An immigration evaluation begins with a discussion with the referring attorney.  That discussion involves a gathering of pertinent information and an understanding of the legal issues related to the case.   

Once an appointment with the client is scheduled, the assessment process then proceeds with an extensive interview of all pertinent parties.  This critical phase allows the psychologist to gather important facts about the case and the nature of the immigrations proceedings.  Information regarding the client’s family, social, educational, work and medical histories are attained.  Any relevant paperwork from attorneys, physicians, and hospitals is also reviewed.

Following the interview, psychological tests are then administered.  Our large inventory of empirically derived measures, written in English and several other languages, all possess high validity and reliability. 

The following types of measures are samples of those instruments that may be used in an assessment: 

1.                Posttraumatic stress disorder surveys

2.                Personality inventories

3.                Cognitive/intelligence tests

4.                Memory impairment measures

5.                Tests to assess memory malingering

6.                Neuropsychological tests

7.                Measures of acculturation

8.                Adaptive behavior scales

9.                Mental status measures

10.           Nonverbal cognitive tests

11.           Depression scales

12.           Scales of anxiety

13.           Attention-deficit measures

14.           Health inventories

15.           Partner violence surveys

16.           Measures of violent behavior and tendencies

17.           Checklists of psychopathic behaviors

18.           Risk assessments

19.           Malingered symptom inventories

20.           Measures of achievement