I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) specializing in clinical assessments and psychosocial reports for individuals involved in immigration and visa issues in the United States. I work with immigrants and their families from any country. I am fluent in English and Portuguese. Assessment interviews can be done in-person, by questionnaire, or through Skype or Facetime, so we can work together from any location. I’m flexible, friendly, and highly skilled in achieving the results my clients need. Integrity and ethics are central to my approach; I produce accurate, reliable evaluations designed to meet the standards and criteria of the U.S. Government. I look forward to working with you and your attorney to prepare a successful psychosocial report.
“Claudia Ribas is a professional who has experience with the unique requirements of a well-written and detailed psychological or psychosocial report. Her experience and education combine to ensure that you will get the attention to detail, clinical acumen and knowledge of the requirements of evaluations for visa waivers. Immigrating brings plenty of challenges without having to fight for US resident status or defending yourself against the threat of deportation. When your lawyer asks you for an psychosocial evaluation it can be hard to know where to turn. Finding an experienced immigration social worker can be a very important step in your case.”
Psychosocial / Psychological Evaluations & Assessments
English, Brazilian Portuguese & Spanish
Online Services Available
Immigration Evaluations and Letters
Clinical Evaluations for 4 types of Immigration Waivers
Extreme Hardship; Spousal Abuse: VAWA (Violence Against Women Act); U-Visa; Political Asylum
7-day turnaround
Rush services available
Clinical psychological diagnosis
Recommendations for follow-up treatment
Collaboration with attorney and legal staff
Signed copies mailed to both attorney and client
We conduct Clinical Evaluations for these 4 types of Immigration Waivers:
Extreme / Exceptional Hardship
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:
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Would deportation of the immigrant pose an extreme and unusual hardship to the relative in question?
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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.
Spousal Abuse: VAWA (Violence Against Women Act)
Despite the name of this act, the VAWA immigration provisions include women and men. In spousal abuse cases, a person from a foreign country is married to a citizen or a legal permanent U.S. resident. After the marriage, the immigrant claims domestic abuse and seeks to file for legal status separately from their U.S. citizen spouse, usually because the U.S. citizen doesn’t wish to assist his/her spouse in this process. Even if the marriage ends in divorce, a VAWA petition can be filed, as long as there was a connection between the divorce and domestic violence and/or abuse. The abuse can take a variety of forms and must constitute extreme cruelty. “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.
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, you can talk about the painful ordeal and its adverse impact on your life and your emotional well-being. This process can be of tremendous help in empowering the victims and promote the healing process far beyond the resolution of their immigration case.
U-VISA
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.
Political Asylum
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.
Eu sou uma psicoterapeuta Licenciada, (LCSW, PhD), especializada em avaliações clínicas epsicossociais para indivíduos envolvidos em questões de imigração / visto nos Estados Unidos. Eu trabalho com imigrantes e suas famílias de qualquer país. Sou fluente em Inglês, Português e falo um pouco de Espanhol. para que sua localização não seja uma barreira para que a sua avaliação, eu realizo entrevista através de questionários (que mando via email), faco também uma entrevista no Skype, FaceTime ou usando a camera do Facebook. Consequentemente, aonde voce esta localizado não e um problema para min. Sou flexível, amigável e com vontade de trabalhar com você e seu advogado para fazermos uma avaliação apropriada para o seu caso. Meu trabalho está empenhado em encontrar a dificuldade única em cada caso de renúncia em ordem de preparar um relatório produtivo.
Avaliação Psicológica Extreme Hardship Waiver (I-601):
A avaliação psicológica é uma avaliação do seu estado psicológico e emocional que vai ajudar no processo de imigração. A avaliação inclui a sua historia, as suas capacidades psicológicas e o sofrimento que você vai passar se houver uma deportação na sua família. A intenção é provar o EXTREME HARDSHIP que você e sua família irão sofrer se acontecer a deportação. A pessoa que solicita um Waiver (I-601) por Extreme Hardship é tipicamente um cidadão Americano ou residente legal que está aplicando para o visto para um imigrante que está em risco de ser deportado. A avaliação psicológica é feita para aumentar as chances de obtenção do Green Card. Durante esse processo é comum o desenvolvimento de problemas psicológicos tais como: severa ansiedade, depressão e PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders)
Eu uso questionários e Skype, FaceTime ou Facebook. Consequentemente, a sua localização não é um problema. Sou bilíngue em Inglês e Português. Você receberá no final do processo uma avaliação (entre 7/10 paginas) em Inglês, com recomendações e prognóstico referentes à sua situação, para você e o seu advogado. A avaliação é feita por uma psicoterapeuta licenciada com mais de 16 anos de experiência nessa área.
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Avaliações psicológicas para imigrantes que estão aplicando para o waiver.
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Avaliação completa em 5-7 dias.
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Skype, FaceTime or Facebook
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Em casos especiais (taxa adicional) a avaliação pode ser feita em 48 hours.
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Professional Licenciada e bilíngue em Inglês e Português.
Realizamos avaliações clínicas para esses 4 tipos de exenções de imigração:
Dificuldades extremas / Extreme Hardship:
Nesse caso, o cidadão legal dos EUA (cônjuge, noiva, pai, filho ou titular do “Green card” sofreria “dificuldades excepcionais (Extreme Hardship)” se você tiver que retornar ao seu país de origem, ou se o cidadão legal dos EUA deixasse os EUA para ficar com você no seu país. Outros tipos viáveis de dificuldades excepcionais podem ser psicológicos, sociais, culturais, econômicos, educacionais, relacionados à carreira, políticos, religiosos ou devido ao serviço militar obrigatório ou médico. Ou pode haver um negócio nos EUA que falharia se você não estivesse presente, ou sua família dependente talvez não pudesse exercer sua profissão se eles o seguissem em casa.
Objetivo de Avaliação Clínica: O objetivo da avaliação psicológica é avaliar e entender todas as dificuldades que todos e cada um dos membros relevantes da família enfrentariam se a renúncia não fosse concedida. Especificamente, as informações obtidas nesta avaliação são usadas para responder a duas questões principais:
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A deportação do imigrante representaria uma dificuldade extrema e incomum para o parente em questão?
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Seria uma dificuldade extrema e incomum para o parente legal residente acompanhar o imigrante de volta ao seu país de origem caso eles fossem deportado?