Undyed flax and hemp cords tied in a single knot on a pale blue-grey board, evoking the quipu, the Andean knotted-cord recording system from which the firm draws its name.

About Kipu Terra

A psychological evaluation firm serving immigrant families with clinical integrity, cultural humility, and accessible pricing.

Mission

To provide high-quality, culturally sensitive psychological evaluations for immigration that empower immigrant families to navigate the U.S. legal system with dignity and comprehensive clinical support.

Vision

To be a trusted clinical partner for immigration legal teams nationwide, grounded in New Mexico and known for clear, culturally responsive forensic evaluations.

Core Values

Clinical Integrity

Objective, evidence-based assessments guided by the NASW Code of Ethics.

Cultural Humility

Recognizing unique cultural and linguistic backgrounds of every client.

Collaborative Excellence

A dual-clinician model with direct English and Spanish evaluation expertise, professional interpretation in four additional languages, and independent clinical oversight.

Accessible Justice

Serving a vulnerable population with fair, affordable pricing.

Our Team

Bennett A. Reiss Iberico, LMSW, founder and primary evaluator at Kipu Terra.

Bennett A. Reiss Iberico, LMSW

Bilingual Peruvian-American, born and raised in the New York City area and now based in New Mexico. Two decades as a China-Latin America affairs analyst before entering clinical practice. Fluent in English and Spanish; intermediate Mandarin.

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Steven W. Morrison, LCSW, Clinical Lead at Kipu Terra.

Steven W. Morrison, LCSW

Independently licensed clinical social worker based in New Mexico. Final clinical authority over diagnostic impressions and report content. Reviews and co-signs every forensic report before release.

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Wondering which credentials qualify for this work? Read who can perform an immigration psychological evaluation.

New Mexico high-desert mesa at blue hour, under a last band of light on the horizon, evoking the 'Terra' in Kipu Terra.

Why New Mexico

Kipu Terra serves clients nationwide, but the firm is deliberately based in New Mexico. This is a positioning choice, not a constraint. New Mexico's cultural heritage is unusually layered: Hispanic communities with deep multi-generational roots, Pueblo and Navajo nations, and more recent Mexican and Central American communities living and working alongside each other. Few states in the country offer this texture of cross-cultural fluency as a daily condition of practice.

The U.S.-Mexico border is a few hours south. The policy conditions, enforcement patterns, and cultural dynamics that shape an I-601A or VAWA case are not abstractions here. They are local. Our founder, a bilingual Peruvian-American raised in the New York City area, chose New Mexico for exactly this reason: immigration from every part of the world is the texture of life in NYC, and New Mexico adds to that a geographic and cultural adjacency to the population most often served by hardship evaluations.

Why This Matters

The psychological evaluation is often the single most important piece of clinical evidence in a hardship waiver case. It documents what a federal adjudicator cannot see from a form: the depression, the anxiety, the sleepless nights, the children who do not understand why their parent might not come home.

Our evaluations start at $750 because the population we serve cannot absorb predatory pricing, and because the work itself is the point.

Clinical Quality Standards

Every report must meet these standards before release

  1. Forensic tone throughout (objective, no advocacy language)
  2. Statement of impartiality present
  3. Assessment limitations clearly stated
  4. Minimum 5 direct client quotes in the interview analysis
  5. All assessment scores correctly reported with standard severity labels
  6. Concordance between interview data and assessment scores noted
  7. DSM-5-TR codes supported by the clinical data (not over-diagnosed)
  8. Clinical findings connected to the evaluation question for the case type
  9. Prognosis addresses both favorable and unfavorable outcomes
  10. Dual-clinician co-signature included

Ready to get in touch?

Pick the door that fits you, or reach us directly.

An attorney referral is not required. Self-represented clients can contact us directly.

If you email us, please include a callback number and your preferred language.