We conduct Clinical Evaluations for these types of Immigration Waivers:
In this case the legal US citizen (spouse, fiancée, parent, child or ‘green card’ holder) would suffer ‘exceptional hardship’ if you had to return to your home country for two years, OR if the legal U.S. citizen left the U.S. to stay with you in your country. Other viable types of exceptional hardship can be psychological, social, cultural, economic, educational, career-related, political, religious, or due to compulsory military service, or medical. Or there may be a business in the U.S. that would fail if you were not present, or your dependent family might not be able to pursue their profession if they were to follow you home.
Clinical Evaluation Goal: The purpose of the psychological evaluation is to assess and understand any and all hardships that any and all relevant family members would face if the waiver were not granted. Specifically, the information obtained in this evaluation is used to answer two main questions:
- Would deportation of the immigrant pose an extreme and unusual hardship to the relative in question?
- Would it be an extreme and unusual hardship for the lawful-resident relative to accompany the immigrant back to his or her home country in case they are deported?
The professional opinion rendered in a psychological evaluation greatly strengthens the case, and without it, the applicant would have to explain the hardship in his or her own words.
In VAWA abuse cases, is a person from a foreign country suffers abuse from a citizen
or a legal permanent U.S. citizen, or resident (LPR). Despite the name of this act, the VAWA type of immigration waiver includes both women and men. The abuse can take a variety of forms and must constitute extreme cruelty or battery. “Extreme cruelty” includes, but is not limited to, verbal threats of violence, forceful detention, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation, rape, molestation, incest (if the victim is a minor), and forced prostitution. You may qualify for a VAWA case if the abuse is committed by:
- A US citizen or LPR Spouse or former spouse
- A U.S. citizen or LPR Parent
- A U.S. citizen Son or Daughter
Clinical Evaluation Goal: In these cases, it is important for the therapist to evaluate the scope and nature of the abuse, the practical ramifications, and the emotional impact that the abuse has had on you. In the safety of the evaluation process, it is important you discuss the painful order and its adverse impact on your life and your emotional well-being. This process can be of tremendous help in empowering the victims and promoting the healing process far beyond the resolution of their immigration case.
U visa gives legal status to immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, who have been victims of serious crimes in the United States. Examples of some of these crimes include, but are not limited to, sexual abuse, domestic violence, involuntary servitude, sexual exploitation, kidnapping, trafficking, and rape. With a U visa, the immigrant may stay and work in the U.S for up to four years. After three years, however, a victim with a U visa may apply for a green card.
Clinical Evaluation Goal: The goal of the psychological evaluation is to assess the extent of serious physical, mental, or emotional consequences of the experience. An applicant for a U visa has to be willing to assist the police and/or District Attorney’s Office in the investigation and/or with the prosecution of the criminal.
T visa is a visa that may be issued to victims of severe forms of human trafficking, sex trade, or forced labor, who are present in the U.S. by way of such trafficking.
Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to compel individuals to provide labor or services, including commercial sex. Traffickers often take advantage of vulnerable individuals, including those lacking lawful immigration status. T visas offer protection to victims and strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute human trafficking.
Under federal law, a ”severe form of trafficking“ is:
- Sex trafficking: When someone recruits, harbors, transports, provides, solicits, patronizes, or obtains a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act, where the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or the person being induced to perform such act is under 18 years of age; or
- Labor trafficking: When someone recruits, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
Clinical Evaluation Goal: The goal of the psychological evaluation is to assess the extent of serious physical, mental, or emotional consequences of the experience. An applicant for a T visa has to be willing to assist the police and/or District Attorney’s Office in the investigation and/or with the prosecution of the criminal.
Applicants petitioning for political asylum often have been exposed to extreme deprivation, severe abuse, and possibly even torture in their home country. Frequently, these mistreatments are related to a political, religious, and/or ethnic persecution. Living your life in your home country becomes sufficiently intolerable or painful, that the individual flees his or her country to the United States and files a political asylum claim.
Clinical Evaluation Goal: The purpose of an immigration evaluation in asylum cases is to collect information about this mistreatment and to examine the psychological impact that these circumstances have had on the immigrant. It is most common that the individual has developed psychological problems as a result of the abuse, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), severe anxiety, and/or depression.
If your immigration case involves is political asylum, it is important to assess the extent and severity of your original trauma, whether you continue to suffer from psychological symptoms after your arrival in the U.S., and how long-lasting the psychological ramifications could be.
In addition to the legal aid you are receiving, an immigration evaluation therapist can help you communicate and document the mental health aspects of your case.
Details about your appointments and clinical evaluation process.
We offer Virtual Services and Sessions via your preffered platform. We are able to use Zoom to ensure the availability and safety of our services for all of our clients.
Call our office 832-986-8477 to make your appointment. Normally, we can see you within 24 hours. Leave a message if no answer. We are probably busy with other clients. We will return your call within two hours.
