Immigration Evaluations

[texanpsychdoc]

I was curious about getting into this line of work. Anybody have any experience doing this?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

I was curious about getting into this line of work. Anybody have any experience doing this?

None at all. Just intrigued by the idea. What would be the psychologist's job? Trying to keep folks with major mental illnesses from immigrating? I'm assuming that this would apply to those entering 'through the proper channels,' i.e., those actually filing the paperwork and submitting themselves to the standard procedures for requesting immigration. I have no idea, though. Sounds intriguing.

 

[texanpsychdoc]

From what I've researched, there are variety of visas or conditions that folks may be considered for who are seeking to emigrate here. Some folks may be seeking asylum for a variety of reasons, while others are coming over for other types of hardships, as well as survivors of violence. It appears a common theme you'd be looking into is for the presence of PTSD, but also other psychological syndromes associated with the physical process of emigrating.

 

[TrackCPD]

I have a friend whose wife was here illegally. She was becoming a citizen and it took her over 10 years to do so. One of the steps they chose to go through was meeting with a psychologist who wrote a report outlining the emotional hardship my friend would go through if they deported his wife.

It was an optional assessment but was strongly encouraged to reinforce their case against deportation. He met with a psychologist for an hour, paid the psych $2,500, and got the report. It actually seemed a bit scammy, to be honest. Quite lucrative for the psych, too.

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

I have a friend whose wife was here illegally. She was becoming a citizen and it took her over 10 years to do so. One of the steps they chose to go through was meeting with a psychologist who wrote a report outlining the emotional hardship my friend would go through if they deported his wife.

It was an optional assessment but was strongly encouraged to reinforce their case against deportation. He met with a psychologist for an hour, paid the psych $2,500, and got the report. It actually seemed a bit scammy, to be honest. Quite lucrative for the psych, too.

Very interesting.

I think that one of the growing areas of ethical concern within the field are so-called 'evaluations' that--really--always (or almost always) are expected to have the same 'answer,' the same 'conclusion,' and the same 'findings' regardless of the circumstances. The answer is always expected to be 'yes,' though we can't...you know...explicitly acknowledge that fact.

One example is the whole 'service dog evaluation' area. I mean...in the entire history of 'service dog (suitability/need) evaluations' has the answer by the psychologist paid to do the evaluation ever been a 'no?' I mean, in every single case isn't the answer supposed to be (and in fact is) 'yes...I think that this veteran/client needs and should have the service dog?' I will always maintain that if the answer is always supposed to be a 'yes' and is never a 'no' then there is no actual evaluation even taking place. So, who are we fooling here? Ourselves? Do the people doing these 'evaluations' ever feel a twinge of guilt or ethical concern about the fact that they're not actually doing an evaluation but just pretending to?

I'm not saying that the situation you described (specifically) in terms of the psychologist evaluating your friend's wife's circumstances fully fits this concern (though maybe it does...I don't know). I'd be curious, however, to explore under what circumstances would the answer / conclusion to the evaluation be different. Under what possible rationale would an evaluator say, essentially, 'no...I don't think that deporting this person's wife against her/their will will have any significant negative psychological fallout for anyone involved; it won't adversely affect anyone's mental health?'

I didn't go into this field to pretend to do evaluations.

 

[MAClinician]

I remember there was a masters level poster here a few years back and he did testing or evaluations for immigrants who were trying to get citizenship (I think). There was a thread about it in here somewhere, but I don’t think the title of the thread was specifically about that job. I forget exact details.

 

[Cam_Chai19]

I have some experience with these types of assessments through my graduate program, who collaborated with a legal charity to provide pro bono assessments to support immigrants' visa applications. These assessments are largely for undocumented immigrants currently in the US who are seeking asylum due to violence in their country of origin or experienced violence after arriving in the US. For the assessments I completed, the goal of the report was to provide a detailed timeline of all violence experienced in the US or their home country depending on their application type, and to explain the psychological impact of the violence in the past and currently (if relevant). The report would also sometimes be used to mitigate potential red flags to the court (e.g. inconsistencies in reports over time, multiple re-entries to the US due to violence/IPV-related dynamics). In general we were asked to keep the reports to around 2 pages since they would be submitted as parts of very large application packets. It's worth noting that many of these assessments also resulted in CPS reports due to disclosed child abuse and children witnessing IPV. Some were also complicated by language barriers or required having a translator present. I found them rewarding and I'm glad this was part of my training experience, but I'm not sure how lucrative these would be if that is your goal.

