We just received word from an attorney with whom we work that another of our clients’ I140 visas had been approved as a result of the foreign credentials evaluation through CCI. We were very glad to hear that this client’s evaluation had been accepted after the RFE had been issued.

The client holds a three-year degree from India, as well as  a Master Degree. The requirement was a minimum Bachelor Degree, but combining degrees is not permitted for I-140 visas. To help this person, Director Sheila Danzig and consultant Professor John Kersey worked to show that the client’s 3-year degree was the U.S. equivalency of a Bachelor Degree.

The process is complicated, and involves an extensive amount of research sometimes, so it can be expensive, often nearly $1200. This often involves extensive consultations with attorneys, research, and access to our evidence archives so that attorneys can reference little-known information in their briefs.

Of course, not every 3-year degree can be shown as the educational equivalency of a US Bachelor Degree. So we encourage all clients, especially those who have received RFEs or denials, to submit their information for a pre-evaluation so that we can offer them an accurate estimate of whether we will be able to help. Our success rates with these complicated cases is very high, and there is a lot of work involved sometimes. So there is a lot of cheering and celebration when we receive word from another of our clients that they have been approved!

Sometimes, it’s hard to establish an educational equivalency between a foreign degree and a U.S. Bachelor Degree. Many countries in Europe, as well as in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and many South American Countries, offer 3-year Bachelor Degrees. Some, although not all, of these degrees are considered the international equivalency of a U.S. Bachelor Degree.

Sometimes, as in the case of many European universities, students attend a 13th year of high school, which is as advanced as the first year of an undergradute university degree program in the United States. One example of this is a recent evaluation for a client with a five-year Master Degree from Italy. He  offered kind words of praise regarding the agency’s speed, efficiency, and courtesy. We were very glad to be able to help him with the document evaluation he required for educational purposes.

We recently received another response from a client who wrote to thank us for our work:

“I’m so glad I chose the right people to do it! You guys saved me a lot of money, now can I get right into my masters! You did a wonderful  job! I was looking for an agency to do my evaluation for quite some time I called and researched about probably most of the agencies in the country, and I found the Degree People the most professional one.Thank you for such great work!”

We appreciate the kind words of feedback from all our clients, and look forward to hearing how we can help you with your evaluation needs.

Two days ago, I had the pleasure of receiving a short note of thanks from a client whose educational evaluation we had completed. He expressed his approval of our evaluation report, stating:

“Thanks a lot for sending my evaluation report. I am grateful for the timely response to my request and cooperation that will help me find a reasonable job. Next week my son will be sending his foreign academic credentials for evaluation, which he requires for educatoin and employment.

Again I appreciate you and your colleagues’ efforts. Thank you and warm regards for a Merry Christmas and New Year.”

It’s always good to hear that a client has been successful or received the promotion or immigration visa for which they were applying, but we all appreciated hearing the kind and encouraging words from this client. We were pleased to be able to help him establish solid U.S. equivalencies for his extensive education.

Establishing equivalencies for foreign degrees isn’t always an easy or an exact process, because of the differing number of years of education required between countries, as well as the different majors awarded by the universities of these nations. We continue to do our best, though, to help each client gain the educational recognition and credentials they deserve.

Recently, we were able to help a client who had a foreign degree and extensive work experience. Through documentation from her employers, we were able to combine her education and work experience equivalencies to show that her foreign education credentials were the U.S. equivalency of the degree she needed for employment.

We were glad to hear from her and know that she had been able to secure employment based on the educational evaluation she had received. Sometimes, combining work and education can be tricky, and if it is not done right, employers and USCIS will reject the evaluation report outright. Thanks to our academic expert, we were able to meet your client’s needs and accurately document her credentials at the same time.

If you have had a foreign credentials evaluation through Career Consulting International, we invite you to write and share your story. Because we specialize in difficult evaluations and RFEs, we especially appreciate hearing the success stories. We don’t want to miss sharing a little of your joy!