U visa · Form I-918
Psychological evaluations for U visa petitions.
A U visa turns on substantial physical or mental abuse suffered as a result of a qualifying crime. A psychological evaluation is how the mental half of that standard gets evidenced — what the crime did, and what it is still doing.
Every evaluation is completed by a U.S. licensed Doctor of Psychology, virtually, anywhere in the country, in English or Spanish.
Request an evaluationAttorneys — refer a client
The first call costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We will tell you honestly whether an evaluation is likely to help this case.
At a glance
- Fee
- $1,000, with payment plans over up to six months.
- Interview
- Virtual. One session, or two at no extra charge if the applicant needs to stop.
- Report
- One to two weeks from the interview.
- Languages
- English and Spanish. Interpreters for other languages on request.
- Where
- Nationwide. Nothing to travel to.
Substantial is a legal threshold rather than a clinical one. Our part is to describe the harm accurately and let the adjudicator apply the standard.
What the evaluation establishes
Physical injury photographs itself. Mental abuse does not, which is why this evidence matters most in U visa cases.
The severity of the harm
How intense it was, how long it lasted, and how much of it remains. We describe severity, duration and permanence in clinical terms rather than asserting that a legal threshold has been met.
That it followed from the crime
Causation is the part attorneys most often need help with. We connect the symptoms to the qualifying criminal activity, and address what else in the applicant's history might be thought to explain them.
Crimes that leave no injury
Extortion, blackmail, witness tampering, stalking, threats against family. Where there is nothing to photograph, the evaluation documents why the experience was coercive and frightening, and what it did.
What it costs day to day
Sleep, concentration, the ability to work, avoidance of the place it happened, fear of the people involved, reluctance to be seen or to report again — recorded with validated, standardised instruments.
What a U visa petition has to establish
The petition turns on a small number of findings. These are the ones an evaluation can reach, and the ones it cannot.
Substantial physical or mental abuse
This is the element the evaluation exists to address, and “substantial” is assessed on severity, on duration, on permanence of the harm, and on whether the criminal activity aggravated a condition the victim already had. That last route is the one most often left unused: a petitioner with a pre-existing depression or a prior trauma history whose condition was worsened by the offence meets the standard through aggravation, and only a clinician can document it.
That the harm is proportionate to what happened
A single incident can produce substantial mental abuse; a sustained course of conduct can produce less than people assume. The report should say which this is and why, rather than asserting severity.
Why the victim behaved as they did
Late reporting, recanting, continued contact with the perpetrator, reluctance to engage with police — each reads badly on a file and each has a clinical explanation that adjudicators accept when it is properly set out.
What the evaluation does not do
It does not establish that a qualifying crime occurred, does not speak to helpfulness to law enforcement, and has nothing to do with the certification on Form I-918 Supplement B. That is the certifying agency’s, and no clinical report substitutes for it.
PPA is a clinical practice, not a law firm. The standards described above are set out to show where a psychological evaluation fits within them. They are general information, not legal advice, and nothing here creates an attorney–client relationship. What a particular case requires is for the applicant’s attorney to determine.
How it works
Four steps. The applicant needs an hour of privacy and a phone or a laptop; we handle the rest.
A call, at no charge
Tell us about the case. We explain how the evaluation works, what it can and cannot do, and what it costs. No payment is taken at this stage.
Usually within a few hoursDocuments and scheduling
Counsel sends us the declaration, the filing deadline and anything in the record that bears on the crime or on the applicant's mental health. We book the interview around work and childcare, evenings included.
Priority scheduling when a filing date requires itThe clinical interview
Virtual, in the applicant's own language. History, the crime and its aftermath, and standardised measures. If it becomes too much to finish in one sitting, we stop and take it up again another day — and that second session costs nothing.
One session, or two at no extra chargeThe report
Written, signed and sent to counsel as a PDF, ready to file. We answer questions on the findings afterwards at no extra charge.
One to two weeks from the interviewWhat the report contains
Written for an adjudicator, not for a clinician. Its length follows the case rather than a template.
- The applicant's relevant personal, family and medical history
- A chronological account of the criminal activity and what followed it
- The aftermath: reporting, cooperation, and what that cost the applicant
- Mental status examination and behavioural observations
- The standardised instruments administered, with scores and what they mean
- Diagnostic impressions, where a diagnosis is warranted
- Severity, duration and persistence of the harm
- How the symptoms affect daily functioning, work, sleep and parenting
- Prognosis, and what treatment would require
- The evaluator's credentials, licence number and signature
We provide the written evaluation and nothing beyond it. We do not prepare declarations, and we do not appear as an expert witness or give testimony.
We are retained to examine, not to advocate. The report says what we find — which is the only reason it carries weight.
If the clinical picture does not support the claim, we will tell counsel before the report is written rather than after. An evaluation that overstates is worse than no evaluation at all.
Fees
$1,000Complete. No hourly billing.
The fee covers the intake call, the clinical interview, the instruments, the written report, and answering counsel's questions once it is delivered.
A second session costs nothing extra. With this material an applicant sometimes cannot get through the interview in one sitting. When that happens we stop and finish another day, and the fee does not move. Nobody is put in the position of choosing between stopping and paying more.
Payment plans run over up to six months, and the evaluation goes ahead while payments are running. We take payment only after we have spoken to you and agreed the case is one we can help with. If the case stops before the interview takes place, the fee is returned in full and any remaining payments are cancelled.
Where a filing date requires it, we prioritise scheduling.
Other evaluations we prepare
Questions we are asked
What does "substantial" mean in practice?
It is a legal threshold, and whether it is met is for the adjudicator rather than for us. What we can do is describe how severe the harm was, how long it lasted, how much of it persists and how far it interferes with ordinary life, and support that with standardised measures. A report that simply asserts the standard has been met is worth less than one that shows why.
Do you help with the Supplement B certification?
No. The certification comes from the certifying agency and is counsel's ground, not ours. Our part is the psychological evidence that sits alongside it.
Is the evaluation ever done in person?
No. Every evaluation we carry out is virtual, and that is deliberate rather than a compromise: it is what allows us to take a case in any state, including for applicants who live nowhere near a psychologist who speaks their language. The protocol, the standardised instruments and the written report are the same ones we would use in a consulting room.
The crime was years ago, or was reported late. Does that weaken it?
Not necessarily, and the evaluation is the right place to address it. Delay in reporting is common after violent crime, particularly where the applicant feared the perpetrator or feared immigration consequences, and harm can persist long after the event. Both are clinical matters, and both are better explained than left for the reader to interpret.
Who carries out the evaluation?
A U.S. licensed Doctor of Psychology, in every case. You can read about the clinician who carries out the evaluations on our About page.
What if the case does not go ahead?
If the interview has not yet taken place, the fee is returned in full and any remaining payments are cancelled. Once the interview has happened the clinical work has been done, and the fee stands.
Start with a conversation.
Tell us a little about the case and we will call you to explain how the evaluation works and arrange the interview. Nothing is charged for that call.
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