Hardship/ VAWA/ Asylum/ U & T Visas

Extreme Hardship Evaluations for Immigration
(I-601 and I-601A)

This situation applies when a US citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States is the spouse, parent, or child of an individual who may be deported from the US. If this happens, the US citizen or legal permanent resident might experience extreme hardship. 

This evaluation is crucial because it determines: 1) the US Citizen (USC) or Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR)’s current psychological state, and 2) The level of hardship and emotional impact the USC or LPR would experience if their immigrant family member was not allowed to remain in the United States and if the USC or LPR would experience if he/she relocates with their immigrant family member to another country to remain with them.

It’s important to remember that deportation will cause hardship to the family (e.g., spouse, children, or parents) rather than to the individual that may be deported.

Asylum

This situation applies when the foreign individual has been exposed to violence, harassment, extreme deprivation, mistreatment, severe abuse, and even torture in their home country. Frequently, these situations are associated with a political, religious, ethnic, or gender factor. At some point, the individual flees his/her country to the United States and files a Political Asylum claim.

These psychological evaluations are relevant in these cases because they examine and assess the extent and severity of the traumatic experience and the long-lasting psychological ramifications of the trauma. The psychological evaluation also assesses whether the individual continues to suffer from psychological symptoms after his/her arrival to the US.

Spouse Abuse (VAWA) (Violence Against Women Act)

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) provides immigration benefits for individuals (of all genders) who have suffered substantial harm and/or abuse at the hands of US citizens or LPR spouses.

In these cases, the psychological evaluation assesses the quality and extent of the spousal abuse, its frequency, and the emotional impact that the domestic violence or the abuse has had on the individual. The psychological evaluation also assesses the client’s current mental state, the impact on emotional adjustment, social and family functioning, mental health diagnosis, and long-term impact. VAWA allows the abused spouse, the victim, to file for permanent residency without your spouse’s consent, help, support, or participation of any kind.

U- Visa

This situation applies when the immigrant has been a victim of violence or serious crime in the United States. Such crimes may include rape, domestic violence, and sexual exploitation kidnapping.

In these cases, a psychological evaluation evaluates the psychological effects of a serious crime and assesses the extent of serious physical, mental, or emotional consequences that result from exposure to the crime.

An applicant for a U Visa has to be willing to assist law enforcement in the investigation and/or with the prosecution of the criminal.

T- VISA

This situation applies to individuals who have been victims of human trafficking and co-operated with the investigation. In a T visa case, an evaluation assesses the psychological and emotional impact of having been a victim of human traffickings, such as the mental health consequences of the physical or sexual abuse the individual suffered while being trafficked.