I would guess the best inroads to this line of work would be reaching out to lawyers in your area who are taking on these cases, and perhaps reaching out to local immigration-related legal charities who are always looking for psychologists who could help with these reports and in my experience are willing to provide some training and feedback about what makes these reports most useful to the courts. I think to @Fan_of_Meehl's point, you're probably less likely to be asked to write reports for cases that don't strictly fit the goal of u visa/violence against women act visa applications from larger charity organizations since they only take a small subset of the cases brought to them that are very good candidates for these visas.

 

[AbnormalPsych]

So, what measures are being used in that short amount of time you have with them? It sounds like just an extensive history, diagnostic interview, and maybe a , BDI, GAD, and/or CAPS or something?

Any use of MMPI, PAI, or more robust assessments?

 

[texanpsychdoc]

I know there is a psychologist who is charging for a certification program she does for immigration evaluations. She caps it at 12 people per cohort and it's done virtually. I spoke to a colleague of mine who is ABPP in forensic, sits on multiple committees and boards back in Ohio and for ABFP who was basically telling me it's typically a scam. In fact, even with CONCEPT/Palo Alto offering CEU courses that are "approved" by American Academy of Forensic Psychology, he also noted their forensic certificate programs are largely just a way for them to up-sale things that really won't be of significant value in the long run.

I've also seen some master's level folks advertising they do these evaluations. I would hazard a guess it is nowhere near the level of what a psychologist would be doing, especially with the legal protections surrounding the types of tests we administer and the reports we write that integrate this information that master's level clinicians are not trained to do, nor legally able to do.

 

[PikminOC]

I know there is a psychologist who is charging for a certification program she does for immigration evaluations. She caps it at 12 people per cohort and it's done virtually. I spoke to a colleague of mine who is ABPP in forensic, sits on multiple committees and boards back in Ohio and for ABFP who was basically telling me it's typically a scam. In fact, even with CONCEPT/Palo Alto offering CEU courses that are "approved" by American Academy of Forensic Psychology, he also noted their forensic certificate programs are largely just a way for them to up-sale things that really won't be of significant value in the long run.

I've also seen some master's level folks advertising they do these evaluations. I would hazard a guess it is nowhere near the level of what a psychologist would be doing, especially with the legal protections surrounding the types of tests we administer and the reports we write that integrate this information that master's level clinicians are not trained to do, nor legally able to do.

Masters aren't doing tests. They just go by history

 

[Cam_Chai19]

So, what measures are being used in that short amount of time you have with them? It sounds like just an extensive history, diagnostic interview, and maybe a , BDI, GAD, and/or CAPS or something?

Any use of MMPI, PAI, or more robust assessments?

I'm not sure what the norm is for these assessments, but we only gave a few self report measures (PCL-5, TSI, BDI-2) and used clinical interviews to get a sense of symptom timelines and if symptoms were likely related to traumatic experiences. The rationale I was given for such minimal assessment is that our goal in these reports was not to diagnose, and the court did not necessarily care if symptoms met criteria for PTSD or were better attributed to personality symptoms, etc. The goal was moreso to narratively summarize the psychological impact of the person's experiences (related to symptoms, functional impairment, need for therapy, etc.) without any technical language, supported by some objective assessment. The impact section was usually only around 1/3 of the report with the history and event timeline taking center stage since that was equally important to demonstrate the individual was a good candidate for these types of visas. It seemed like the main skill set that was being drawn on as a psychologist was the ability to take a detailed history, integrate large amounts of information into a concise report, and share content at a level appropriate for the relevant audience, rather than detailed differential diagnosis. My experience in PTSD clinics has looked very different.

 

[Cam_Chai19]

I know there is a psychologist who is charging for a certification program she does for immigration evaluations. She caps it at 12 people per cohort and it's done virtually. I spoke to a colleague of mine who is ABPP in forensic, sits on multiple committees and boards back in Ohio and for ABFP who was basically telling me it's typically a scam. In fact, even with CONCEPT/Palo Alto offering CEU courses that are "approved" by American Academy of Forensic Psychology, he also noted their forensic certificate programs are largely just a way for them to up-sale things that really won't be of significant value in the long run.

