Immigration Attorneys' Perspectives on Psychological Evaluations
Prof. Andrew Rasmussen and a colleague at City College of New York, CUNY, Prof. Adeyinka Akinsulure-Smith, are conducting a research study to better understand advocates’ experiences and perspectives regarding psychological evaluations in immigration cases.
Why This Matters:
Psychological evaluations often play a critical role in immigration proceedings, especially in asylum, hardship waivers, U visa, T visa, and cancellation of removal cases. However, little is known about how attorneys assess their usefulness, quality, and ethical implications.
We invite all attorneys or DOJ/EOIR accredited advocates who have ever worked on immigration proceedings to participate in a brief, confidential survey (~15-20 minutes) exploring:
- How psychological evaluations are used in practice
- How attorneys and psychologists communicate regarding evaluations
- Preferences regarding content and structure of evaluations
- Impacts of working in immigration law
This study seeks to establish professional guidelines for these evaluations and improve collaboration between legal and mental health professionals in the immigration process.
Take the survey here, or paste this into your browser of choice: https://fordham.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4NOUsHCsLf39fa6
In addition, as an incentive survey respondents will be entered into a lottery drawing for:
- 10 MacBook Air computers
- 15 10th-generation iPads
- 100 $100 electronic gift certificates
Participation is voluntary, anonymous, and IRB-approved.
Check back here regularly for updates and summaries of findings!