Comprehensive Immigration Evaluations
Advanced Clinical Training in Conducting Mental Health Evaluations for Immigration Cases
Live via Zoom 2-day training 3/5 & 3/6
I'M SO READY, SIGN ME UP!
COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION EVALUATIONS
IS THE MOST COMPLETE IMMIGRATION TRAINING AVAILABLE & WAS CREATED BY CECILIA RACINE, LCSW.
THIS BRAND NEW ONLINE TRAINING WILL COVER
In-depth evaluation knowledge: Extreme hardship waivers, cancellation, asylum, VAWA, U visa, and T visa
A basic legal understanding of the common immigration cases
How to conduct a thorough clinical evaluation
Special lessons on trauma-informed cases, specific testing tools, and assessing children
How to write an effective report, step-by-step, to be used in an immigration case
Testifying, if you are ever requested to appear in immigration court
Marketing your services to immigration lawyers in your area so you can effortlessly grow your practice
You will also receive:
- Samples of each type of evaluation, templates, and worksheets so you can tailor them for your practice
- 3 Q&A sessions with top immigration attorneys so you know what they're looking for when working with clinicians
- 6 months of group consultations and private one-on-one office hours
- 6 month listing in the Immigration Evaluation Directory
- 6 months of one-on-one office hours
success stories
Thank you so much for offering the course. I just completed it yesterday. So helpful! It was clear and organized and you really filled in the gaps of my knowledge. I feel so much more confident to market myself to more attorneys as a result.
I haven't had any formal training in these evals so just did some research online and incorporated as many hardship factors as applicable. Figured I must be doing something right as the few attorneys I work with kept sending me referrals, but other than ‘looks good,’ I rarely received any feedback. The module on drafting the written evaluation was particularly helpful in validating what I'm doing right and also giving me some direction on how I can improve.
- Nikki Sewell, LCSW
The course is helpful! I'm so incredibly excited about doing this work. Thank you SO much for putting this together.
This seems like such a new sub-specialty in mental health and it is the shared experience and knowledge from pioneers like you that will help the field grow in a much-needed way.
- Claudia P. Chavez, Psy.D.
She adds a unique legal perspective to her courses and she gave me the confidence to do my first court testimony!!!
Cecilia Racine's courses for mastering immigration evaluations have been invaluable; she offers comprehensive and specialized, self-paced, courses that you can take at your convenience. Her courses are worth your investment to offer the best possible services to your clients.
- Dr. Carolina Jimenez, Licensed Bilingual Psychologist
Course FAQ's
READY TO TRANSFORM YOUR THERAPY PRACTICE & COMMUNITY?
Comprehensive Immigration Evaluations
Advanced Clinical Training in Conducting Mental Health Evaluations for Immigration Cases
- In-depth evaluation knowledge: Extreme hardship waivers, cancellation, asylum, VAWA, U visa, and T visa
- A basic legal understanding of the common immigration cases.
- How to conduct a thorough clinical evaluation.
- Special lessons on trauma-informed cases, specific testing tools, and assessing children.
- How to write an effective report, step-by-step, to be used in an immigration case.
- Testifying, if you are ever requested to appear in immigration court
- Marketing your services to immigration lawyers in your area so you can effortlessly grow your practice
- Lifetime access to all the lessons and materials
You will also receive:
- Samples of each type of evaluation, templates, and worksheets so you can tailor them for your practice
- 3 Q&A sessions with top immigration attorneys so you know what they're looking for when working with clinicians
- 6 months of group consultations and private one-on-one office hours
- 6 month listing in the Immigration Evaluation Directory
- 6 months of one-on-one office hours
Register for Live Course
March 5th & 6th
Register for
On Demand Course
Please choose your payment preference above carefully.
Once you select your payment schedule, it cannot be changed.
Course Information &
Continuing Education Credit Details
Course Description
This foundational course is designed for mental health clinicians who want to begin or expand their work conducting immigration evaluations. Participants will gain an understanding of the legal context, clinical best practices, and ethical considerations involved in these high-stakes assessments. The training covers a range of case types—including asylum, hardship waivers, cancellation of removal, VAWA, T-visas, and U-visas—and offers practical guidance for writing effective, defensible reports. The course includes step-by-step instruction, real-world examples, templates, and tools to support clinicians in providing trauma-informed, culturally aware, and ethically sound immigration evaluations.
