Immigration Evaluations

We are Spanish/English bilinguals and can provide Immigration Psychological Services. We work with immigration attorneys and/or individual patients.

Mind and Brain Care provides law firms and attorneys nationwide with expert forensic psychological services in the areas of immigration law, including:

• Extreme and Exceptional Hardship
• Political Asylum
• Spousal Abuse
• U Visas
• Disability Waivers

In extreme and exceptional hardship cases, a citizen of the United States, or a legal permanent resident of the United States, is the spouse, fiancée, parent, or child of an individual who may be deported from the U.S. The United States citizen applies for a waiver on the basis that deportation would result in an extreme and exceptional hardship.

Mind and Brain Care provides psychological evaluations that include a detailed personal history of the person being examined (along with the waiver applicant and family members in general).  We will concisely and accurately detail the unique circumstances of the patient that makes him or her particularly vulnerable to hardship.  We accurately describe and include all relevant factors in these cases of family relationships that would make it extraordinarily difficult for that person to leave the country.

Mind and Brain Care’s psychological evaluation describes the emotional impact of both separation and re-location on the qualifying relative if he or she becomes separated from the applicant due to inadmissibility.  Moreover, the psychological and emotional impact on the qualifying relative if he or she re-locates abroad in order to be with the applicant is addressed.

Since mental and physical well-being have been found to be closely related, the psychological report may also emphasize the physical consequences, if any, of patient’s current or future psychological state.  For example, if the patient suffers from heart disease, then an aggravation of his or her psychological disorders could further contribute to heart problems.

Political Asylum

In political asylum cases, an individual has been subjected to mistreatment and abuse in a foreign country. Frequently, the mistreatment is associated with a political, religious, ethnic, or gender factor. At some point, the individual flees and makes his or her way to the United States, and files a political asylum claim. In his or her native country, it is very common that the individual has developed psychological problems as a result of the abuse; depressive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) are common. Sometimes, the disorder interferes with the ability to file a claim for asylum within the required one-year period. In those cases, it is necessary to make an assessment whether the psychological problems experienced by the individual interfered with the filing of a timely political asylum claim. In political asylum cases, it is also helpful to assess whether an individual continues to suffer from psychological symptoms after their arrival in the United States. This helps to gauge how profound the trauma was in the country of origin and how long standing the psychological ramifications.

Spousal Abuse

In spousal abuse cases, a woman or a man from a foreign country marries a citizen or a legal permanent resident of the United States. After the marriage, the United States citizen or legal permanent resident then abuses his or her spouse. The abuse can take the form of verbal, physical, sexual, or psychological mistreatment. It is important in spousal abuse cases to assess the quality of the abuse as well as the frequency, and to evaluate the impact that the abuse has had on the individual.

U Visas

A U Visa gives legal status to immigrants, even undocumented immigrants, who have been victims of serious crimes in the United States and meet certain other requirements. With a U Visa, the immigrant may stay and work in the United States for up to four years. After three years, however, a victim with a U visa may apply for a green card.  Victims of crimes, including sexual abuse, domestic violence, involuntary servitude, sexual exploitation, kidnapping, female genital mutilation, trafficking, and rape, must have suffered serious physical, mental, or emotional abuse and have information that may help law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting the perpetrators. Depending on the situation, the victim’s family members might also be able to get a U Visa. A number of certifications and forms are involved, so contact an experienced immigration lawyer to assist with your U Visa petition.

Disability Waivers

To request a disability waiver of the U.S. citizenship test, an applicant for naturalization must submit Form N-648, issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Form N-648 can only be completed by U.S. licensed medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, or clinical psychologist.

The N-648 is the disability waiver that exempts applicants for U.S. citizenship from (1) demonstrating they can speak, read, and write English, and/or (2) passing a test of U.S. history and civics.  With a waiver, the applicant can have the interview in his/her native language and will not have to answer questions about U.S. history and government. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) relies on the medical opinion of the applicant’s doctor in deciding whether to grant the waiver.  CIS generally makes a decision as to whether to grant or deny citizenship at the naturalization interview.

Because doctor completing the N-648 must have the appropriate expertise to diagnose the named disability/ies, only a specialist in the patient’s disorder can fill out form.  Dr. Lopez is a specialist in neuropsychological disorders.  A neuropsychological assessment can detail the reason a disability waiver is being filed and the plan of treatment, if any (NOTE: oftentimes, neuropsychological conditions, such as dementia, are untreatable).(Question 4)

 Mind and Brain Care provides immigration expert service. Contact Dr. Mabel Lopez, Ph.D. at 239-768-6500 to discuss your expert needs and timeline.

La Dra. Lopez tiene  clientes que vienen a la consulta para obtener su estatus legal en los EE.UU. Usualmente, esto se obtiene con la ayuda de un abogado especializado en inmigración. La Dra. Lopez trabajo muy de cerca con algunos abogados ubicados en esta zona, y proporciono evaluaciones psicológicas para reforzar las solicitudes de los clientes.

Una evaluacion psicológica es util para peticiones ante inmigración adonde se necesita documentación objectiva sobre:

• Dificultad Extrema
• Violencia Doméstica
• Victimas de Crimen
• Asilo politico
•  Justificacion De Desabilidad

Dificultad Extrema:

La Dra. Lopez provee evaluaciones psicológicas a los familiares ciudadano Americanos para determinar si una extrema dificultad les ocurrirá si el inmigrante no será admitido en los Estados Unidos. Esta dificultad debe de ser más allá de una separación normal. Por ejemplo, pruebas de depresión, ansiedad, problemas al dormir, sentimientos de desesperación por parte del familiar ciudadano Americano debe ser probado en orden de obtener la ley del Perdón. Una evaluación psicológicas puede identificar deficiencias mentales que apoye a la afirmación de dificultad extrema.

En una evaluación de dificultad extrema se detallan las dificultades que tendría un miembro familiar cercano que es ciudadano de los EE.UU. si su familiar fuera deportado o negado la entrada o re entrada a los EE.UU. Esta evaluación profundiza los aspectos biopsicosociales, que incluyen los traumas del pasado o del presente que ocasionarían sufrimiento en ese miembro de la familia si no se le permitiera vivir al inmigrante en los EE.UU. con sus seres queridos.

Victimas de Violencia Domestica

En el caso de violencia domestica, el extranjero, o inmigrante,  tiene una relación personal con un ciudadano o residente de los EE.UU., y está siendo abusada por él. Esto incluye el abuso físico, sexual o psicológico. Este informe evalúa el grado del abuso y el efecto que ha causado en la persona extranjera.

Asilo Politico:

Las personas que solicitan asilo político han sufrido discriminación física, psicológica y/o religiosa en un país extranjero. Estas evaluaciones psicologicas incluyen un informe detallado sobre los maltratos y abusos del que fue objeto en su país por pertenecer a ciertos grupos de razas, étnicos, religiosos, o políticos, o por su orientación sexual. La evaluación incluye cualquier aflicción emocional que ha sido el resultado de haber sido perseguido/a en ese país.

Justificación de Desabilidad

Una justificación de desabilidad (disability waiver) es cuando un cliente requiere el Form N-648, que solo puede ser completado por un doctor licenciada en los EE.UU. Yo soy una psicóloga licenciada en los EEUU.  La Dra. Lopez esta qualificada para determinar so una persona no puede aprender Ingles o pasar el examen cívico para la ciudadanía. Dra. Lopez tiene mucha experiencia con pacientes Hispanos que tienen problemas de memoria y no pueden pasar el examen de ciudadanía.