When the economy is good, employers actively recruit professionals from outside the U.S. to fill job vacancies. But what happens when these same companies begin to cut back or downsize? How are persons holding H1-B visas or TN Visas affected by hiring freezes and layoffs?

First, companies are less likely to actively recruit people with foreign degrees from outside the United States, unless they are lack a supply of qualified professionals to fill these positions. The reason for this isn’t descrimination, but conservation. Why spend money hiring persons with foreign credentials if qualified U.S. citizens are clamoring for the same jobs?

Furthermore, hiring people from abroad to fill job vacancies indicates a lack of interest in the welfare of U.S. citizens and the local economy. If American companies are hiring foreign workers, why would American citizens want to buy the products made by these companies?

Sometimes, the right person for the job may not be an American citizen. Many qualified professionals, such as physicians, scientists, or technology experts have been recruited from other countries to perform jobs critical to the operation of American businesses. Increasing economic problems, however, may mean that the foreign academic credentials of these individuals are more carefully scrutinized.

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.