I've also seen some master's level folks advertising they do these evaluations. I would hazard a guess it is nowhere near the level of what a psychologist would be doing, especially with the legal protections surrounding the types of tests we administer and the reports we write that integrate this information that master's level clinicians are not trained to do, nor legally able to do.

I'm certainly not an expert but there's nothing so unique about these assessments that would require a special certification in my opinion. I would expect you'd get better training working with an experienced lawyer on a couple pro bono cases until you feel confident in the process.

 

[PsyDWannabe]

I know there is a psychologist who is charging for a certification program she does for immigration evaluations. She caps it at 12 people per cohort and it's done virtually. I spoke to a colleague of mine who is ABPP in forensic, sits on multiple committees and boards back in Ohio and for ABFP who was basically telling me it's typically a scam. In fact, even with CONCEPT/Palo Alto offering CEU courses that are "approved" by American Academy of Forensic Psychology, he also noted their forensic certificate programs are largely just a way for them to up-sale things that really won't be of significant value in the long run.

Re: the above, your colleague may have been kindly trying to pacify you for not technically having the proper forensic credentials. If I were you, I would look into what the requirements in your own state are, and I would remain wary of people making blanket statements about forensic certifications being useless in the short or long run. You can’t just call yourself a forensic psychologist without the proper training and background. I mean you can, but that is fraudulent at best, and practicing without adequate training can get very embarrassing for you in court.

 

[texanpsychdoc]

Re: the above, your colleague may have been kindly trying to pacify you for not technically having the proper forensic credentials. If I were you, I would look into what the requirements in your own state are, and I would remain wary of people making blanket statements about forensic certifications being useless in the short or long run. You can’t just call yourself a forensic psychologist without the proper training and background. I mean you can, but that is fraudulent at best, and practicing without adequate training can get very embarrassing for you in court.

Maybe he was, but he may have a point. Majority of ABFP forensic psychologists did not complete a formal post-doctoral fellowship (according to their most recent survey data they had). He has served on multiple committees for OPA AAFP and ABFP, including on their ethics and examination boards. I also checked in with another ABFP forensic psychologist I knew in Ohio who also concurred, so we had some good inter-rater reliability going there. I am sure there will be folks who disagree (it's our profession's national past time). Regarding the concept of calling one's self a "forensic psychologist," that title is typically enforced at the state level, but also largely influenced by APA div. 41 guidelines which is pretty broad in nature:

For the purposes of these Guidelines, “forensic practitioner” refers to a psychologist when engaged in the practice of forensic psychology as described above. Such professional conduct is considered forensic from the time the practitioner reasonably expects to, agrees to, or is legally mandated to, provide expertise on an explicitly psycholegal issue. For example, as researchers, forensic practitioners may participate in the collection and dissemination of data that are relevant to various legal issues. As advisors, forensic practitioners may provide an attorney with an informed understanding of the role that psychology can play in the case at hand. As consultants, forensic practitioners may explain the practical implications of relevant research, examination findings, and the opinions of other psycholegal experts. As examiners, forensic practitioners may assess an individual’s functioning and report findings and opinions to the attorney, a legal tribunal, an employer, an insurer, or others (American Psychological Association, 2010; American Psychological Association, 2011a). As treatment providers, forensic practitioners may provide therapeutic services tailored to the issues and context of a legal proceeding. As mediators or negotiators, forensic practitioners may serve in a third-party neutral role and assist parties in resolving disputes. As arbiters, special masters, or case managers with decision-making authority, forensic practitioners may serve parties, attorneys, and the courts (American Psychological Association, 2011b).

Source: Specialty guidelines for forensic psychology

Thus, not everybody is going to be an expert or knowledgeable in all things forensic. Some folks stay within the civil realm while others are in the criminal realm. Moreover, others may have a very specific focus within either of those realms. If all you did were disability or IME or police evaluations, you would be a forensic practitioner - you are serving in a gate-keeping role to assist the "trier of fact" (e.g., administrator) in some civil context. In fact, one could do compensation and pension evaluations for 5 years, qualify to sit for ABFP, but would need to study other areas of forensic psychology for the written portion of the exam. My previous supervisor at my last VA is ABFP and his focus was on C&P exams in the VA, but also did some part-time criminal work in the evenings, but that was something he gradually grew into over his career.