Learning Objectives
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify the basic legal requirements and key factors for the most common types of immigration cases, including hardship waivers, asylum, VAWA, U visa, and T visa cases.
- Demonstrate the ability to conduct a thorough, trauma-informed clinical interview to gather relevant information for immigration evaluations, including strategies for working effectively with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds.
- Analyze client histories and symptoms to assess hardship, trauma, and other clinical factors relevant to immigration cases while recognizing how cultural context may influence symptom expression and client communication.
- Compose a clear, well-organized, and effective psychological evaluation report that meets legal and clinical standards for use in immigration proceedings.
- Summarize best practices for providing oral testimony in immigration court, including strategies for presenting findings confidently and effectively.
Target Audience
Licensed social workers and other behavioral health professionals.
Content Level
Beginning to Intermediate
Instructor
Cecilia Bañales Racine, LCSW, LICSW, LCSW-C, is the founder of the Immigration Evaluation Institute and owner of Alta Vista Therapy, LLC. She earned her Master of Social Work with a Clinical Concentration from Boston College Graduate School of Social Work.
Ms. Racine is licensed as a clinical social worker in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, and holds certifications in Forensic Social Work, Adoption Competency, EMDR, and Clinical Supervision. She has more than 25 years of experience in diverse practice settings, including inpatient and outpatient mental health, community health, adoption services, and private practice.
She has extensive experience serving ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities and has conducted more than 700 immigration evaluations in collaboration with attorneys across multiple states. Ms. Racine regularly presents at national and regional conferences, including the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, the American Immigration Lawyers Association – DC Chapter, and the LGBTQ+ Bar’s Lavender Law Conference, and she develops and teaches advanced trainings for mental health professionals conducting immigration evaluations.
CE Credit
8 CE credits
CE Credit Type
General-1, Clinical-5, Ethics-1, Social/Cultural Competence-1
Fees
Live Virtual Course: $1,997 (or 6 monthly payments of $367)
On-Demand Course: $1,997 (or 6 monthly payments of $367)
Provider Approval & Accreditation
Comprehensive Immigration Evaluations: Advanced Clinical Training in Conducting Mental Health Evaluations for Immigration Cases, Course #6346, is approved by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program to be offered by Immigration Evaluation Institute as an individual course. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE course approval period: 8/26/2025-8/26/2027.
Most U.S. states and all Canadian provinces recognize ACE continuing education credits for social workers. New York does not accept ASWB ACE provider or course/conference approval.
Accessibility Accommodations
We are committed to ensuring access for all participants. Please review our full Accessibility Statement for details and instructions on requesting accommodations.
Course Policy, Billing, Access, Refunds, and Grievance Procedures
Please review our Course Policy for detailed information on billing, course access, refund timelines, attendance verification procedures, and how to submit a grievance or complaint regarding this course.
Contact Information
For questions, concerns, or to request more information about this course, please contact us at hello@immigrationevaltraining.com.
Live Course (Synchronous distance learning, interactive)
Delivery Method
Virtual 2-day interactive, live webinar via Zoom
Instructional Methods
Slide presentations, didactic lectures, interactive discussions, and Q&A sessions.
Agenda - All times are shown in Eastern Time (ET)
Day 1
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Introduction & Overview of Immigration Evaluation Process
- 12:00 – 12:15 PM – Break
- 12:15 – 1:30 PM – Legal Context & Case Types (e.g., hardship, asylum, VAWA, U/T visas) + Q&A
- 1:30 – 2:30 PM – Lunch Break
- 2:30 – 3:30 PM – Clinical Interview Techniques (overview and case-specific considerations)
- 3:30 – 3:45 PM – Break
- 3:45 – 5:00 PM – Clinical Interview Techniques (trauma, mental health, and testing) + Q&A
Day 2
- 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Q&A + Cultural Competency in Immigration Evaluations
- 12:00 – 12:15 PM – Break
- 12:15 – 1:30 PM – Writing Evaluation Reports
- 1:30 – 2:30 PM – Lunch Break
- 2:30 – 3:30 PM – Testifying in Immigration Cases + Q&A
Registration Deadline
Registration closes at 11:59 PM Eastern Time the night before the course start date.
