What is immigration psychology?
It is subfield of psychology focused on the assessment of individuals who are undergoing some form of immigration process. There are many types of immigration psychological evaluations and each individual case is different. Not all immigration cases require a psychological evaluation. The psychological evaluation is conducted when the immigration attorney believes it is needed for a particular case.
What are some types of immigration psychological evaluations?
There are multiple types of immigration psychological evaluations. Each evaluation is designed to answer the specific psycho-legal questions of the case. Immigration psychological evaluations are done for cases related to Hardship Waivers, VAWA , asylum , U Visa, T Visa, and Citizenship Examination waiver (N-648).
How does immigration affect mental health?
Immigration does not necessarily have an adverse impact on the individual. In the same family, individuals can be affected by immigration differently. In assessing the impact of migration, it is important to explore the reason for migration, the losses and changes associated with migration as well as individual factors such as age and socio-economic status.
Overall, to assess how immigration affects mental health it is necessary to interview or test the individual person. Psychological interviews and testing can be performed by a licensed psychologist.
What trauma is associated with immigration?
Immigration may or may not be traumatic. The immigration psychologist conducts interviews and testing to assess the trauma associated with immigration. When there is trauma, the immigration psychologists documents the traumatic events and their impact. The immigration psychologist also rules out diagnoses such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety.
What to expect during an immigration psychological evaluation?
The immigration psychological is recommended by the immigration attorney. The evaluation is several hours long. It entails psychological testing and clinical interview, but the exact content will vary depending on the immigration case: hardship waiver, asylum, VAWA, citizenship examination waiver, U Visa, T Visa and other types.
Does immigration require a psychological evaluation?
The immigration attorney will decide whether a psychological evaluation is recommended. The immigration psychologist can never decide whether a case warrants a psychological evaluation. It is imperative that the immigration psychologist never provides legal advice and only works within their area of expertise.
How do immigration psychologists and immigration attorneys work together?
Immigration psychologists and Immigration Attorneys have a working relationship that must protect the independence of opinion and the objectivity of each professional.
Immigration psychologists must understand rules of admissibility to determine whether the testing and procedures used are valid and reliable enough to stand the scrutiny of the court and other experts. Immigration psychologists must understand how to provide testimony as required by the case.
How can I contact an immigration psychologist?
Immigration Psychology, Inc. has Florida immigration psychologists, North Carolina immigration psychologists, South Carolina immigration psychologists, and experts in other states.
Contact us at:
Info@ImmigrationPsychology.com
877-297-5952
305-456-4147
407-690-7129