Medical & Mental Health Evidence

29 I&N Dec. 542 (BIA 2026) · 2026

A respondent's or qualifying relative's lay testimony about a medical or mental health condition will generally be insufficient to establish exceptional and extremely unusual hardship where expert testimony, reports, or medical evidence exist and could reasonably have been produced.

Medical hardship claims must be backed by documentation. Lay testimony about diagnosed conditions is not a substitute for medical records or expert reports when such evidence is obtainable.