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.

Work and immigration visa requirements for the United States can be very complicated, and many people often find themselves being denied simply because they don’t clearly understand the USCIS requirements for these documents. Read this short survey to test your knowledge about American visas and the necessary paperwork for H1-B visas.

First, for those who are unfamiliar with the H1-B classification, it is a work visa designed for short-term employment of people who are being employed in a specialty occupation. This includes persons with advanced degrees or job classifications that are in high demand. Remember, however, that the USCIS requires a foreign academic credentials evaluation to ensure that persons applying for H1-B are eligible based on the U.S. equivalency of their foreign degree or diploma.

What job occupations are considered specialty occupations?  Persons whose foreign credentials demonstrate professional credentials in medicine, science, engineering, architecture, theology, or the arts may qualify for H1-B visas.

How does a person from another country get an H1-B visa?  First, an American employer has to petition the USCIS to permit the employment of a foreign citizen. Then, the employer must show, through a foreign credentials evaluations, that the candidate’s education is the U.S. equivalency of the desired credentials.

What employment rules affect H1-B visa holders?  First, people with these work visas must be continually employed in the capacity for which they were hired. This does not include medical leave or maternity leave. In addition, people with these visas must obtain educational evaluations each time their visa is renewed. Finally, they must follow special procedures in order to change employers.

If you are a person with a foreign degree who wishes to work in the U.S., the first step in the visa application is to obtain an evaluation report for your foreign degree or diploma. You must clearly demonstrate that your credentials are equivalent to a U.S. degree. Therefore, before you discuss employment with a potential employer, get your foreign credentials evaluated.

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!

If you are considering having foreign education credentials evaluated for U.S. equivalency, you may wonder how many credits you are likely to get for each subject. Is there any consistent way to determine this? Do evaluation agencies simply assign a random number of credits to a course?

Although the process may at first seem impossible to figure out or understand, Career Consulting International uses a strictly defined formula to determine how many credits each class is worth. If the number of semester credit hours received by the foreign degree student is listed on the transcript, this number is often used. Many universities in other countries, however, require students to have fewer or greater numbers of contact hours to gain a semester hour of credit, so this must also be factored in.

Some countries, such as those that were once part of the former Soviet Union, require an extremely high number of hours for their courses. Some classes require more than 300 contact hours! In this case, the international equivalency is determined by converting these contact hours to credit hours.

The process of foreign academic credentials evaluations isn’t arbitary, but it can be time-consuming and complicated. Evaluation agencies such as Career Consulting International, however, are committed to offering their applicants the best service possible, and are usually willing to explain how the degree equivalency was reached. If you have questions about your evaluation report, discuss them with the person who completed the evaluation; it is their goal and service to help you.

I promised to keep you updated, and the word is starting to get out, but I don’t think the U.S. Military is going to meet Ms. Danzig’s challenge. Not this month, anyway. They are making headway, but they are going to have to keep working at it.

This weekend we were able to do another foreign education credentials evaluations for a young man entering military service. He had received a foreign high school diploma, and wanted to join the U.S. Armed Services. Our evaluation report was issued as quickly as possible, and the young man was able to present it to his recruiter for enlistment.

In September, four soldiers have requested educational evaluations from us for the purposes of serving their country or in advancing their career after their service. Document evaluations are free of charge, and for the most part, serve to prove high school completion or the U.S. equivalency of a foreign degree, including a Bachelor Degree or Master Degree.

We promised to try to help serve 50 soldiers each month, and we have been able to help all who have come to us for this service. We are still looking for more. Can you help us find more young men and women serving their country who need to have a foreign degree evaluated?

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!

Recently, we had the pleasure of hearing from a very satisfied customer that his immigrant visa had been approved. We were glad to hear about this, and glad that he had contacted us to share the good news.

Our client had applied for and received EB-2 approval with a 3-year degree and 2-year postgraduate degree. CCI has been fortunate to have considerable success in approval rates for these educational evaluations. While USCIS has made approval of 3-Year Degrees from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh much more challenging, we have been able to supply sufficient documentation to show that these degrees are in fact the international equivalency of a U.S. Bachelor Degree.

Through our foreign education credential evaluations process, we are able to determine quickly whether a person’s foreign degree is equivalent to accredited education within the United States. Often, clients submit their documents to us for a low-cost pre-evaluation, which helps us to determine what type of evaluation and/or expert opinion will best meet that person’s needs. Our goal is to provide the timeliest, most economical, most effective evaluation report possible for each client.

If your evaluation has helped you gain approval for a visa, for university admission, or for employment, we would love to hear from you. Just register and post on our guest blog, or contact us and share your success story. We won’t use your name or any identifying information unless you specifically approve it. Share your feedback and make your voice heard.

If you completed your education in a different country, showing that your degree is the U.S. equivalency of a degree earned in the United States may be very simple or quite challenging, depending on many factors. Some of these factors include the number of years you attended school, and the country in which you obtained your foreign diploma. The university you attended also may play a significant role in whether your degree is recognized in the United States.

Another important consideration in having your foreign credentials evaluated is the purpose for which they will be used. For example, equivalency evaluations that are performed for employment purposes can often be completed with more flexibility than evaluations that are performed for immigration visas or university admission. Likewise, people seeking H1-B visas do not have evaluation requirements as strict as those who are seeking I-140 visas. 

Sometimes, a great deal of evidence or expertise is required to show that certain foreign credentials are equivalent to U.S. degrees. These evaluation reports may be expensive, and sometimes prospective immigrants question whether the evaluation is worth the expense. If the evaluation is provided by a reputable agency, however, it is almost always well worth the cost.

The only way to determine whether your education is equivalent to a U.S. degree is to have an educational evaluation performed by a foreign credentials evaluation agency. Often, these consultants can quickly inform you, after performing a brief pre-evaluation, whether your foreign education credentials will be recognized in the United States. Although the evaluators who perform complete these evaluation reports, no evaluation can be 100% guaranteed to be successful.