant spouses and helps revise social practices and laws that allow violence against battered spouses and children.
Asylum – Applicants for political asylum often have been exposed to extreme deprivation, severe abuse, and even torture in their home country. Frequently, the mistreatment is associated with a political, religious, and/or ethnic persecution. At some point, the individual flees his or her country to the United States and files a Political Asylum claim. The purpose of the evaluation in asylum cases is to collect information about the mistreatment that has been experienced by an immigrant in their native country and to examine the psychological impact that these circumstances have had on the immigrant.
U-Visa & T-Visa – A “U” or “T” Visa are visas which are granted to victims of crimes (and their immediate family members) who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing to assist law enforcement and government officials in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. Only certain types of crimes will qualify the victim for a U or T-Visa, but both visas include the qualifying crime of human trafficking. The purpose of evaluations in these cases are to assess the substantial mental and/or physical abuse due to the crime in order to protect victims who have suffered. All victims must be willing to cooperate with law enforcement authorities in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity to obtain a U or T-Visa.
Immigration evaluations can be conducted via video sessions, in-home or in detention centers. (Additional fees may vary)