IMPACT Immigration

Psychological evaluations to support immigration cases are a straightforward and cost-effective intervention, and yet their impact can be lifesaving.

For immigrants in the United States, the fear and uncertainty of staying in the United States compounds daily, with ICE raids increasing in frequency, detention times in border facilities increasing in duration, and deportation without full due process increasingly commonplace. Many of these immigrants have the legal right to stay and seek the chance to make their case. Psychological evaluations often form the backbone of successful cases, roughly doubling the chance of their case being accepted, and yet very few immigrants can afford these evaluations.

Immigration Psychology Access Team seeks to keep families together and to ensure that deeply traumatized people can remain where they will find the services and support they need. In addition to providing subsidized evaluations, we are also developing a comprehensive training program to qualify more mental health professionals to conduct the evaluations, thus ensuring that more immigrants gain access to high-quality evaluations and to full due process.

The Immigration Psychology Access Team is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing these evaluations, enabling us to do so efficiently, professionally, and cost-effectively. Our team of experts, headed by founder Dr. Lynn Moore, has performed over 400 psychological evaluations amongst them, with a very high success rate. One outcome study of 183 cases by the team showed over 95% of the cases were approved when the data from psychological evaluations was included.

Mission: to offer immigrants and refugees psychological documentation of their trauma as part of their legal pursuit to live where they and their families feel safe and can thrive.

Vision: an immigration system that fairly ensures that all who qualify for refuge in the United States receive it.

Values: We believe that the voices of refugees and immigrants should be heard, their trauma witnessed, their rights respected, their benefit to society appreciated, and their families kept together by equal access to fair process.

The Immigrant Story

These stories are composites based on the hundreds of immigrants and refugees that the Immigration Psychology Access Team has helped in recent years.

MARIA

Maria, a U.S. citizen with depression, relies on her Guatemalan husband Gustavo to help care for their two special-needs daughters. Gustavo’s detention has caused intense emotional trauma for Maria and the children. A psychological assessment of Maria and the impact of the separation can support an extreme hardship waiver, giving Gustavo a chance to apply for legal status and reunite the family.

SANJAY

Sanjay, originally from India, was working in a convenience store when two criminals entered, assaulted him, and robbed the cash register. Since the attack, Sanjay has experienced persistent flashbacks, anxiety, headaches, and chronic physical pain. Despite these ongoing symptoms, he continues to work at the store, but lives with constant fear. As a victim of crime in the United States, Sanjay has the right to apply for legal status. To support his case, a psychological evaluation is necessary to provide evidence of the mental harm he has suffered because of the crime.

CARLOS

Carlos, a 35-year-old gainfully employed construction worker from Mexico, is married to Anna, a US citizen, and they have three young children, all born in the U.S. Anna suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. She requires regular medical care and needs help managing the children. Carlos financially supports the family and looks after their children. However, he does not have legal residence status. If he is deported, his U.S. wife and children will suffer greatly, with no source of income, and no father/husband in the family. A psychological evaluation assessing the extreme hardship that his wife will suffer if he is deported is essential to the success his legal case to remain in this country with his family.

METOK

Metok is a Tibetan Monk who was tortured and held captive in China until he managed to escape. After he entered the U.S. as a visitor, he stayed in hiding for two years, afraid of being deported back to his country where he believed he would face certain death. He has finally sought out an immigration attorney, who requested that IMPACT clinicians document Metoks’ severe PTSD symptoms to support his case for asylum.

AKAR

Akar and his sister Somira, both members of the Rohingya minority, live with the fear that deportation to Myanmar would expose them again to the violence and discrimination they long endured. Their stories, marked by loss and resilience, will be documented in mental health evaluations as crucial parts of their political asylum cases. These assessments will illuminate the suffering and trauma they experienced, and the profound psychological harm that could result if they are forced to return to a homeland where their safety and dignity remain at constant risk.

RASHA

Rasha, originally from Syria, has endured domestic violence and trauma since arriving in the United States. As part of her legal application to remain in the country, she now requires a psychological evaluation. Staying in the U.S. is vital for Rasha and her family—not only does it give her access to crucial survivor support services, but it also allows her to stay close to loved ones and protect her children from further harm. Her safety, healing, and future depend on being able to remain where she and her children can build a life free from abuse.

At IMPACT, our dedicated clinicians document the experiences of immigrant trauma, providing expert evaluations that support legal status applications. We remove financial barriers by subsidizing the cost of these evaluations—a vital service that significantly improves families’ chances of remaining together. In addition, we connect immigrants with ongoing mental health care, ensuring that every immigrant receives the support they need to achieve healing and stability.

IMPACT™ Immigration statement and policy:

IMPACT™ Immigration does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.

These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.

IMPACT™ Immigration is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.