If you received a foreign degree and are seeking the U.S. equivalency, you will need a foreign credentials evaluation. These may be relatively inexpensive, or quite costly, depending on the degree of complexity your educational evaluation requires. Document evaluations are typically available for less than $100, while evaluation reports requiring expert opinions may cost over $1,000.

When you are ordering, it’s helpful to know what type of evaluation you need. To determine this, you may discuss with your potential employer whether a document evaluation is sufficient. If you have extensive experience but less formal education than your new boss would like, ask the consulting agency whether you qualify for a work credentials evaluation.

If, however, you are applying for admission to a university, and have already completed some postsecondary education, you will probably need a course by course evaluation. This type of evaluation lists your course work, your grades, the number of semester credit hours you have earned, and your grade point average. Be sure that your credits are reported in terms of semester credit hours if you are interested in college, because this is the way most colleges calculate credits.

If you have questions about what you are ordering, contact the consulting agency before you order. A good foreign credentials evaluation agency will always have a knowledgeable representative available to assist you with ordering the right evaluation. Make sure you know that the evaluation you are ordering meets your requirements, so you know that you can accomplish your goals by having the right evaluation.

If you have a foreign degree and are applying for immigration visas, university admission, or employment in the United States, you will need a foreign academic credentials evaluation. How do you decide which foreign education credentials evaluation agency is the best? Here are a few tips to help you choose an agency that is right for you.

First, don’t be afraid to shop around. Find out what guarantees these agencies will offer. For example, Career Consulting International offers a lowest price guarantee and promises to answer your questions at any time after you have had an educational evaluation completed - even ten years later.

While you are shopping, find out what kind of communication you can expect from the agency. Are you going to wait days or weeks for someone to respond to you? CCI has phone lines that are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer your questions.

Does the agency offer a free evaluation or pre-evaluation of your credits? Do you know what kind of degree equivalency you are going to get before you review your evaluation? CCI doesn’t ask you to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars before you know what you can expect from your evaluation report.

It’s hard to understand why people want to pay more money for poorer service, but you do have the freedom to choose whatever you want. If you don’t want to waste your time or your money, check with the experts at CCI - you won’t be disappointed!

You’ve earned a foreign degree at the Bachelor or graduate level, and want to apply for an immigration visa to the United States. To apply for an employment-based visa, you must prove that your education is the U.S. equivalency required for the labor certificate. How do you know if your degree will hold up to examination?

First, check the UNESCO database at  http://www.unesco.org/iau/onlinedatabases/list.html . If your university is listed here, your degree will probably be recognized as accredited education by the U.S. Department of Education. This is the educational authority recognized as well by USCIS. Some universities, such as some accredited institutions within the United Kingdom, can be located at other websites as well.

Sometimes, a private educational institution or university operating within a particular country will be recognized as accredited education as well. These foreign academic credentials may be issued by a private university or by that country’s department or ministry of education. For example, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is an educational institution established by that country’s statutes and passing those examinations can yield the U.S. equivalency of a degree as well.

Determining whether some foreign diplomas, such as certain postgraduate diplomas offered in some countries, are accredited can be a difficult process. For this reason, many foreign academic credentials evaluation agencies, including Career Consulting International, offers pre-evaluation reports. These can be used to offer students an idea of whether their education can indeed be evaluated as the international equivalency of an accredited degree.

Not all diplomas do meet U.S. requirements for accredited education, and extenuating circumstances apply. For this reason, the USCIS generally requires persons who have obtained their degrees outside the U.S. to have an educational evaluation performed before an employment-based visa is issued. Do your homework, and get your degree evaluated so you will know whether your diploma will make the grade!

Recently, Career Consulting International was asked by a Navy service member to assist with an educational evaluation of his foreign education credentials. His goal is to enter the Navy’s medical service.  This is the fourth evaluation report CCI has completed for military personnel in October.

So far this month, we have equaled the number of foreign degree evaluations we completed for armed services members last month - which was our highest total ever. The word is starting to get out, and I am confident that one day soon, the U.S. Armed Forces will be able to meet Ms. Danzig’s challenge. (If you know anyone who can help them meet that challenge, get the word out!)

To remind you once more, most people who have obtained high school or college educations in other countries usually need their foreign diplomas evaluated to show the U.S. equivalency of their education. These evaluations can be used to help people with employment or educational goals, or even to apply for immigration visas to the United States.

