What Happens During a Psychological Evaluation for Immigration?

What Is a Psychological Evaluation for Immigration? Here's What to Expect

If you've been referred for a psychological evaluation as part of your immigration case, you may not know what that means or what will happen. That's completely understandable. This post walks you through the process so there are no surprises.

Why do attorneys refer clients for a psychological evaluation?

Immigration attorneys refer their clients for psychological evaluations when the person's mental health, trauma history, or emotional wellbeing is relevant to their case. This comes up often in asylum cases, U visa and VAWA petitions, hardship waivers, and other humanitarian forms of relief. A well-written psychological report can be one of the most powerful pieces of evidence in an immigration case -- it gives the judge or adjudicator a clinically grounded, detailed picture of how a person has been affected by what they've been through.

Attorneys who refer to Shibley Psychology do so because they know the work will be thorough, the reports will be well-written and legally informed, and the process will be handled with care. We've built long-standing relationships with many of the immigration attorneys in San Diego and beyond, and we understand what makes a report useful in court.

We know coming in isn't easy

Getting to our office in Mission Valley takes effort. You may need to take time off work, arrange childcare, or travel from far away. We don't take that lightly. That's why we've designed the process so that you only need to come in once.

One visit. About three to four hours. That's it.

When you arrive, you'll be welcomed into a warm, comfortable space, and we'll have tea ready for you :) We want you to feel at ease from the moment you walk in. During your visit, you'll meet one-on-one with a clinician for an in-depth interview, and you'll complete a set of psychological instruments (standardized questionnaires that help us assess your current emotional state and symptoms). Everything is conducted in your native language. If none of our clinicians speak your language, we arrange for a professional interpreter so nothing gets lost in translation.

In rare cases where an in-person visit truly isn't possible, we can accommodate telehealth evaluations. That said, we strongly prefer meeting in person. The quality of connection and the depth of the conversation are simply better face-to-face, and that matters when the evaluation needs to capture your full experience.

Everything gets pulled together into a report

After your visit, your clinician scores and interprets the results of the instruments and weaves them together with everything gathered in the interview. The result is a written report that tells your story in a clinically grounded, detailed way.

The report belongs to you. You decide what happens with it. That said, because we work closely with most of the attorneys who refer to us, we have a streamlined system in place to get the report where it needs to go -- accurately, confidentially, and without anything falling through the cracks.

A few things worth knowing

This is not a test you can fail. The clinician's job is not to judge you, it's to understand you. Many people find the process more meaningful than they expected. You're being given real space to share your experience with someone who is trained to listen.

If you have questions before your evaluation, reach out. We're happy to walk you through anything that feels unclear.