It’s February, and thank goodness we are starting over. The U.S. Military was starting to catch up with us last month. During January, we are glad to be able to report that we were able to help with foreign credential evaluations for 10 members of the armed services. This equals more military education evaluations than we have ever done in a single month to date!

Whether this increase in foreign credential evaluations is a result of the economic problems our country has been having, or the fact that word is just getting out, we are glad to be able to help. In fact, we’ve been experiencing a significant increase in the number of evaluation reports lately. In addition, more and more of our clients, both military and civilian, have been writing us back to let us know the difference our evaluation reports have made in their lives.

It’s nice to know when you’ve been able to make a difference, and we are glad to hear from those who tell us of the difference we have made. The most recent response we received was from one of our clients who was happy to be able to tell us that she had received word that her I-140 had been approved without an RFE or denial. She had a three-year degree, and many clients have come to us after an RFE or denial, requesting our assistance. She chose to use our foreign credential evaluation agency first, however, and was so happy to get through the process without the difficulties her colleagues had experienced that she wanted very much to write and tell us about her approval.

To the U.S. Military: Thank you for making a difference by serving our country!

To our clients: Thank you for letting us make a difference by serving you!

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.

We send out hundreds of foreign credential evaluations to our clients each month, and most of them thank us or send their approval responses, and we send their evaluations for mailing. Occasionally, though, a client writes back, telling us just how the evaluation report has helped him or her. We hear from customers who have obtained job promotions or received admission into a college or university.

Occasionally, we also receive notes from clients telling us just how they feel about our services, and we are glad to print those as well. This following excerpt is from a client who was pleased with our services:

“I just got my four originals of the evaluation and I feel very proud of you. You are

very professional and  you really help people to success. I wish for you and your

company Happy Holidays. Thank you very much for your great help.”

We are glad to receive notes like this from people whose foreign degrees we have evaluated. The only way we know we have been successful in helping is when clients write to us and tell us that we have made a difference.

So if CCI has been able to offer a U.S. equivalency for your foreign education, we’d love to hear from you and know how the educational evaluation has made a difference – personally, professionally, or educationally.

Please share your story with us!

If you received a foreign degree and decided to enter the U.S. for education, employment, or immigration, you will probably need a foreign education evaluation to determine the U.S. equivalency of your degree. Although finding a foreign credential evaluation agency isn’t too difficult, finding a good one can be extremely tough, and knowing exactly what type of educational evaluation you need is important too. Just how easy is it to choose between the different types of evaluations?

In reality, a good agency will be able to tell you upon examining your application whether or not you’ve made the right choice. While certain types of evaluations may be acceptable for work, you may need a more specific type of evaluation, such as a course-by-course evaluation, for university admission. The difference can be even more critical if you are planning to apply for an immigration visa such as an H1-B or I-140 visa.

Most applicants have some idea of what type of evaluation they need. Most reputable agencies, however, know exactly which type of evaluation will work for a specific purpose. For example, some people are unaware that educational degrees cannot be combined when filing for an I-140. Occasionally, clients become frustrated and seek other alternatives when a good agency refuses to provide them with an educational evaluation that will not help them.

In a few instances, clients seek foreign credential evaluations, only to demand the kind of evaluation they believe will be best for them. They don’t understand the details of immigration visa requirements, and are sure that their opinion regarding their educational equivalency is correct. Rather than trust the experts, they would prefer to make their own decisions – even if they waste hundreds of dollars of their own money doing so.

Many people have heard that it is possible to get college credit for life experience, but few actually know how this works. In many countries, a college degree is not always required to enter certain career fields. This week, Career Consulting International received a message from someone we had been working with on a work experience evaluation.

This individual had sat for an accounting examination in a foreign country more than 30 years earlier. After working as an accountant for many years, this person decided to work in the United States, and had done so for many years. Having received no formal foreign degree, this person required proof of having sufficient education to begin employment in a new position.

He consulted this particular foreign credential evaluation agency because we had been able to help a family member of his in the past. After reviewing his documents, we were glad to be able to help. This is how his education and experience worked:

Work experience is usually given a U.S. equivalency of one year of higher education for every three years worked. Thus, after working for 24 years, he had achieved the educational equivalency of a Master Degree in Accounting. This together with his accounting certificate from his country of origin, was enough to be able to issue a degree equivalency and advance his employment prospects with the new firm.

And our credential evaluation service was glad to know we had been able to help.