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Interpreters for Psychological Evaluations for Immigration
A psychological evaluation for an immigration case is written in English for an officer who will never meet the person evaluated, and it rests on hours of interview that often happened in another language. Here is who arranges the interpreter, what USCIS says it looks for in these evaluations, and how attorneys, evaluators and families book one with us.
The family or attorney books it
The evaluator is usually private, and no agency supplies an interpreter for the evaluation.
The report gets compared
An officer reads it next to the declaration, the forms and any interview.
From $80 an hour
A three-hour clinical interview is $240 by video, or $330 in person plus travel.
Who arranges the interpreter for an immigration psychological evaluation
Nobody provides an interpreter for a psychological evaluation done for an immigration case: the evaluator is usually a private psychologist, psychiatrist or clinical social worker retained by the family or the attorney, and they arrange the interpreter too. USCIS does not supply one, because the evaluation happens before filing, outside any USCIS proceeding. If the evaluation is done at a clinic that receives federal health funding, ask the clinic first, since the federal language access rule covers its health programs (45 CFR 92.2).
What USCIS says about the evaluation itself matters for how the interview is interpreted. For extreme hardship waivers it accepts any probative evidence, including medical or mental health documentation and evaluations by licensed professionals (Policy Manual Vol. 9, Part B, ch. 6), and the factors include the psychological impact on the qualifying relative of separation or relocation (ch. 5; Form I-601A instructions). For VAWA, the manual lists psychological evaluations as evidence of battery or extreme cruelty when prepared by a qualified professional who treated or "thoroughly and adequately evaluated" the self-petitioner using well-established tools, with the professional's CV submitted (Vol. 3, Part D, ch. 2). For a U visa, whether abuse was substantial turns on factors that include the severity and duration of the harm and serious harm to mental soundness (8 CFR 214.14(b)(1)).
Who books us: immigration attorneys and nonprofit legal programs who refer clients to an evaluator and arrange the interpreter alongside; evaluators who see clients in many languages and book the interpreter themselves; and families who were told to arrange one before the appointment.
Why the interpreter decides what the report can say
The evaluator writes conclusions in English from what they heard through the interpreter. A summary rendering — "she says it was very bad" — leaves the evaluator with nothing to quote and no detail to support a diagnosis; a thorough evaluation, in the sense the Policy Manual uses, needs the person's own account rendered in full and in the first person, including how they say it. The clinical side of that (affect, disordered speech, which tests can be interpreted) is the same as in any mental health session; what is specific here is that the report becomes evidence.
Evidence gets compared. In a VAWA case the officer looks at whether one piece of evidence is inconsistent with another or with government records, and may ask the self-petitioner to explain (Policy Manual Vol. 3, Part D, ch. 5). A date, a number of incidents or a name that comes out differently in the evaluation than in the declaration — because two interpreters rendered it two ways — looks like an inconsistency in the person, not in the interpreting. Agree on spellings of names and places with the attorney, and tell the interpreter what the case is about, without sending the declaration to be "matched."
Choosing the interpreter, and who is being evaluated
- Not a relative, and not the person whose hardship is at issue. In a hardship case the evaluation is usually of the qualifying relative — the US citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent — who may speak English while the applicant does not. A spouse who interprets for the other spouse, or a child who interprets for a parent, changes what is said and what the report can be trusted for.
- Independent of the legal team. A bilingual paralegal who drafted the declaration should not interpret the evaluation; an outside interpreter keeps the report from reading as the firm's words.
- Count the languages. If the evaluator will interview the applicant in Spanish and a parent in Mixteco, that is two interpreters or two sessions. Say so when you request.
- Gender and community. For an evaluation about sexual violence or domestic abuse, the person may need an interpreter of a particular gender, or one from outside their local community. Tell us when you request; we confirm whether we can staff it before you book.
- Say it in the report. The evaluator should record that an interpreter was used, in which language and how. That is the evaluator's choice to document, and it answers the question before an officer asks it.
Running the evaluation
A forensic clinical interview often runs several hours, sometimes over two sessions, with structured questionnaires and a long history: childhood, migration, work, the relationship, the events, symptoms, treatment. Book breaks into the time; the interpreter is working consecutively for all of it, often through trauma accounts, and accuracy drops when nobody stops. The evaluator, not the interpreter, explains the purpose of the evaluation and that the report will be filed with USCIS; the interpreter renders that explanation and stays out of the conversation otherwise.
By video the evaluator decides whether remote evaluation is appropriate; when it is, all three join the same platform with cameras on, and the client should be somewhere private where the people the evaluation is about cannot overhear. Collateral interviews — a spouse, a parent, a teacher — are often short phone calls and can be booked separately.
Booking and what to send
Rates are per interpreter per hour from the scheduled start. A three-hour clinical interview by video is $240; in person it is $330 plus travel at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, confirmed before you book. A second session of two hours by video is $160; a one-hour collateral interview by phone is $80. Using the same interpreter for both sessions keeps names and terms consistent.
