Immigration Evaluation

English & Spanish services available

Dr. Ramotar now has offices in La Jolla and Carlsbad. Weekend appointments available.

Dr. Ramotar specializes in evaluations for immigration proceedings, such as Extreme Hardship (Waivers, Provisional Waivers, and Cancellation of Removal), Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), U-Visas, Competence, Asylum, and Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions.

I work collaboratively with your attorney, granted a release of information has been signed, to meet you and your family’s needs during this challenging time.

While I provide English-language evaluations, I have Spanish-speaking psychologists in my practice that can provide evaluation services in Spanish.

I know immigration proceedings are costly endeavors, and your current situation may involve financial hardship. I offer a reduced fee for these types of reports in order to provide support to you during this challenging time. This fee varies depending on the type of report you need. Contact me for a cost estimate for your evaluation need.

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Why do I need an evaluation?

In immigration law, a psychological evaluation is most likely to be requested to assess the prediction of extreme hardship and psychological distress that would be experienced by a U.S. citizen relative (e.g. child, spouse or parent of a non-permanent resident (NPR) living illegally in the U.S.), as a result of the NPR’s imminent risk for deportation by an immigration court. When extreme hardship is uncovered through the psychological evaluation, pending deportations can be cancelled (“cancellation of removal”) by establishing within the body of the report that the circumstances for the qualifying U.S. relative rise to the level of exceptional and extremely unusual hardship.

Immigration Evaluations include an in-depth assessment related to the immigrant’s mental health deficits related to immigration. Some common areas include: PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Parental Issues, Learning Disabilities and Cognitive Impairments. Immigration evaluations can be utilized in cases of political asylum, extreme hardship, or spousal abuse cases when psychological factors may be significant.

There are a number of reasons why a psychological evaluation would be helpful – or sometimes even required – in order to move forward with immigration proceedings.

If your attorney suggested that you obtain a report of a psychological evaluation, you’ve come to the right place.

Evaluation Process

Usually, an evaluation consists of a one-to-one in-person interview followed by a number of psychological instruments to assess your current manifestation of symptoms. These instruments are usually paper questionnaires or computer assessments that are supported by research as appropriate clinical tools. Results from the instruments are then scored and interpreted, and they are integrated into the narrative gathered from the interview. A report is then drafted and sent to your attorney for review. Upon your attorney’s approval, a final report is mailed to the attorney handling your case to manage your case.

While most of my referrals for immigration evaluations are for provisional hardship waivers, I also conduct evaluations for cases of:

Cancellation of Removal
VAWA
U-Visas
Asylum
Competency
Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions

These types of reports are very specific in terms of the points they need to address, and only a professional who is well-versed in the area of immigration can provide these services. Services available in English or Spanish.

Some Examples

Detailed Information

Extreme and Exceptional Hardship

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. Relevant factors in these cases include family relationships that would make it extraordinarily difficult for that person to leave the country. For example, a United States citizen may have a sick parent or sibling or be unable to make a living in the country to which his or her spouse would be deported. The U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident might himself or herself be under treatment for a medical condition which could not be as well treated outside of the United States. The children of the United States citizen or legal permanent resident might be far advanced in their education in this country, and unable to speak, read, or write in the language of the foreign country. In such cases, leaving the United States might represent a permanent bar to the completion of their education. In extreme and exceptional hardship cases, if one parent has to leave the United States, it can produce a separation anxiety disorder on the part of the child left behind. Some children, especially those who are very young and lack the emotional maturity to understand why a parent might have to leave the United States, might also develop a depressive disorder.

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.