Immigration Evaluations
An immigration evaluation is any psychological evaluation that is used in an immigration case. Depending on the type of immigration case, the evaluator will determine which measures to administer to the client during the evaluation.
Who can conduct an immigration evaluation:
Any licensed mental health provider can conduct an immigration evaluation. Some states will allow unlicensed mental health clinicians under the supervision of a licensed clinician.
At CFR, Dr. Carol Chu-Peralta performs all immigration evaluations. She is a licensed Clinical psychologist who has expertise in trauma and immigration. What this means for clients is that your evaluator is a doctor that specializes in the study of psychology with over a decade of experience in performing immigration evaluations. Through her immigration evaluations, she has aided many attorneys in helping them win their client’s immigration cases. Dr. Chu-Peralta is trained in an array of psychological tests and knows which are the best to use for succeeding in an immigration case. She has a rapid turn-around time and works collaboratively with attorneys.
Types of Immigration Cases and Immigration Evaluation Focus:
Extreme Hardship Waiver & Cancellation of Removal
In this type of immigration evaluation, the goal is to evaluate the U.S. citizen or lawful Permanent Resident in order to determine and cogently demonstrate how they would be excessively affected if their immigrant family member was not permitted to remain in the U.S.
Asylum, VAWA, U & T Visas:
Immigration evaluations supporting these cases are all centered on demonstrating the applicant’s traumatic life experience(s). The goal of the evaluation is to show how the client’s past trauma exposure is impacting their mental and physical health, and overall functioning.
Naturalization Waivers or N-648
Immigration evaluations supporting these cases can only be conducted by a doctoral-level psychologist or medical provider due to the tests involved in the evaluation. Only psychologists and some medical providers are trained on the administration and interpretation of these types of tests. This type of waiver is for an immigrant who is incapable of taking the naturalization test due to severe cognitive or psychological impairments.