If confirmed, Janet Napolitano’s nomination as Director of Homeland Security is likely to have a significant impact on the H1B visa process and  possibly even be a significant factor in increasing the cap on these employment visas. Of course, in order to get confirmed, she will have to face committee chairman Joseph Lieberman, her sometime ally. Although she could not singlehandledly raise the visa cap, she is likely to be very influential in making some major changes to the H1B program.

One challenge that Napolitano will inherit if she is confirmed is the current problems inherit in the system. A recent examination of a small percentage of approved applications revealed that aspects of more than 20 percent of H1B visa applications were in violation of federal laws and regulations. Examples of these included fraudulent foreign degree evaluations (some applicants submitted degrees from fake universities), signature forgeries, and applications from nonexistent companies.

Ms. Napolitano has been a strong advocate of increasing the H1B Visa cap. Her stance on welcoming the technological skills of persons with foreign degrees offers great potential benefit for U.S. companies and businesses. It remains to be seen, however, what kind of approach she intends to take to minimize fraudulent or erroneous foreign credential evaluations.

This could be done by making the foreign credential evaluation agencies responsible by penalizing them for evaluation reports that offer U.S. equivalencies for fake degrees. Agencies like Career Consulting International and Wes maintain high standards for corroborating degree equivalencies, and should have nothing to fear from this type of approach. Financially penalizing agencies that, knowingly or unknowingly, engage in this behavior should help to significantly reduce the incidence of failing to verify that a foreign country’s university education is indeed equivalent to that of an accredited U.S. university.

President-Elect Barack Obama’s governmental appointments will most likely have a major impact on immigration visas and foreign workers in the United States. The degree to which things will change remains to be seen. Hopefully, some of these abuses will be corrected, and the cap will be increased, so that America can regain her place as technological leader and innovator within world markets. The current U.S. economy sure could use that boost!

If you have a foreign degree or diploma, you will probably have to get a foreign credential evaluation just to get a job or enter a university. And if you are interested in immigration visas such as I-140 visas or H1-Bs, you definitely will have to have your foreign academic credentials evaluated.

So how do you know where to go or whom to trust? One of the many places to look for a good foreign credentials evaluation agency is an immigration forum, or an immigration attorney. Once you’ve found an agency that looks promising, how do you know what to look for?

Career Consulting International offers clients a number of helpful services, including a lowest-price guarantee, free consultation by telephone 24 hours a day, and a promise to answer evaluation questions at any point in time after the evaluation has been issued.

Our company specializes in denials and RFEs. Many clients come to our agency after having had difficult experiences with other evaluation agencies. They have valid foreign credentials that are unusual or unfamiliar to these agencies. As a result, the evaluations do not meet the standards specified by USCIS.

If you have questions about whether your education credentials meet the standards specified by your labor certificate, don’t hesitate to contact CCI. Our expert advisors are here and ready to help you. Let us give you the experienced advice you need – and deserve – today!

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!

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.

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.

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!

Recently, we had the pleasure of receiving information from a client that his foreign academic credentials evaluation had been accepted by his employer. He proudly informed us that he was wearing his new title.

It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to attend school for four or six years and be successful in one’s home country, only to immigrate to another country and lose that immediate acceptance of one’s foreign degree. Yet, that is exactly what happens for many people who arrive here as a result of immigration visas. They cannot get a job using their skills and knowledge until after their foreign credentials have been evaluated.

Career Consulting International is very glad to be able to help hardworking, educated people who have foreign degrees obtain an accurate evaluation report of the U.S. equivalency of their degrees. Everyone deserves an equal opportunity for success in their careers!

In these hard economic times, a raise or a promotion never hurts. We were glad to know that we had been able to help this person prove that he did have the equivalent of a Master Degree, so that he was able to have the academic and job recognition he deserved.

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.

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.