We just received notice that another client who had applied for an I-140 Visa has been approved. Great news and we enjoy sharing the good news with each other and all our readers! This person had a particularly difficult situation, and was applying for an EB3 visa.

Sometimes, people just give up hope after receiving an RFE or denial, especially for a three-year degree, and think they have nowhere else to turn. CCI offers these persons free pre-evaluations to determine whether they can help provide the evidence required by USCIS. If the expert evaluators and professors don’t believe they can offer a successful outcome, they are upfront and honest about that.

The majority of time, though, the experts can provide the necessary evidence. More than 95 percent of the time, they are successful. Once clients have received an RFE or denial, though, it’s an uphill process. The best outcomes occur when clients come to CCI first.

If you do turn to the experts at CCI for assistance, be sure to follow all instructions carefully. If you don’t include all the evidence that you’re given, you risk having your petition denied. Don’t save evidence for later – it won’t help.

If you want help having your immigration visa approved, you’ve come to the right place. If you have the necessary academic credentials, the experts at CCI can help show that your foreign credentials are the educational equivalent of the U.S. degree required on your labor certificate.

This week, we were very pleased to hear from another client who had received approval for his I-140 visa. It’s always wonderful to hear good news from people we have been able to help, and to offer help for someone else who has received an RFE or Denial. This person had received an RFE based on EDGE, so this approval was especially good news, and may offer hope to many.

This person had obtained a three-year degree from India, and the USCIS required additional evidence that his degree was equivalent to a US Bachelor Degree. Using all of the documentation and research accumulated by Dr. Sheila Danzig and Professor John Kersey, we were able to show satisfactorily that this degree was indeed the educational equivalent of a US Bachelor Degree.

This can be a difficult process, because universities in India do not document semester credit hours in the same manner as the US. However, when clients are able to obtain the actual number of credit hours from the university, they are usually able to satisfactorily demonstrate that they have at least as many contact hours as those required for a US Bachelor Degree.

We are always very glad to hear from our clients when we have been successful in demosntrating their academic credentials to be equivalent for immigration purposes. We also are glad to be able to share general details about these cases in the hopes that they may help a potential or future client. If you’ve received good news about your RFE or denial, contact us and let us know. We won’t use your name or particular details unless you give us permission to do so. We will honor your privacy. Just let us share the good news and hope with other people who are experiencing the same difficulties you have!

Often, people applying for foreign credential evaluations for their Bachelor or Master Degrees don’t stop to realize that there is a big difference between A and O. Advanced and Ordinary Level secondary exams, that is. In fact, in many countries, Advanced Level exams are equal to an extra year of college education.

Countries such as Norway, the United Kingdom, Spain, Ghana, France, Sri Lanka, and many others offer students ordinary level exams, which is equivalent to US high school graduation. These countries, however, also offer A Level exams, which is equivalent to one year of undergraduate education. Because of this, their three-year Bachelor Degrees can easily be shown to be the US equivalency of a Bachelor Degree, for both education and H1B visa purposes.

Other countries, however, including those in West Africa (including Nigeria, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone) offer both ordinary and advanced level exams. For many of these students, however, the completion of A level exams is equivalent only to graduation from high school – not an undergraduate year of college.

Some people don’t realize the difference, but many other people automatically assume that the credential evaluation service will take these differences into account without having proof of the completion of these exams. This isn’t the case, however. Unless applicants send these exam results, they won’t get credit for this education.

So if you’re ready to apply for an academic credentials evaluation, and your high school education was in a foreign country, send your high school diploma, as well as your ordinary and advanced level exam results. This will save a lot of confusion, and help you get the highest educational equivalency that your academic credentials deserve. Don’t sell your education short – help the evaluators by sending all of your educational documents.

If you earned academic credentials in another country, you will probably have to have your degree evaluated before getting an education or finding a job in the United States. Several reputable credentials evaluation services, including Career Consulting International, are available. The prices, as well as the service times, of these agencies vary, so check with them before ordering.

Even before you have your evaluation in hand, you can start looking for a job or considering attending a university, if you have some idea of what your degree is equivalent to. Not all Bachelor Degrees are equal to U.S. Degrees. For example, a Bachelor Degree from Pakistan is almost always equal to a U.S. Associate Degree.

Some countries don’t use the word “Bachelor” to describe an undergraduate degree. A common example is the “Licence” used by many Latin-American countries. Although the degree is designated a “Licence” by the univesrity, it is the degree equivalency of a Bachelor Degree in the United States.