Course Completion Requirements
- Attend 100% of both live sessions (full instructional time); attendance for this training will be tracked through Zoom attendance report logs*.
*Records maintained by the organization, in accordance with ACE record-keeping standards, will be kept for seven years. - Participate in interactive discussions and Q&A (participants may ask questions verbally or via chat; questions will be addressed as time permits).
- Pass the post-course knowledge test* with a score of 80% or higher.
*If you do not pass the posttest on your first attempt, you will be allowed to re-test two additional times. If you do not pass the posttest on your third attempt, you will not be eligible to claim CEs. - Complete the course evaluation.
Certificate Issuance
Certificates of Completion and digital badges will be issued within 30 days of course completion to participants who meet all requirements.
System Requirements
To ensure the best experience, please make sure your device meets the following minimum requirements:
- Device: Desktop or laptop (Windows or macOS recommended); tablets (iPad or Android) are compatible for most lessons; mobile phones may work, but are not ideal for full functionality.
- Internet: Stable broadband connection (faster speeds recommended for video streaming).
- Browser: Latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge; JavaScript and cookies must be enabled.
- Audio/Video: Speakers or headphones required.
On-Demand Course (Asynchronous distance learning, self-paced)
Delivery Method
Recorded videos (noninteractive)
Date Recorded
October 2-3, 2025 (Live Virtual Course). The on-demand course is updated biannually following each live session to ensure content remains current.
On-Demand Course Agenda
Self-paced format – total instructional time: 7.5 hours
- Module 1 – Introduction & Overview – 45 minutes
- Module 2 – Legal Context & Case Types – 1 hour
- Module 3 – Clinical Interview Techniques: Overview & Case-Specific Considerations – 1.5 hours
- Module 4 – Clinical Interview Techniques: Trauma, Mental Health, and Testing – 1.25 hours
- Module 5 – Cultural Competency in Immigration Evaluations – 45 minutes
- Module 6 – Writing Effective Evaluation Reports – 1.25 hours
- Module 7 – Testifying in Immigration Cases – 1 hour
Registration Deadline
Available anytime; access begins immediately after purchase.
Course Completion Requirements
- View 100% of all CE-eligible video lessons in full; the course platform tracks progress and flags incomplete or skipped content, including rapid advancement through videos.
- Cookies must be enabled in your browser for attendance tracking to function.
- Pass the post-course knowledge test* with a score of 80% or higher.
*If you do not pass the posttest on your first attempt, you will be allowed to re-test two additional times. If you do not pass the posttest on your third attempt, you will not be eligible to claim CEs. - Complete the course evaluation.
Certificate Issuance
Certificates of Completion and digital badges will be issued within 30 days of course completion to participants who meet all requirements.
System Requirements:
- Device: Desktop or laptop (Windows or macOS recommended); tablets are compatible; mobile phones may work, but are not ideal for full functionality.
- Internet: Stable broadband connection (faster speeds recommended for video streaming).
- Browser: Latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge; JavaScript and cookies must be enabled.
- Audio/Video: Speakers or headphones required.
READY TO TRANSFORM YOUR THERAPY PRACTICE & COMMUNITY?
Comprehensive Immigration Evaluations
Advanced Clinical Training in Conducting Mental Health Evaluations for Immigration Cases
- In-depth evaluation knowledge: Extreme hardship waivers, cancellation, asylum, VAWA, U visa, and T visa
- A basic legal understanding of the common immigration cases.
- How to conduct a thorough clinical evaluation.
- Special lessons on trauma-informed cases, specific testing tools, and assessing children.
- How to write an effective report, step-by-step, to be used in an immigration case.
- Testifying, if you are ever requested to appear in immigration court
- Marketing your services to immigration lawyers in your area so you can effortlessly grow your practice
- Lifetime access to all the lessons and materials
You will also receive:
- Samples of each type of evaluation, templates, and worksheets so you can tailor them for your practice
- 3 Q&A sessions with top immigration attorneys so you know what they're looking for when working with clinicians
- 6 months of group consultations and private one-on-one office hours
- 6 month listing in the Immigration Evaluation Directory
- 6 months of one-on-one office hours
Register for Live Course
March 5th & 6th
Register for
On Demand Course
Please choose your payment preference above carefully.
Once you select your payment schedule, it cannot be changed.