Immigration evaluations are intriguing to me as they are something in addition to the forensic work I do now that I'd like to take on. I am also in the process of acquiring more knowledge for criminal--oriented evaluations.

The biggest message that was driven home to me by those two ABFP psychologists was, read up on relevant literature, find someone to consult with as you take on certain cases. They were both pretty keen on the idea that just because you don't have the experience doing something shouldn't preclude you from doing it in the first place, but, per the APA ethics code and Div. 41 guidelines, those processes to address competency development are absolutely on point.

 

[boomshakalaka]

I know there is a psychologist who is charging for a certification program she does for immigration evaluations. She caps it at 12 people per cohort and it's done virtually. I spoke to a colleague of mine who is ABPP in forensic, sits on multiple committees and boards back in Ohio and for ABFP who was basically telling me it's typically a scam. In fact, even with CONCEPT/Palo Alto offering CEU courses that are "approved" by American Academy of Forensic Psychology, he also noted their forensic certificate programs are largely just a way for them to up-sale things that really won't be of significant value in the long run.

I've also seen some master's level folks advertising they do these evaluations. I would hazard a guess it is nowhere near the level of what a psychologist would be doing, especially with the legal protections surrounding the types of tests we administer and the reports we write that integrate this information that master's level clinicians are not trained to do, nor legally able to do.

Were they talking about “certificate” programs like this one?

Civil Forensic Assessment Certificate | CONCEPT Professional Training

Learn to evaluate someone as a means of determining the level of psychological damage incurred.

concept.paloaltou.edu

While the certificate itself probably doesn’t carry all that much utility, the underlying courses would seem to be a good step in showing you have specialized knowledge, education, training, or experience.

As a side note, you might be revealing a lot of identifying info about your colleague!

 

[texanpsychdoc]

We’re they talking about “certificate” programs like this one?

Civil Forensic Assessment Certificate | CONCEPT Professional Training

Learn to evaluate someone as a means of determining the level of psychological damage incurred.

concept.paloaltou.edu

While the certificate itself probably doesn’t carry all that much utility, the underlying courses would seem to be a good step in showing you have specialized knowledge, education, training, or experience.

As a side note, you might be revealing a lot of identifying info about your colleague!

This one among others. Actually, I enjoy the CONCEPT program and those courses are very good, however, whether or not one should take the exact group of courses for the purposes of getting a certificate may be in question. It may be better to just select the courses that are going to be the most relevant to one's needs. Maybe all of those courses are relevant, maybe not. I think that's what their point was.

 

[PsyDr]

1) I know an attorney who does this. There is clearly a lot of money in this. He drives a vintage Porsche, has kids in European boarding school, and one of those million dollar RVs.

2) Then, I know two psychologists who do these. a. One is very business minded, makes a lot of money, and gives pro bono services.
b. One is driven by more of sociopolitical beliefs, and can’t bring themself to consider business. I don’t understand why those ideas are incompatible, but whatever.

3) IMO, The danger of the evaluation, is overemphasis of professional opinions, in the face of an unfair system.

 

[texanpsychdoc]

1) I know an attorney who does this. There is clearly a lot of money in this. He drives a vintage Porsche, has kids in European boarding school, and one of those million dollar RVs.

2) Then, I know two psychologists who do these. a. One is very business minded, makes a lot of money, and gives pro bono services.
b. One is driven by more of sociopolitical beliefs, and can’t bring themself to consider business. I don’t understand why those ideas are incompatible, but whatever.

3) IMO, The danger of the evaluation, is overemphasis of professional opinions, in the face of an unfair system.

I agree. I am like the black sheep among many of my colleagues. I am very business-minded. My boss is a psychiatrist who does forensic work on the side....all pro bono. They told me they used to be in private practice once and took insurance so that it would appease their moral beliefs about making sure everybody had access to care, yada yada...

My practice is cash only, and I am balancing both clinical and forensic services. I also charge a hefty amount.

