Immigration Evaluations
This type of psychological evaluation is usually necessary within the immigration legal proceedings and involves of the following: U-visa, VAWA, T-visa, Hardship, Asylum, AWA, Disability Exceptions, and N-648 waiver. The referral source is usually immigration courts, immigration officers, immigration attorneys, or law school clinics.
- The U-Visa is a non-immigrant visa which protects victims of crimes who are not US citizens, by giving them legal status in the US.
- The VAWA (the Violence Against Women Act [including male victims and elderly]) is a form of immigrant relief for victims of violent crimes who are not US citizens.
- The T-visa protects victims of sexual assault or trafficking.
- The “Hardship” waiver is usually for immigrants whose US citizen or lawful permanent resident family member(s) would experience “extreme hardship” if their foreign immigrant petitioner were not allowed to remain in the US legally.
- Asylum is a protection granted to foreign nationals who are already in the US, or at the border, and who meet the international law definition of a “refugee.”
- The Adam Walsh Act (AWA) protects children from sex offenders and bars a US citizen from petitioning to bring any foreign relatives to the US. (Of note, Dr. Kostyshyna is a licensed sex offender evaluator.)
- Disability exception to the English and civics naturalization requirements is requested to evaluate if an applicant is unable to comply with these requirements because of a developmental disability/disorder or a mental impairment. To request this exception, Form N-648 is used.
