Which Immigration Relief Should You File? An 8-Type Comparison

For applicants and families

Start here: which path fits you?

Read each question below in order. The first one that describes your situation is usually a good starting point. Many people fit more than one — that is fine. An immigration attorney will help you sort through it.

None of these is the right step on its own — you still need an immigration attorney to confirm what you are eligible for and to file the case. But after answering the questions above, you will know which guides to read and what kind of psychological evaluation supports the case.

The eight relief types side by side

The table below summarizes who each path is for, what is required, and what the evaluation costs. Each name links to a deeper service page.

Common pairs of paths and how to choose between them

Some situations look like they could fit two paths at once. The most common pairings are below — read whichever matches your situation.

Asylum vs. withholding of removal vs. CAT protection (all three protect from going home)

All three protect you from being sent back to a country where you would be hurt. They differ in how much fear you have to prove. Asylum needs a "real and reasonable fear" — even a one-in-ten chance of persecution counts. Withholding of removal needs "more likely than not" — better than a fifty percent chance. Convention Against Torture (CAT) needs a strong likelihood of being tortured with the government's knowledge or consent. Asylum gives you the most benefits (work permit, green card after one year, you can bring your spouse and children). Withholding and CAT only stop your removal — they do not lead to a green card. A single asylum psychological evaluation covers all three at once.

VAWA vs. U-visa (when someone has been hurting you)

If the person hurting you is your U.S. citizen or green-card-holder spouse, parent, or child, VAWA is usually the better path. VAWA is faster, more private (your abuser is never told), and leads straight to a green card. If the person hurting you is not in your immediate family but the abuse counts as a crime — like sexual assault, robbery, kidnapping, or felony assault — and you helped the police, you may qualify for a U-visa instead. Some people qualify for both; in that case VAWA is usually filed first because it is faster.

I-601 vs. I-601A hardship waiver (when you have a U.S. citizen spouse or parent)

Both waivers ask the same question: would your U.S. citizen or green-card-holder spouse or parent suffer extreme hardship if you were forced to leave? The difference is when and where you file. The I-601A is filed inside the United States before you leave for your visa interview abroad. It only forgives "unlawful presence" — being in the U.S. without permission. The I-601 is broader; it can also forgive certain criminal records or fraud, and it is filed either inside the U.S. (with adjustment of status) or after the consular interview abroad. Most people who only have unlawful presence use the I-601A because it lets you stay with your family while you wait. Important: only your U.S. citizen or green-card-holder spouse or parent counts as the "qualifying relative." Your children do not qualify, even if they are U.S. citizens.

Cancellation of removal: 42A vs. 42B (you only file these in immigration court)

Cancellation is only available if you are already in removal proceedings — meaning you have been placed in immigration court. Form EOIR-42A is for green-card holders. You need to have been a green-card holder for at least five years, lived continuously in the U.S. for seven years after being lawfully admitted, and you cannot have an aggravated felony. Form EOIR-42B is for everyone else (people without green cards). It needs ten years of continuous physical presence, good moral character, no disqualifying convictions, and "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" to your U.S. citizen or green-card-holder spouse, parent, or child. Neither form is filed with USCIS — only with the immigration judge.

U-visa vs. T-visa (both are for crime victims)

The U-visa covers victims of 28 different crimes — domestic violence, sexual assault, kidnapping, felonious assault, witness tampering, and more. It requires the police, prosecutor, or other certifying agency to sign a form confirming you helped the investigation. The T-visa is specifically for survivors of human trafficking — being forced into work or sex through threats, lies, debt, or violence. T-visa rules are more flexible: you can apply even if you never reported to the police, especially if reporting would have been dangerous or you were too young or too traumatized. If you survived a kidnapping or assault that was part of trafficking, you may qualify for both — the T-visa is usually preferred because it does not require police certification.

N-648 vs. competency evaluation (when a medical condition affects citizenship or court)

These two paths sound alike but apply to very different situations. The N-648 disability waiver is for people who already have a green card, are applying for U.S. citizenship, but cannot pass the English or civics test because of a medical or mental health condition (memory loss, intellectual disability, severe depression, dementia, autism, or others). A doctor or licensed psychologist signs a form and your test is waived. The competency evaluation is different. It is for people who are in immigration court facing deportation and have a mental health condition that makes it hard for them to understand the court or help their lawyer. The judge then has to provide special protections so the case is fair. Different statuses, different forms, different purposes.

Three real-life examples

These are made-up names, but the situations are common. Each one shows how the same person could fit more than one path — and which one is usually strongest.

Why a psychological evaluation matters for almost every path

If you have been through abuse, persecution, trafficking, or a serious crime, the immigration officer or judge needs to understand what happened to you. A psychological evaluation is how that gets put into words they recognize. A licensed psychologist meets with you for ninety minutes to two hours, listens to your story, asks structured questions, and writes a report that explains your trauma in clinical terms — what is happening to your mind, what you are diagnosed with, why your story is consistent with what really happened to you.

It matters because it helps your case win. A 2021 study of 2,584 asylum cases by Physicians for Human Rights found that cases with a psychological evaluation were granted 81.6 percent of the time, compared with 42.4 percent for cases without one. That study was about asylum, but the same logic — written, professional documentation of trauma — strengthens hardship waivers, VAWA, U-visa, T-visa, and cancellation cases too. Your licensed psychologist testifies on paper for you in a way you would have a hard time doing alone.

• Asylum / withholding / CAT thresholds: INA 101(a)(42)(A) (well-founded fear, ~10% probability per INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421); INA 241(b)(3) ("more likely than not" for withholding); 8 CFR 1208.16-18 for CAT.
• VAWA confidentiality: 8 U.S.C. § 1367 prohibits disclosure to the abuser. INA 204(a)(1)(A)(iii)/(B)(ii) and INA 204(a)(1)(A)(vii) (battered parents). See our VAWA evidence guide.
• I-601 / I-601A: Cervantes-Gonzalez five factors (22 I&N Dec. 560, BIA 1999); 8 CFR 212.7(e) for I-601A provisional waiver; qualifying relatives limited to U.S. citizen or LPR spouse or parent — children excluded. RFE response window is 30 days for I-601A, 87 days for I-601.
• Cancellation 42A vs 42B: INA 240A(a) (LPR — 5/7/no agg. felony) vs. INA 240A(b)(1) (non-LPR — 10 years, GMC, no disqualifying offenses, exceptional and extremely unusual hardship per Matter of Monreal-Aguinaga, 23 I&N Dec. 56, BIA 2001). Stop-time rule under INA 240A(d)(1) reshaped by Pereira v. Sessions, 138 S. Ct. 2105 (2018) and Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 141 S. Ct. 1474 (2021).
• U-visa / T-visa: 8 CFR 214.14 (U-visa); 22 U.S.C. § 7102 (severe forms of trafficking definition); 8 CFR 214.11(h) (T-visa cooperation exceptions). U-visa cap 10,000 principals/year; ~416,000-petition backlog as of 2026; BFD process averaging ~35 months.
• N-648: 8 CFR 312.2(b)(2) — only MD, DO, or licensed clinical psychologist may sign. PA-2025-10 (USCIS Policy Alert) updated nexus standard. See our N-648 guide.
• Competency: Matter of M-A-M-, 25 I&N Dec. 474 (BIA 2011) procedural standard; Franco-Gonzalez v. Holder (E.D. Cal. 2014) for detained class members in CA, AZ, WA. Filing strategy and instruments (MoCA, MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool) covered on our competency evaluation service page.