 

[TrackCPD]

I agree. I am like the black sheep among many of my colleagues. I am very business-minded. My boss is a psychiatrist who does forensic work on the side....all pro bono. They told me they used to be in private practice once and took insurance so that it would appease their moral beliefs about making sure everybody had access to care, yada yada...

My practice is cash only, and I am balancing both clinical and forensic services. I also charge a heft amount.

I’m sorry maybe I missed it, but what forensic work do you do and what sort of immigration evaluations are you looking to get into?

 

[texanpsychdoc]

I’m sorry maybe I missed it, but what forensic work do you do and what sort of immigration evaluations are you looking to get into?

That's because I didn't mention it. I do IME, disability, and police/public safety evaluations. I am interested in exploring the immigration realm of things.

 

[calimich]

this is a group that offers trainings and has a good reputation.

The Bay Area Asylum Mental Health Project

Linking San Francisco Bay Area immigration attorneys with mental health clinicians who provide psychological evaluations for asylum seekers.

riww.org

Trainings We Offer

Training and mentoring mental health clinicians. The Project provides training, mentoring, and support to mental health professionals so that they can provide high quality forensic mental health ev…

riww.org

In grad school we had a prof who worked with Docs without borders and I had a chance to help out with 2 or 3 spanish evals. Good work, lots of trauma in the families I was involved with.

Home | Doctors Without Borders - USA

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) treats people where the need is greatest. We are an international medical humanitarian organisation. We help people threatened by violence, neglect, natural disasters, epidemics and health emergencies

www.doctorswithoutborders.org

 

[texanpsychdoc]

this is a group that offers trainings and has a good reputation.

The Bay Area Asylum Mental Health Project

Linking San Francisco Bay Area immigration attorneys with mental health clinicians who provide psychological evaluations for asylum seekers.

riww.org

Trainings We Offer

Training and mentoring mental health clinicians. The Project provides training, mentoring, and support to mental health professionals so that they can provide high quality forensic mental health ev…

riww.org

In grad school we had a prof who worked with Docs without borders and I had a chance to help out with 2 or 3 spanish evals. Good work, lots of trauma in the families I was involved with.

Home | Doctors Without Borders - USA

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) treats people where the need is greatest. We are an international medical humanitarian organisation. We help people threatened by violence, neglect, natural disasters, epidemics and health emergencies

www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Thanks a bunch for these resources!!

 

[smalltownpsych]

Very interesting.

I think that one of the growing areas of ethical concern within the field are so-called 'evaluations' that--really--always (or almost always) are expected to have the same 'answer,' the same 'conclusion,' and the same 'findings' regardless of the circumstances. The answer is always expected to be 'yes,' though we can't...you know...explicitly acknowledge that fact.

One example is the whole 'service dog evaluation' area. I mean...in the entire history of 'service dog (suitability/need) evaluations' has the answer by the psychologist paid to do the evaluation ever been a 'no?' I mean, in every single case isn't the answer supposed to be (and in fact is) 'yes...I think that this veteran/client needs and should have the service dog?' I will always maintain that if the answer is always supposed to be a 'yes' and is never a 'no' then there is no actual evaluation even taking place. So, who are we fooling here? Ourselves? Do the people doing these 'evaluations' ever feel a twinge of guilt or ethical concern about the fact that they're not actually doing an evaluation but just pretending to?

I'm not saying that the situation you described (specifically) in terms of the psychologist evaluating your friend's wife's circumstances fully fits this concern (though maybe it does...I don't know). I'd be curious, however, to explore under what circumstances would the answer / conclusion to the evaluation be different. Under what possible rationale would an evaluator say, essentially, 'no...I don't think that deporting this person's wife against her/their will will have any significant negative psychological fallout for anyone involved; it won't adversely affect anyone's mental health?'

I didn't go into this field to pretend to do evaluations.

Well put. I do very few evaluations because it seems like the vast majority are of this type. I am actually surprised when I get the rare referral question that testing would actually help with and is not just to appease some system.

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

Well put. I do very few evaluations because it seems like the vast majority are of this type. I am actually surprised when I get the rare referral question that testing would actually help with and is not just to appease some system.

Agreed. For all the hubbub, pompom-waving, and advertising about the importance of 'ethics' including state licensing boards requiring a certain number of 'ethics related' CEUs every year...the field has really dropped the ball on this issue.

