A useful referral starts with an answerable clinical question. Naming the immigration category is helpful, but it does not by itself establish who should be evaluated, which experiences matter, or what a report can responsibly conclude.
Vida Serena accepts inquiries from attorneys, authorized representatives, and referral partners for mental health immigration evaluations in English and Spanish. Visits are available in Sandy and virtually throughout Utah for people physically located in the state during service. This guide describes the information that helps assess fit and organize the work; it is not an offer of legal analysis or a promise to accept every referral.
A concise initial referral checklist
Before sending client records, identify these points at a general level:
- Matter and clinical purpose: case category and the mental health or functioning questions the report should address.
- Person to be evaluated: adult or adolescent, age, and their role in the matter. Identify the qualifying relative when relevant.
- Language and location: preferred interview language, current state, in-person or virtual preference, and communication needs.
- Timing: legal deadline, requested report-delivery date, and any intermediate review date. Distinguish these from the interview date.
- Coordination: who schedules, the legal team's contact, intended recipients, and what permissions are needed before exchanging information.
- Potential conflicts or role questions: any existing treatment relationship or other circumstance that could affect evaluator independence.
Keep the public website inquiry general. Arrange authorizations and an appropriate transmission channel before sharing identifiers, records, or detailed allegations.
Define the clinical scope by matter
| Referral context | Useful clarification from counsel |
|---|---|
| I-601/I-601A hardship waiver | Applicable waiver, qualifying relative, and relevant separation or relocation scenarios. Identify the functioning questions rather than requesting a predetermined hardship conclusion. |
| Asylum, including political asylum | Reported experiences and the psychological effects or daily-functioning questions relevant to the referral. Legal eligibility and credibility determinations remain outside the evaluator's role. |
| VAWA | Reported abuse or coercion and the clinical effects to be assessed; do not limit the category to women. |
| U visa | Clinical effects associated with reported criminal victimization. A clinical report does not replace the required law-enforcement certification. |
| T visa | Clinical questions related to reported trafficking. Keep this separate from a U-visa referral. |
| Cancellation of removal | Specific form of relief, legally relevant person, and clinical question. Do not import the I-601/I-601A hardship standard by default. |
| Inadmissibility-related behavioral assessment | Exact requested role, professional qualifications, and any medical-referral requirements. Each request needs individual review. A supporting assessment is not an official medical classification or admissibility decision. |
Vida Serena does not provide official I-693 immigration medical examinations or N-648 disability certifications. See the service overview for current scope.
Make records relevant to the question
After appropriate authorization, discuss which records can clarify history, current functioning, prior treatment, or a specific uncertainty. A focused referral may be more useful than an unorganized file dump. Examples could include pertinent treatment records, records of caregiving or health needs, and prior statements when chronology or discrepancies need attention.
Identify the source and date of each item. Explain which legal question prompts the request, while leaving assessment methods and clinical interpretation with the evaluator. Avoid asking clients to adopt particular symptoms or rehearsed wording. The client preparation guide can help explain the process without coaching a result.
What makes a clinical report useful?
The report should make its reasoning understandable: what the person reported, what records or authorized collateral information were available, what the evaluator observed or assessed, and how those sources support the clinical interpretation. Relevant discrepancies, alternative explanations, and limits of available information need attention.
A diagnosis is included when supported, not because a legal category was named. A symptom list alone may not explain how a person's functioning is affected. For hardship referrals, discuss the connection between individual circumstances, mental health, and daily responsibilities, including available supports. Our hardship evaluation guide explains this distinction for families.
USCIS's hardship evidence guidance provides official context; counsel remains responsible for the legal standard, evidentiary strategy, and filing decisions. No report format or clinical finding guarantees adjudicator acceptance.
Agree on delivery and follow-up before booking
Discuss scope, fees, needed interviews and records, intended report recipients, and feasible scheduling before work begins. No expedited availability or delivery date should be assumed. Interview language, report language, and written translation are separate questions.
Factual corrections, unclear passages, and unanswered referral questions can be raised. Clinical conclusions remain the evaluator's responsibility; contrary information is not removed to secure a preferred result. Testimony, supplemental work, and additional requests must be discussed separately rather than treated as included.
For adolescents age 12 and older, clarify consent authority, participation, and information-sharing arrangements case by case. A legal relationship or fee payment alone should not be treated as establishing permission to receive clinical information.
Refer without making representation an intake barrier
Represented clients can coordinate with counsel under appropriate permissions. People without an attorney may also request an evaluation when its purpose and clinical suitability can be established. The practice does not select an immigration application for an unrepresented person or substitute for legal representation.
Discuss a potential referral
Contact Vida Serena or call 385-434-3536 to discuss the referral question, language, location, and requested report date. Appointments and referrals are being accepted, subject to individual fit and scope review. Please request transmission instructions before sending confidential material.
You can also visit information for professional referral sources or share the English/Spanish resources hub with a client.