Immigration Psychological Evaluationsfor Hardship and Waiver Cases

An immigration psychological evaluation, also called a psychosocial evaluation or a mental health evaluation, documents the clinical evidence of extreme hardship that USCIS requires in waiver cases. Kipu Terra provides bilingual, dual-clinician co-signed evaluations for I-601A, I-601, VAWA, U-Visa, T-Visa, I-212, and Cancellation of Removal cases, nationwide from New Mexico.

We document depression, anxiety, and trauma with standardized PHQ-9, GAD-7, and PCL-5 screening. We evaluate the qualifying U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident relative in hardship cases, and the survivor or victim in VAWA, U-Visa, and T-Visa cases.

When a noncitizen without stable legal status wants to remain in the U.S. with a qualifying family member, or is facing the risk of removal, they face a critical obstacle. That obstacle takes different legal forms: for someone who entered without inspection, it is the 3-to-10-year reentry bar triggered by consular processing; for someone in removal proceedings, it is the cancellation of removal standard; for others, it is the range of inadmissibility and deportability grounds USCIS and the immigration courts weigh.

To get the waiver approved, USCIS requires proof of extreme hardship. Not hardship to the immigrant, but to their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member: their spouse, parent, or child.

That is the question our evaluation answers. We interview the qualifying relative, administer standardized psychological assessments, render DSM-5-TR diagnostic impressions, and produce a forensic psychosocial evaluation report that documents the clinical evidence of extreme hardship. The report becomes a critical piece of evidence in the waiver filing.

Not sure who gets evaluated, the applicant or the relative? See the extreme hardship evaluation guide.

Based in New Mexico? See immigration psychological evaluations in New Mexico, serving Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, and statewide.