CENTER FOR FORENSIC AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY OF NEW JERSEY LLC
Rhonda Greenberg, Psy.D. Forensic Psychology Services for Immigration, Civil and Criminal Issues

​Coined by legal scholar Juliet Stumpf in 2006, crimmigration has quickly developed as a distinct line of inquiry. Crimmigration analyzes the merging of criminal and immigration norms in its identity as a legal phenomenon in the United States, ”crimmigration,” a portmanteau of “criminal” and “immigration,” is the area of law that is related to the nexus between immigration and criminal law.

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We see your clients in detention centers and prisons.

Medical certification for disability exemption: Individuals who suffer some types of disabilities/impairments may seek exemption for the English and Civics requirements for naturalization. Psychological evaluations explore the ways in which the “physical or developmental disability or mental impairment” hinders the person’s memory, attention, concentration, and/or ability to learn.

Political Asylum Psychological Evaluations serve to document the impact of mistreatment, abuse, or persecution inflicted in a foreign country. The emotional impact may include the development of formal mental health disorders that are identified using the DSM-5 and the ICD-10 +. The psychological evaluation may include any or all of the following: mental status exam, clinical interview, psychology testing of the immigrant, contacts with collaterals (per the signed and informed consent of client), and review of all available documents.  

Hardship psychological evaluations are conducted when a citizen or resident of the United States (Applicant) applies for an immigration waiver, if the deportation or removal of a relative causes extreme and exceptional hardship.  A psychological evaluation explores and documents the impact of the immigration problems, which may include mental health diagnoses, impaired work and social functioning, education and fluency issues, financial problems, and safety concerns. The documentation of hardships may include any emotional ties the respondent alien and qualifying relatives may have in the USA and loss of those emotional ties, including acculturation and adaptability problems, may result in psychological hardship or emotional hardship that may be either extreme hardship or exceptional and extremely unusual hardship.

Spousal Abuse Psychological Evaluations are performed on the spouse of a United States citizen or legal resident who has endured domestic violence. Psychological evaluation can serve to document the nature, severity, and frequency of the abuse. 

The U nonimmigrant status (U visa) is given to victims of some types of crimes.  The u visa applicant must have suffered mental of physical abuse. 

Psychological evaluations are performed to explore possible reason to o supplement a request for Citizenship Examination Waiver.  A legal resident of the United States may lack the skills or capacities needed to pass citizenship examinations such as the civics and English proficiency tests. Impairments in memory, head injuries, dementia (e.g., Alzheimer), illiteracy, medical issues that are affecting cognitive functioning, and learning disabilities may be helpful in your application of a N-648.

In This narrative the forensic psychologist will try to explain the difference between psychological evaluations done to assess competence in immigration proceedings and competence in criminal proceedings.  the narrative will also describe what the respondent alien may need to possess in terms of decisional competence to appear before immigration court.  

After the overturn of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), same sex couples may use psychological evaluations to help demonstrate the spouse is the primary caregiver of a U.S. Citizen and help demonstrate the adverse effects of deportation on the American citizen. As a whole, psychological evaluations assist in establishing the hardships caused when the spouse of an American gay or lesbian is deported. These hardships may include mental health complications, medical problems, impaired work and social functioning, and financial difficulties.

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When appropriate, the psychological evaluation documents the hardships that impair the applicant’s ability to move to another country, or to remain in the U.S. without their spouse.

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