Resources Health care and insurance
A doctor's report for an asylum case
How to get a medical or psychological evaluation for an asylum case at the Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights, and how to request your medical records.
QARAVAN writes support letters for community members' cases, but does not issue medical reports or provide legal services. Whether your case needs an evaluation is for your lawyer to decide.
Start here
- The Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights takes requests only from lawyers. Ask your lawyer whether you need a medical or psychological evaluation.
- You must be physically in New York State. From the request to the finished affidavit (the doctor's sworn statement) can take up to four months.
- The exam will be canceled if your lawyer doesn't send the center a draft of your declaration a week before, or doesn't arrange a certified interpreter when one is needed.
1How a lawyer requests an evaluation
A forensic evaluation is an exam after which the doctor writes an affidavit, a sworn statement. Your lawyer adds it to your asylum case. WCCHR takes only asylum cases and only from lawyers, so you need a lawyer first.
Ask your attorney
Let your lawyer decide whether your case needs a medical or psychological evaluation. The center does not take requests from clients directly.
The attorney writes to the center
The lawyer writes to wcchr@med.cornell.edu with the type of evaluation (physical, gynecological or psychological) and the date the affidavit is needed. You must be in New York State, because the doctors' licenses apply only there.
Sign the consent form
Once the center takes the case, your lawyer fills in the Intake and Consent Form with you. Without it, no exam is scheduled.
Agree on a date
Closer to the deadline the center finds an expert doctor; up to two student volunteers may take part. Psychological evaluations are mostly on Zoom; physical and gynecological exams are at Weill Cornell Medicine offices on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. You'll get the address and instructions closer to the date.
Do not miss the preparation deadline
Your lawyer must send the draft declaration at least a week before the exam and arrange a certified interpreter if needed (remote is fine). Otherwise the exam is canceled.
Wait for the affidavit
The doctor sends the affidavit to your lawyer, usually within two weeks of the exam. The whole process takes up to four months, so start early.
Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights (WCCHR)
Asylum applicantsWith a work permit (EAD)
A Weill Cornell Medicine clinic doing forensic evaluations for asylum cases at lawyers' request. Requests by email: wcchr@med.cornell.edu.
2How to get your medical records
Your lawyer may ask for records of your treatment (medical record).
Callen-Lorde, Medical Records
Any status
Fill in the HIPAA records release form and send it to records@callen-lorde.org or hand it in at any front desk. Processing takes 5–7 business days. The first 10 pages are free, then $0.35 a page; records sent to another doctor are free. If the records are for you, put your own details on the form.
NYC Sexual Health Clinics, Medical Records Request
Any status
Download the Authorization for Release of Health Information form (also in Russian), fill it in, sign, date it and mail it. Copy the address exactly, with the code WS 20-41: Attn: Medical Records Request (WS 20-41), 42-09 28th St., 20th Floor, Box 73, Long Island City, NY 11101-4132.
NYC Health Department Chest Centers (tuberculosis clinics)
Any status
Fill in the Authorization for Release of Health Information (also in Russian) and hand it in at the clinic where you were treated, or mail it there to the Center Administrative Manager. You'll get an answer within 14 days.
Patients’ Bill of Rights (New York State hospitals)
Any status
At a New York State hospital you have the right to see your medical record for free and get a copy for a reasonable fee.
Glossary: definitions of special terms and abbreviations
- Forensic evaluation
- An examination by a doctor whose results are used in court or in an immigration case.
- Affidavit
- A written statement under oath; here, the doctor's report after the evaluation.
- Declaration
- Your own written statement about what happened to you, which the attorney prepares with you.
- Certified translator
- A translator who certifies the accuracy of the translation in writing.
- HIPAA
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the federal law on medical privacy. Under it, you sign a release to get records sent.
- Medical record
- A clinic's or hospital's records of your treatment.
This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.