Who Can Do an Evaluation for Immigration?
Evaluations for asylum, VAWA, T visa, U visa, and hardship waiver cases are prepared by licensed professionals, and different professions call the work by different names. A psychologist prepares an evaluation that may include standardized testing. A licensed clinician such as a clinical social worker prepares a psychosocial, or mental health, evaluation. I provide psychosocial evaluations for these five case types, conducted remotely, for individuals and for the attorneys who represent them. To start, check case fit or book a free 15-minute fit call.
The names people use for this work
People use several names for this work, and they describe different kinds of evaluation prepared by different licensed professionals.
Evaluation by a psychologist
This evaluation is prepared by a licensed psychologist. It may include standardized testing, which psychologists are trained and licensed to give.
Psychosocial or mental health evaluation
A psychosocial evaluation, also called a mental health evaluation, is prepared by a licensed clinician, such as a clinical social worker. It rests on clinical interviews and a person's history, and it documents how what happened has affected their emotional and mental health and their daily functioning.
A psychosocial evaluation
I provide psychosocial evaluations. I am a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in Illinois and a licensed master social worker (LMSW) in New York, Georgia, and Oklahoma, and licensed in Minnesota, not a psychologist, and I do not offer the evaluations that only a psychologist may provide.
The psychosocial evaluation I write
- Clinical interview and trauma-informed psychosocial history.
- DSM-5-TR-informed diagnostic formulation where clinically appropriate.
- CIAS contextual analysis: cultural, developmental, economic, and U.S. climate factors.
- Functioning, coping, symptom impact, and prognosis.
- A report signed under penalty of perjury, with the credentials, methodology, and limitations sections counsel typically rely on.
Case pages: asylum, VAWA, U and T visas, hardship waivers.
Credentials
Dr. Venera Bekteshi, PhD, MSW, MPA, MA, LCSW. Dr. Bekteshi is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in Illinois and a licensed master social worker (LMSW) in New York, Georgia, and Oklahoma, and licensed in Minnesota. Her PhD is in social welfare, with a research focus on acculturative stress, trauma, and immigrant mental health. A current CV is available on request.
What USCIS guidance says about who prepares an evaluation
The clearest written guidance concerns VAWA self-petitions. Two primary sources speak to it.
Volume 3, Part D, Chapter 2, Section E.2
Among its examples of evidence that battery or extreme cruelty occurred, the Policy Manual lists evaluations "prepared by a qualified medical or mental health professional, who treated or thoroughly and adequately evaluated the self-petitioner using well-established assessments or tools, and where the self-petitioner provided USCIS with the medical or mental health professional’s curriculum vitae or professional certification(s) to establish the professional’s level of expertise."
8 CFR 204.2(c)(2)(iv)
The VAWA regulation states: "Evidence of abuse may include, but is not limited to, reports and affidavits from police, judges and other court officials, medical personnel, school officials, clergy, social workers, and other social service agency personnel."
Both passages concern VAWA self-petitions. They are not a rule for every case type, and neither says how much weight a particular report will receive. Whether an evaluation fits a specific case, and which professional should prepare it, are questions for the attorney handling the case. This page is general information, not legal advice.
How to check any evaluator's license
Ask for the license
Ask the evaluator for the license type, the state that issued it, and the license number.
Look it up with the state
Each state publishes an online license lookup through its licensing board or professional licensing office. Search by name or license number.
Read what the record says
Check that the license type matches the work being offered, that the status is active, and which state issued it.
A doctorate is a degree. The title "Dr." alone does not say which license a person holds, so the license record is the thing to check.
Why the evaluator's license state matters
Professional licenses are issued state by state. Evaluator directories advise attorneys to choose an evaluator licensed in the state where the client is located.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. The attorney handling the case is the right person to say what the case needs. Please raise the question of license state at the fit call, together with the case type, deadline, and venue.
Do not have an attorney yet?
An attorney matters in these cases. See where to look for one.
Questions about who can do an evaluation
Who can do an evaluation for immigration?
Evaluations for immigration cases are prepared by licensed professionals. A licensed psychologist prepares an evaluation that may include standardized testing. A licensed clinician such as a clinical social worker prepares a psychosocial, or mental health, evaluation. For VAWA self-petitions, the USCIS Policy Manual describes evaluations prepared by a qualified medical or mental health professional.
Is an evaluation by a psychologist the same as a psychosocial evaluation?
They are related, and the names are often used loosely. An evaluation by a psychologist may include standardized testing, which psychologists are trained and licensed to give. A psychosocial, or mental health, evaluation is prepared by a licensed clinician such as a clinical social worker and rests on clinical interviews and a person's history.
Is Dr. Bekteshi a psychologist?
No. Dr. Bekteshi is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in Illinois and a licensed master social worker (LMSW) in New York, Georgia, and Oklahoma, and licensed in Minnesota. She provides psychosocial, or mental health, evaluations for asylum, VAWA, T visa, U visa, and hardship waiver cases.
What does USCIS say about who prepares an evaluation in a VAWA case?
The USCIS Policy Manual (Volume 3, Part D, Chapter 2) lists evaluations prepared by a qualified medical or mental health professional, with the professional's curriculum vitae or professional certification(s), among examples of evidence of battery or extreme cruelty. The regulation at 8 CFR 204.2(c)(2)(iv) lists reports and affidavits from social workers among possible evidence of abuse. This is general information, not legal advice.
How can I check an evaluator's license?
Ask for the license type, issuing state, and license number, then search the state's online license lookup. Check that the license type matches the work offered and that the status is active.
Why does the evaluator's license state matter?
Licenses are issued state by state, and evaluator directories advise attorneys to choose an evaluator licensed in the state where the client is located. This is general guidance, not legal advice; the attorney handling the case can say what the case needs.
Which kind of evaluation does my case need?
That is a question for you and your attorney. I do not give legal advice or assess cases. The fit call covers whether an evaluation is appropriate before any documents are exchanged.
Ready to discuss a case?
Please do not send confidential case materials through the first inquiry.