I-601 Psychological Evaluation

The I-601 is broader, and where the applicant files differs too. The I-601A waives one ground only, unlawful presence, and is filed provisionally from inside the United States before the applicant leaves for the consular interview, so the family avoids a long separation while the case is pending. The I-601 reaches further: unlawful presence plus criminal history, immigration fraud or misrepresentation, and certain health-related grounds. It is usually filed during or after consular processing, often from abroad after an inadmissibility finding, when a wider waiver is needed. Both turn on extreme hardship to a qualifying relative, so the clinical evaluation method is the same; the difference is the range of grounds the waiver has to clear. Which form applies is the attorney's call.

The evaluator builds the hardship picture from three sources: the relative's own account, direct clinical observation, and standardized test results. The report ties concrete detail (sleep, work, jointly managed finances, health conditions, the relative's role in the household) to the two scenarios USCIS weighs side by side: the hardship of separation if the family is split, and the hardship of relocation if the relative leaves the United States to keep the family together.

The clinical method does not change, but the framing follows the case. The evaluation documents the qualifying relative's hardship the same way whether the underlying ground is unlawful presence, a criminal record, fraud or misrepresentation, or a health-related ground. What shifts is the surrounding context the attorney supplies. The evaluator keeps to clinical evidence about the relative and does not opine on the inadmissibility ground itself; that legal question stays with the referring attorney.

For adults in hardship cases, the PHQ-9 assesses depression and the GAD-7 assesses anxiety. The clinician adds the PCL-5 with the LEC-5 when trauma is indicated, the PSS-14 for chronic stress and caregiver burden, and WHODAS 2.0 when functional impairment needs quantification. Beck inventories (BDI-II and BAI) are available as alternates when clinically indicated. Evaluations of minors use the firm's minor-evaluee protocol with Clinical Lead approval.

A standard I-601 evaluation starts at $750 with a turnaround of 5-7 days. Rush service adds $300 for 72 hours, $500 for 48 hours, or $900 for 24 hours to the case base fee, subject to availability. Complex, RFE, or supplemental cases are quoted per case, from $750. Base prices are published; a more complex case, or live interpretation in French, Haitian Creole, Mandarin Chinese, or Portuguese through a professional language-service partner (generally about $100 per hour), can change the fee, and your exact fee is confirmed in writing before the engagement. The client pays Kipu Terra directly for the evaluation.

Kipu Terra provides the psychological evaluation only. It does not prepare the waiver application, the client's personal declaration, or legal arguments about admissibility; those stay with the attorney. Questions about which grounds apply, eligibility, or filing strategy are for the referring attorney.