Please contact us 48 hours in advance to cancel your appointment to avoid a cancellation fee.
All clients are charged directly for services. We do not accept any form of insurance. This policy is in place to protect your privacy.
If you request reimbursement from your insurance company, we’ll gladly provide documentation of your appointment and your payment receipts. It is strongly recommended that you contact someone from your insurance company ahead of time to inquire about your benefits out-of-coverage.
We accept payment with Credit Card, Debit, or Cash.
- Your session is paid over the phone when you schedule an appointment or at the office.
- We accept credit cards and money in exact amounts at the office.
- Call 832-986-8477 for more details.
An evaluation will be completed in 5-7 days after the final session is complete. Emergency or fast turnaround evaluations (48hours) are available for special cases and will incur an extra fee. We can discuss this over the phone or in person. Call our office 832-986-8477 for more information.
A clinical evaluation is an assessment of your emotional state, your mental functioning, your skills, and other strengths and weaknesses and is performed by a professional licensed immigration counselor.
A clinical evaluation can be used by your attorney to support your case and move you forward with your immigration proceedings. A clinical evaluation is an important part of the application process to become a citizen of the United States, as well as is a valuable tool when applying for an immigration waiver. The clinical evaluations we perform are usually for these 5 types of immigration waivers:
- Extreme and Exceptional Hardship Waivers:
- SPOUSAL ABUSE – VAWA (Violence Against Women Act):
- Visa U (Victims of crime):
- Political asylum
- Visa T (Human trafficking, sex trade, or forced labor)
NOTE: To read complete descriptions of these 5 types of immigration waivers, please see first toggle at the top of this page.
We provide psychological evaluations in both English and Spanish for Extreme Hardships, VAWA, U visa, T visa, or Political Asylum. We offer virtual sessions as well as in-office services to our patients in our Houston office. We see many clients from around the world and welcome clients to invite an interpreter if needed.
The clinical evaluation is an informal interview along with several psychological assessments. The evaluation requires at least one session; sometimes more sessions are necessary to completely assess and formulate a diagnosis. The evaluations must be completed within 30 days for reliability of the assessment and diagnosis. The evaluation report is usually completed 5-7 business days after your appointment. If it is needed sooner, a fee is required.
It is strongly recommended that you consult with your attorney prior to the first session. It is reasonable to expect that prior to the first session, you should:
- Know why you are attending the sessions for psychological evaluation:
- To provide the biopsychosocial information required as part of your immigration /other documentation.
- Know what it is you are trying to achieve by obtaining a psychological evaluation:
- The goal is to provide adequate information to qualify for the immigration status you are seeking, e.g., to provide evidence that demonstrates a hardship should there be a deportation, as in the case of a hardship waiver; to provide evidence of credible fear of being returned to your country of origin, as in an application for asylum, etc.
- For those who require a psychological evaluation for other reasons, e.g., fitness to be a parent, educational placement, or fitness to stand trial, the goal is to provide an adequate amount of information to demonstrate/prove that which is being investigated.
- Know what is required from you to achieve the goal:
- You must share sufficient information about your history and experiences to provide evidence that supports your immigration application or other intended purpose. The information you must share with the clinician (and eventually an immigration officer) is deeply personal and often details painful and traumatic experiences.
The information you provide must be authentically your own; the clinician cannot advise you on what to say or on other legal matters.
Reliving past trauma is often so painful that sometimes the patient is unable to speak about what happened or is happening to them, but the psychological evaluation report can only be based on information that the patient gives to the clinician. The clinician applies therapeutic communication techniques in the effort to bring the patient’s authentic experience to the foreground. The patient will be asked to elaborate, explore, and consider cause-and-effect consequences of statements they make. The clinician will make every effort to encourage the patient to tell their story.
Patients who are experiencing or have experienced pain, trauma and terror are exceptionally vulnerable to suggestion. The clinician must carefully help the patient explore the topics they themselves bring up, rather than lead them in a direction they have not implied, suggested, or initiated. Please be advised that the clinician cannot coach or advise you on what to say. The clinician cannot provide legal advice, counseling, or services, including discussing your immigration application, the immigration process or possible legal ramifications stemming from the information that you give.
Details about your professional immigration counselor:
The person who conducts your clinical evaluation should:
- be a professional and licensed counselor.
- have an understanding of the factors involving in the extreme difficulty of immigration.
- have the ability to diagnose cognitive disorders, emotional, behavior and the possible development of such disorders.
She has experience conducting hundreds of clinical evaluations for immigration cases. Her unique combination of experience as an immigration and psychotherapy counselor makes her the ideal choice to provide you and your lawyer with comprehensive assessments. In addition, her Hispanic/Latino background makes her particularly aware and sensitive of the varying needs of the multicultural community. To read more of Ms.
Rodriguez’ qualifications, please refer to her About Angelina page.
