“I have a dream.” That sentiment is shared by most people wanting to immigrate to this country and experience a safe life for themselves and their family, but without foreign degree evaluations, many are unable to make this dream come true. Foreign credential evaluation agencies like Career Consulting International were founded by Americans whose parents or grandparents had arrived in this same country seeking to fulfill this same dream.

The USCIS, which is the part of the United States government that deals with immigration, does recognize that many people wanting to immigrate have foreign degrees, such as high school diplomas or college degrees, from their home countries. Because of the wide variations in education, though, the agency has to ensure that these degrees are the U.S. equivalencies of high school graduation, Bachelor degrees, etc. For this reason, people wanting to obtain immigration visas to the U.S. usually need a foreign degree evaluation to demonstrate their educational equivalencies.

One of the problems with this requirement is that foreign credential evaluations are expensive. A document evaluation is the least expensive, but these can cost up to $100. Other foreign degree evaluations, such as expert opinions, can cost hundreds more. Many of the people who want to come to the United States hardly have enough money to make the trip, find a place to live and food to eat, and all of these things are much more immediately important than having their degrees evaluated.

These people all have a dream, and their dreams are similar to those of our fathers or grandfathers or great-grandmothers. They dream of a better future in a safe land, and the directors of CCI are working to help them make that dream come true, guaranteeing the best possible price for foreign degree evaluations. Are you ready to make your dream come true?

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!

The holidays are only a week away, and relatives will be celebrating Chanukah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa with their families. We buy presents and wrap them, or send gift cards for their use. What about an alternative gift that they can really use?

An ancient Chinese proverb states: Give a man a fish, and he can eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime. Giving your family and friends money or gifts is an excellent way to show you care, but how about giving them a very unique gift instead – the opportunity for a better job?

Many people with foreign degrees work in low-paying jobs in the United States. Persons with a Bachelor Degree or higher may be working in minimum-wage jobs because they haven’t started the process for obtaining the U.S. equivalency of their educational credentials through a foreign degree evaluation. Your assistance may be exactly what these persons need in order to get established in a good job or career.

If you need more information about helping someone get a foreign credential evaluation, visit www.thedegreepeople.com. The experts at Career Consulting International are committed to helping you, your family member, or your friend, get the most from their university education. Learn more about the requirements for educational evaluations today.

For many of us who attended high school in the United States, it is hard to imagine our diplomas not being recognized. For prospective college students or immigrants from other countries, however, having foreign credentials such as high school diplomas from other countries can be a hardship, and may even delay or jeopardize their immigration visas. For these students, a foreign degree evaluation is required to assess whether their foreign degrees can be demonstrated as a US equivalency to a high school diploma.

For example, some countries distinguish between pre-university diplomas and vocational diplomas. Students with vocational diplomas cannot be shown to have a U.S. equivalency to a high school diploma from an accredited secondary institution in the United States. Because these diplomas are not equal, a foreign credential evaluation cannot offer evidence that a student is eligible to attend university in the U.S. based on their foreign degrees.

Many students, however, do have the international equivalency of a U.S. high school diploma, but have trouble proving this academic equivalency. Foreign credential evaluation agencies can be very helpful if they have a detailed understanding of the level of education experienced by foreign students. Without a complete understanding of these international equivalencies, however, the agency can do more harm than good.

The professionals at CCI work hard to remain up-to-date on the latest information concerning USCIS requirements and international education assessments. We have been able to help a number of prospective university students who otherwise would have been unable to attend college in the United States. Our focus is to help you be the best you can be – just let us help!