Send the evaluator's name and format (in person or video), the type of case (hardship waiver, VAWA, U visa or other), who will be interviewed and in which languages, the client's country and dialect, the topics that will come up, and any preference about the interpreter's gender. Foreign-language records that go into the filing — a psychiatric record from home, a letter in the client's language — need a full English translation with the translator's certification (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)); see psychological evaluation translation.
By video, by phone or in person
Virtual interpreting runs on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, or over the telephone. It is quicker to arrange, costs less and carries no travel charge, and it suits appointments, calls and most meetings.
In person is what venues with their own rules tend to expect, and the right choice when documents are being signed or several people are speaking at once. Tell us the platform, or the city and the venue, when you send the request.
Languages
The standard-availability languages are: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Polish, Italian, German, Japanese, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Tagalog, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Armenian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Somali and Nepali. Every other language we offer carries the 25–30% limited-availability rate. If a language is not on that list it is not because we cannot do it — it is because the pool of qualified interpreters in the United States is small enough that we will not promise a date without checking.
Each language has its own page on what to watch for — dialects, names, dates, who the speakers usually are: see interpreters by language.
What it costs
Rates are per interpreter, per hour, and billed from the scheduled start time rather than from when everyone actually arrives.
- Virtual — $80 per hour, one-hour minimum. Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or telephone.
- In person — $110 per hour, two-hour minimum.
- Limited-availability languages — add 25–30%. Which languages those are is listed below rather than left vague.
- Travel for in-person work — $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location.
How the travel charge works out
Travel is charged at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, which means you can work it out rather than wait for a quote: a 20-mile round trip is $14, a 60-mile round trip is $42, a 150-mile round trip is $105. There is no separate call-out fee on top.
We will not pretend to know in advance where the interpreter will be coming from — that depends on the language, the date and the venue. What we do is confirm the interpreter and the exact travel figure before you book, so it is never a surprise on the invoice. Virtual assignments carry no travel charge at all, which is one reason most of what we do is virtual.
How booking an interpreter works
- You send the request with the form below: the language, the setting, the format, the date and how long it should last.
- We confirm before you commit: the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one. We reply the same business day, and no payment is taken at this stage.
- You confirm, and the interpreter is booked for your date.
What to have ready
The more of this comes in the first message, the fewer exchanges before you have a price:
- The language, the date, the start time and how long it should run.
- Virtual or in person: the platform, or the city and the venue.
- The setting and the subject matter.
- How many people need interpreting for.
- Any credential the venue requires of the interpreter.
Request an interpreter
Tell us the date, the language and the setting and we will come back with the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one — before you commit to anything.
Thank you — we have your request
We will reply the same business day with the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one, before you commit to anything.
Sources
What this page says about the rules was checked against these official sources on October 28, 2026. Rules change; the source is always the authority.
- USCIS Policy Manual — Vol. 9, Part B, ch. 5, Extreme Hardship Considerations and Factors (current as of October 27, 2026)
- USCIS Policy Manual — Vol. 9, Part B, ch. 6, Extreme Hardship Determinations: evidence (current as of October 27, 2026)
- USCIS Policy Manual — Vol. 3, Part D, ch. 2, VAWA eligibility requirements and evidence (current as of October 27, 2026)
- USCIS Policy Manual — Vol. 3, Part D, ch. 5, VAWA adjudication (current as of October 27, 2026)
- 8 CFR 214.14 — U nonimmigrant status: substantial physical or mental abuse (eCFR)
- 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) — Translations of foreign-language documents submitted to USCIS (eCFR)
- USCIS — Instructions for Form I-601A, Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver (edition 01/20/25)
- 45 CFR 92.2 — Section 1557: Application to health programs receiving HHS financial assistance (eCFR)
Frequently asked questions
Who pays for the interpreter at a psychological evaluation for immigration?
Whoever retains the evaluator: usually the family or the attorney. No agency supplies an interpreter for an evaluation done before filing. By video a three-hour interview is $240.
Can a family member interpret at my hardship evaluation?
It is better not to. The evaluation is often of a family member, and a relative interpreting changes what is said and how far the report can be trusted. Use an interpreter with no stake in the case.
Does USCIS accept psychological evaluations done through an interpreter?
The USCIS guidance we read does not address interpreters at evaluations. It does say what gives an evaluation weight in a VAWA case — a qualified professional, a thorough evaluation, well-established tools, the CV submitted (Policy Manual Vol. 3, Part D, ch. 2) — and the evaluator should document how the interview was interpreted.
Can the evaluation be done by video with an interpreter?
If the evaluator decides remote evaluation is appropriate, yes: the interpreter joins the same platform. The client should be somewhere private.
Does the psychological report need to be translated?
The report is normally written in English. Anything filed in another language, such as a foreign medical record, needs a full certified English translation (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)).
Is the price per person or per interpreter?
Per interpreter, per hour, billed from the scheduled start time. One interpreter covers a meeting; a full-day hearing may need two working in relay.
How is travel charged?
$0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location — a 20-mile round trip is $14. We confirm the exact figure before you book, and virtual assignments carry none.
Need an interpreter?
Tell us the date, the language and the setting and we will confirm the interpreter and the exact price.