Immigration Court Evaluations Delivered with Expertise and Integrity.
Immigration court
evaluation Services
Some of our clinicians are available to conduct mental health evaluations for immigration that can be used to support your petition for waiver of removal. These evaluations include:
- Extreme Hardship: Evaluation and documentation of how a separation or relocation would affect a qualifying relative (I-601; I-601A; I-212)
- Asylum – When a person has fled to the USA to seek protection from persecution, that person is entitled to petition to remain in the country due to the impact had on the person’s mental health.
- VAWA – Those who have experienced domestic abuse from family members who are either US citizens or permanent residents may apply for a change in status under provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (regardless of gender, gender-identity, or sexual orientation).
- U Visa – One may seek a U Visa if one has experienced abuse (physical or mental) and who can provide information helpful to law enforcement in bringing those who commit those crimes to justice.
- T Visa – Evaluations for a T Visa are intended to assess the effects of sex and/or labor trafficking has had on one’s emotional health
The Process
We understand that this process can be very stressful. Therefore, we want to tell you more about what you can expect. All evaluations will include looking at appropriate documentation, a careful interview, and some form of testing. For evaluations to be submitted for U or T Visas, VAWA, or asylum petitions, this will involve some discussion of the traumatic events that you experienced. Although we are not providing treatment, we are trauma therapists who understand how emotionally upsetting revisiting these situations can be.
Once we have concluded the interview, we will ask you to complete some tests and checklists related to your social and emotional functioning. We expect that we will have the written report completed within 1-2 weeks.
Available Professionals
Mitchell Hicks, PhD, ABPP is an experienced clinical and forensic psychologist with years of experience evaluating persons involved in court proceedings as well an evaluating and treating person who have experienced trauma.
Carinna Tello, MS, LPC is a bilingual/bicultural clinician offering services in both English and Spanish. She has considerable experience evaluating and treating persons who have experienced trauma, particularly domestic violence. Her evaluations are currently being supervised by Dr. Hicks
Immigration Evaluation Services Frequently Asked Questions
How can an evaluation help me in my case? Generally, your attorney will want us to provide information that will support your petition to immigration court. For example, if you are requesting the cancellation of deportation because it would pose an extreme hardship on you as a US citizen or lawful permanent resident then we will be focused on documenting how separation and/or relocation might pose serious difficulties for you. That said, you should discuss your case with your attorney who will advise you on whether or not an evaluation will be helpful to your case.
What are your rates? Pricing for immigration assessments is very different than for clinical services. Once we know the specifics of your needs and circumstances, we will be able to give you a flat rate that covers the interview, testing, and report writing. Other charges are determined by the hour, and are different for different types of activities. For example, time providing depositions or testimony is priced differently than travel required to complete the evaluation.
It seems you don’t speak my language. How would we do the evaluation? Can my family member interpret for me? We will engage the services of a professional interpreter, with our costs for this service being added to your invoice. That means if we pay X for the translator, we will add only X to your bill. As for a family member or friend providing interpretation, this is not prudent because your evaluator needs to be sure that what is being said is done accurately.
I am interested in retaining you. What should I do? We are happy to talk with you to determine if your situation in one in which we are reasonably confident that we can help. We would then want to speak directly with your attorney so that we not only have his or her permission to enter your case but also to have clarity on the questions that he or she wants us to answer.
- Part of my case involves talking about really bad things that happened to me or that I saw happened to others. How much do I need to talk about this? Because all of us also provide counseling and psychotherapy for persons who have been traumatized, we are sensitive to how difficult it can be to talk about these things. While we do not need to know everything there is to know, we do need to know enough about your story in order to properly document this for your petition. We will not start with these topics unless you want to, and we will go at your pace.