I think the specific issue is one of "moral hazard" involved when any evaluator/diagnostician has an inherent conflict of interest in an evaluation context to 'find' one result over another.

For example, in an outpatient VA MH context, you receive a consult to 'evaluate for PTSD." Now, in at least 9 out of 10 cases, a finding of 'yes PTSD' is going to be praised/rewarded whereas a finding of 'nope, no PTSD' is 95% likely to be consequated by the system with some degree of punishment or at least a hassle. It's something we all know and make peace with but it is NEVER openly acknowledged, let alone dealt with. To my knowledge, no one has ever examined the stats of, say, %age of referrals for PTSD that resulted in confirmation or disconfirmation of that diagnosis.

Then--get this--the professional journals fill up with all these studies on 'PTSD' (basic and applied research) where I'd estimate at least 80%(more?) are drawn from VA samples. LOL. And then--get this--most of the lit reviews and book chapters reflect bewilderment and confusion regarding the 'complexity' of trying to nail down such a 'heterogeneous' and complex diagnosis/construct as 'PTSD.' I don't know what to tell ya other than it has really lowered my motivation to even read or take seriously 90+ percent of that 'scientific' literature anymore.

 

[Ollie123]

One of the breaking points that caused me to leave my previous institutions (top AMC) was when our compliance offices started pushing for us to rely on EHR for determining study eligibility. Compliance types like them because they can easily verify things eligibility without having to actually know anything or dig through detailed interview notes. Never mind the fact that EHR data is notoriously noisy to the point of being near-useless.

I'm skeptical of any study purporting to compare diagnosis X to Y when no diagnosis was made as part of the study. There is still value to the work, but it needs to be viewed as a serious limitation. We've done clinical interviews (SCID or MINI) for every major clinical study I've been involved in. We're sadly seeing less and less of that now because it certainly makes data slower/harder to gather and as a society we are tilting more and more towards rewarding large volumes of shoddy quality work (inside and outside academia - for example, I'd make the case the tech industry is even worse).

 

[WisNeuro]

One of the breaking points that caused me to leave my previous institutions (top AMC) was when our compliance offices started pushing for us to rely on EHR for determining study eligibility. Compliance types like them because they can easily verify things eligibility without having to actually know anything or dig through detailed interview notes. Never mind the fact that EHR data is notoriously noisy to the point of being near-useless.

I'm skeptical of any study purporting to compare diagnosis X to Y when no diagnosis was made as part of the study. There is still value to the work, but it needs to be viewed as a serious limitation. We've done clinical interviews (SCID or MINI) for every major clinical study I've been involved in. We're sadly seeing less and less of that now because it certainly makes data slower/harder to gather and as a society we are tilting more and more towards rewarding large volumes of shoddy quality work (inside and outside academia - for example, I'd make the case the tech industry is even worse).

There are some egregious papers that utilized CPRS diagnoses in large cohort studies in the VA, like a mTBI/dementia study. Terribly flawed. Don't know how many people I saw with "Major Neurocognitive Disorder" or similar diagnoses in their chart in their 40's or 50's who were otherwise working 40+hours a week with no disruption in their i/ADLS, but failing multiple validity indicators.

 

[msc545]

I was curious about getting into this line of work. Anybody have any experience doing this?

I've done some of these. It is mostly with people asking for asylum who have a history of being persecuted and tortured in their home countries. It pays very well. The stories you hear are quite rough very often.

 

[TrackCPD]

I've done some of these. It is mostly with people asking for asylum who have a history of being persecuted and tortured in their home countries. It pays very well. The stories you hear are quite rough very often.

How does one get involved with them? Is there a particular agency the government goes through or all private entities?

 

[msc545]

I get all of mine from immigration lawyers.

 

[TrackCPD]

Nice. Did you need any specialized training? What instruments do you use?

 

[eeor1006]

This sounds interesting! I have never heard of them but as an immigrant myself, I can see how this may aid asylum application. Following for more info.

 

[texanpsychdoc]

I know here in Houston they have at least one person who specializes in this, but I was also looking around and stumbled across this practice and they do a pretty good job of explaining the various types of immigration evaluations.

https://verdugopsych.com/psychological-evaluations-for-immigration-court-the-7-cases-when-you-might-need-an-evaluation/