If you’ve ever visited a foreign country, you know that finding your way around is challenging at first, even if you know the language. Imagine, however, that you leave your country with a solid education and job experience, and emigrate to a new country hoping to find freedom, opportunity, or peace. You don’t know the language, and you know only a few people there.

Many people who enter the United States from other countries have completed high school diplomas or foreign degrees. Not all educational systems are the same, however, and determining the U.S. equivalency of these foreign degrees often requires a foreign degree evaluation. This is sometimes true even for high school graduates.

Often, employers require the assistance of professional foreign credential evaluation agencies to determine whether an applicant’s foreign credentials are indeed equivalent. Many students with 3-year degrees, such as those who graduated from universities in India and some European countries, have had more classroom hours and more intensive education than students from the U.S.

Despite this, however, many educators and immigration experts continue to focus on the “time served” rather than the intensity of the education during the time in which it was obtained. Hence, establishing equivalency for these degrees can sometimes be difficult, although not impossible. Career Consulting International has been fortunate to have an unparalleled level of success in evaluating these 3-year degrees as equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor Degree.

Helping people obtain foreign degree evaluations is often a crucial step to getting a job or advancing their education so that they can succeed and take advantage of the opportunities available in this country. If you know someone who graduated from a university or high school in another country, direct them toward a foreign credentials evaluation agency that can help make this dream come true. Let CCI help!

Last week, one of our clients wrote to us, requesting urgent assistance in evaluating his foreign academic credentials. Though he had held his job for some time, recent economical problems were resulting in cutbacks at his place of employment. He required an evaluation of his foreign degree in order to remain employed.

This person’s problem is not at all unusual in these recent months. People are returning to work after spouses have been laid off, or are working to keep jobs they already hold. Current or prospective employers are requesting or requiring evaluation reports that demonstrate that these persons hold degrees that are the U.S. equivalency of a Bachelor or Master Degree.

If you’re worried about keeping your job, or are seeking a work or immigration visa to the United States, learn more about what type of education evaluation you need. Be aware, though, that some degrees are easier to evaluate than others. People who received their foreign education credentials from countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union or the Eastern Bloc often find it easier to demonstrate that their academic credentials are equal to a US degree because of the enormous number of lecture and classroom hours required (sometimes more than 5,000 to 10,000.)

Although people who attended school in India or many European countries also have a great number of lecture and classroom hours, these degrees are completed in three years. The USCIS often requires greater documentation that these 3-year degrees are the U.S. equivalency of a Bachelor Degree, and so these evaluation reports can be more expensive.

What kind of evaluation do you need? That depends on many factors. Let The Degree People review your credentials, and help you select the type of report that will best help you. Take advantage of the extensive experience and expertise of top evaluators Sheila Danzig and Professor John Kersey. Don’t lose your job or get your employment visa denied tomorrow because you didn’t know what you needed today!

Last year, the USCIS warned that it was tightening requirements for approvals for employment and immigration visas. Consequently, 3-Year Degrees are undergoing more intense scrutiny than ever before. Many clients with 3-Year degrees from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have reported RFEs and even denials of their employment visas.

As a result, Career Consulting International has made a conscious effort to specialize in providing detailed foreign credentials evaluations to these clients. It’s not always easy to measure success, because the agency often hears from only those who receive RFEs or denials. On rare occasions, we do hear from clients with denials, and stand by our guarantee to advise them regarding the appeals process.

This week, however, we received another note from a client that his I-140 visa had been approved. He had a Bachelor Degree and a Master Degree from India, and we were able to demonstrate that his foreign degree was the U.S. equivalency of a Master Degree. We’re grateful for his input, because it tells us that our process for these educational evaluations is effective.

Have you had an evaluation report from CCI that resulted in a work or immigration visa being approved? Let us know how we’re doing, so that we can make the process easier and better for our clients. Share your story with our readers today - we won’t use your name unless you tell us it is ok.

Sometimes, the process of applying for I-140s or other immigration visas can be frustrating for attorneys, clients, and foreign education credential evaluation agencies. This is particularly true with 3-Year Degrees, which are not always accepted by the USCIS as the U.S. equivalency of a Bachelor Degree. Despite everyone’s best efforts, people with foreign degrees are often denied these visas, because immigration officials argue that these degrees just aren’t equivalent.

This occurs more frequently with 3-Year Degrees from India or Bangladesh than from European countries. This occurs despite evaluators’ bests efforts to show the extensive numbers of contact hours and course work which the client has completed. In these situations, is it ever worth the client’s time and money to appeal a denial?

The answer may surprise you. In fact, denials are sometimes overturned on appeals. This may be because of additional evidence presented, or because the appeals arbitrators have a different perspective on the results of the educational evaluation. In many cases, however, the appeals process does have a positive outcome.

The downside of appealing denials for immigration visas is that it can be expensive. Many clients have spent considerable money on foreign academic credentials evaluations, as well as attorney fees. It may or may not be worthwhile to appeal a denial. Only the client - and his or her attorney - can really decide this. Hopefully, their decision is also based on advise from a professional consulting firm who is experienced in appealing visa denials based on these evaluations.

Usually, most people in the United States think of immigrant visas as “green cards,” documents that allow people from foreign countries to remain in the United States and work. Another very different type of visa, however, is granted to workers who desire to work in the U.S. for a time, but have expressed no desire to actually immigrate. Approximately 85,000 of these visas, known as H1-B visas, were issued to foreign citizens in 2008.

Professionals who hold these visas work in specialty occupations and have the U.S. equivalency of at least a bachelor degree in at least one specified discipline, such as science, the arts, theology, health or education. Several other specialty fields are included in this classification. For a complete list, consult the USCIS website.

In order to demonstrate that their foreign degrees or diplomas are equal to a U.S. degree, most workers are required to obtain an equivalency evaluation from a foreign credentials evaluation agency, such as Career Consulting International. This is particularly true for individuals from countries such as India, Pakistan, and some European Countries who hold 3-year degrees. These credential evaluations are also used for other purposes such as education and immigration, in the event that a person desires to apply for permanent resident status.

Generally, people who hold H1-B visas are allowed to remain in this country for three years after obtaining the visa. These visas can be renewed one time, and allow a person to remain in the U.S. as a temporary worker for up to six years total. Individuals interested in staying longer or becoming permanent residents should consider applying for I-140 status instead.