Many European countries complete the Bachelor Degree in three years, because students attend elementary and secondary school for a total of 13 years. These Bachelor Degrees are almost always considered equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor Degree for education and employment purposes. Occasionally, the USCIS requires additional documentation that these European degrees are equal, so persons wanting to immigrate and find jobs based on these degrees may need an expert opinion letter to support their academic evaluations.

If one system of education existed throughout the world, foreign credential evaluations wouldn’t be necessary. Europe has worked to accomplish just this with the Bologna Accord, but only about 15 countries participate in this degree-granting system. Until all educational systems adopt a single degree-granting system, students and employees will need education evaluations to have their foreign education properly evaluated.

Every month, Career Consulting International offers free foreign credential evaluations to the first 50 members of the US Armed Forces who apply. So far this year, though, the US military has yet to meet this monthly challenge.

Many people seek careers in the military, hoping for opportunities to advance their careers and earn a good living. Many of these people are immigrants, or the sons and daughters of immigrants. They have earned foreign degrees or high school diplomas in the countries of their birth, before emigrating to the U.S.

Most of the time, employers or educators want to confirm that these academic credentials are the U.S. equivalent of the degree or diploma these individuals earned in their previous country. To determine this, foreign credential evaluation agencies such as Career Consulting International complete educational evaluations to establish equivalency.

Sometimes these foreign education evaluations can be very expensive. The cost ranges from $70 to over $1,000. Most of the time, however, employment education evaluations can be completed with a simple document evaluation.

CCI’s Executive Director, Sheila Danzig, and her staff, have great respect for those who choose to serve their country by enlisting or applying to join the U.S. Military. To help make this possible, Ms. Danzig offers free foreign credential evaluations to the first 50 military persons who apply each month.

These evaluations are accepted by all major branches of the U.S. Military, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Each month, we receive a variety of requests from recruiters and soldiers across the country enlisting our assistance, and we are proud to be able to help.

So far this month, we have had requests from three military servicepersons for educational evaluations. We have room for 47 more, so call today to find out how to reserve your slot and get your free foreign credential evaluation!

Every time I open a paper or browse the Internet, the economic crisis stares me in the face. It’s impossible to avoid. Businesses filing bankruptcy, foreclosures in the neighborhood, and continuous updates about how the American economy is negatively impacting the world’s economic markets. Taking these factors into consideration, it may be difficult to see how employment-based and immigration visas could positively affect the American housing market.

In reality, though, the people who enter the U.S. with EB visas have foreign degrees that are the U.S. equivalency of Bachelor or Master Degrees. They are well-educated, have excellent incomes, and possess good credit histories. Those workers holding EB visas who want to remain in the US have applied for permanent residency, and most have been in the country for at least five years, allowing them ample time to become familiar with the American culture and lifestyle.

These people aren’t taking American jobs, either. They hold foreign education credentials required to fill jobs in U.S. businesses that are not currently being filled or cannot be filled by American workers. These academic credentials are carefully documented through foreign credential evaluations performed by reputable evaluation agencies within the United States.

This only makes sense. Encouraging foreign workers who want to remain in the United States to buy a home allows them contributed to the American economy while living in the U.S. This also provides educated, financially responsible people who want to purchase homes and settle in family-centered neighborhoods in the United States. No Americans are losing their jobs as a result, these upstanding individuals are already in the U.S. working, and applying to stay here permanently.

Hopefully, the USCIS and American financial institutions can also see the good sense in this kind of a win-win arrangement. Everyone benefits, no one loses, and perhaps we can find a way to impact the world economy in a positive way!

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!

Recently, Career Consulting International was very pleased to receive feedback from a new customer: “Thank you so much for helping me obtain my educational evaluation in such a short period of time. I will be referring you to my friends as well.” We were pleased to be able to help this person with an evaluation report that offered the U.S. equivalency for their foreign degree.

We enjoy helping people, and we all enjoy reading the letters and comments from students and individuals who desire to obtain immigrant visas. Knowing that we have been able to help people achieve their goals and dreams is rewarding to all of us. So please, don’t hesitate to share your story.

If you or someone you know has been helped by TheDegreePeople through a foreign credential evaluation, write and let us know. We are always working to improve our process as well, so any suggestions for making the process easier for future customers are welcome as well.

Please stop by the guest blog and offer your input. Is there anything else that we can do to make the evaluation of your academic credentials any easier? Stop by and help us help you even more effectively!