Psychiatric Trauma Evaluations in Immigration Cases: What New York Counsel Should Expect From the Expert

Stephan M. Carlson, MD, MBA, FAPA · Immigration and Trauma

In an immigration claim, the psychiatrist is almost never an eyewitness to the events the applicant describes. The defensible question is not whether the persecution happened, but whether the applicant's psychiatric presentation is consistent with the history reported—and how much weight that consistency can bear. What the relief category is actually asking Immigration relief is federal, and the psychiatric question changes with the form of relief sought. Asylum and withholding turn on a well-founded fear of persecution and on credibility, where a corroborating evaluation can speak to whether trauma sequelae are consistent with the account and whether symptoms explain gaps in testimony. A VA

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