In the armed services, college education can assist with a promotion, while a high school diploma is required for entry. Because these military people have chosen, of their own free will, to help by serving our country, we at CCI try to do our part in helping them by offering free document evaluations to help them get the credit they deserve. So keep spreading the word!

Looks like the word is getting out a bit about Ms. Danzig’s challenge concerning foreign academic credentials evaluations for the U.S. Armed Services. Today we received another inquiry from a recruit who needed a U.S. equivalency evaluation for her foreign diploma from high school.

That brings the total of evaluation reports to three so far this month, and, since we are only 1 day past the middle of the month, I am projecting that the number of foreign degree evaluations will be up from last month (4). If you know of anyone in the U.S. military who needs an educational evaluation, remember that Career Consulting International is offering free document evaluations to anyone who is an active member or who needs a foreign credentials evaluation to qualify for enlistment.

Although most people only require document evaluations, a few people do require more extensive evaluations, such as course by course evaluations. It’s important to check with your recruiting or commanding officer to be certain exactly what type of evaluation you need before ordering, so that we can best help you.

Once again, our hats off to those of you who serve. For those who have come to CCI for help with foreign degree evaluations, our thanks for letting us show our appreciation for your hard work and dedication!

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.

Recently, we had the pleasure of working with a client who had received an RFE for his I-140 aplication. He was told he needed a second foreign education credentials evaluation, and was unsure to whom he should turn for the educational evaluation. His attorneys recommended one firm, but told him that they were uncertain whether the evaluation report for this firm would get his visa application approved.

He chose instead to search online for himself, and to followup discussion threads at several immigration visa forums to which he belongs. The agency he chose was Career Consulting International, and into our hands he trusted the future of his visa application. He decided upon our agency based on the testimonials from other individuals whom we have helped.

Our foreign credentials expert, Professor Kersey, was able to offer a sound approach with which our director, Ms. Danzig, concurred. This approach differed significantly from the advice offered by the client’s attorney, but the attorney recognized the value of Professor Kersey and Ms. Danzig’s expert recommendation. The client wrote to tell us that his application was approved two weeks after submitting the evaluation report to USCIS.

We are currently in the process of putting together case studies of clients with RFEs, previous denials, 3-year degrees, and other challenging cases involving foreign degrees and visa applications. We want to be able to demonstrate how we have been able to help clients in difficult circumstances gain approval for their visa applications. If you have a specific problem or question about visa approvals, please post a comment or contact us so that we can help.

We promised to keep you informed about the U.S. Military’s response to Ms. Danzig’s offer of 50 foreign education credential evaluations each month to members of the United States Armed Forces. We recently had the pleasure of receiving another response from a proud member of this elite service. That brings our September total to 3 so far.

If you don’t happen to be a member of the U.S. military who received a foreign degree or diploma before entering this country or while stationed abroad, remember to share this offer with someone you know who does fit that category. Spread the word so that these brave people can receive the benefits they deserve.

This free evaluation report is for document evaluations. The most recent educational evaluation for a military person was done for a course by course evaluation, which is almost twice as expensive as a document evaluation. Thanks to the patriotism of Sheila Danzig, CCI was able to offer this evaluation at less than half the cost.

Thanks to all of the brave people who serve, and to those at home who do their part as well. To the brave members of the U.S. military, we salute you! If you know anyone who qualifies for this free degree evaluation, don’t forget to spread the word!

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!

We promised to keep you posted on how the U.S. military responded to the challenge issued by Career Consulting International. It must have taken a little while for the word to get out, because we had no responses in August. With that in mind, here is an update on the foreign education evaluations for September.

So far this month, we have been asked to evaluate foreign degrees for two members of the U.S. armed forces. We are hoping to have the privilege of completing an educational evaluation for a third individual this week. Although this does result in a 200 percent increase in our results from last month, we are still far short of our goal.

In early August, Ms. Danzig released a statement to the press offering U.S. equivalency evaluations free of charge to members of the U.S. military. She authorized her company, Career Consulting International, to complete 50 evaluation reports free of charge each month. So far, we are 48 - or perhaps 47 short of meeting her challenge to the American military.

So if you know anyone who received a foreign diploma or degree and is a member of a branch of the United States military, please encourage them to contact CCI for a free evaluation of their educational credentials. Don’t let them miss out on this valuable opportunity because they didn’t hear about it in time. Help us thank them for serving so bravely!