In 2007, AILA released some disturbing news that warned immigration attorneys and foreign degree evaluation agency that all three-year degrees were at risk for denial for I-140 visa applications. As a result, Career Consulting International (CCI) has worked hard to uncover evidence and demonstrate that three-year bachelor degrees are the U.S. equivalency of a Bachelor Degree. For this reason, the agency receives numerous inquiries from attorneys, businesses, and persons with 3-year degrees about answering RFEs and denial notices. Most of the time, our clients are happy to update us about their outcomes. We recently received this update from one of our clients:

Hi All ,
Today I got my I140 approval from TSC [Texas Service Center] after responding to RFE on 3 year degree. I discussed the issue before applying for I140 with my attorney by reading the experiences from many others. [My attorney] said he would send for an evaluation if I got an RFE. Then, I did get an RFE saying my 3 year degree is not equal to US BS degree. So I contacted Sheila Danzig for my evaluation. She answered my email questions. I paid the money and sent all docs required.

Luckily, I spoke to Sheila on the day before my RFE deadline. I spoke to her in the middle of the night and she is so good. She sent my evaluation docs next day by express courier. I am not a person who works for Sheila; this is my experience with my I140 RFE and Sheila. I want to tell you all that, when I spoke to Sheila she said the possibility of success is above 90% (at that time in TSC).

Though Sheila’s Evaluation is expensive I have chosen her agency because I do not see any others who have communicated to us for several years on this issue. After I searched all the [immigration] forums I firmly decided to go with Sheila. By God’s grace my case is approved today. I am writing today for the benefit of people whose cases can be like mine

My EB2 was rejected initially. I received my education at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.  My associateship in the Institute was considered by the Indian government to be the equivalent of a Master Degree in Accounting. Therefore, I filed for an EB2 visa that required a Master Degree on the labor certificate.

When my application was denied, my attorney insisted on having my evaluation completed by Sheila Danzig. I did not know who she was, but my attorney stated she was my best chance. My attorney was correct.

Using an expert opinion letter and a document evaluation, Ms. Danzig’s agency was able to demonstrate that my associateship was equal to a U.S. Master of Science Degree in Accounting. The motion to reopen (MTR) filed by my attorney was approved as a result of the foreign degree evaluation completed by Ms. Danzig and the professionals at Career Consulting International.

No, this isn’t a gimmick. It’s a true story from one of our clients who shared his story on one of the immigration visa chat boards a few months ago. Here is the story in his own words (his name has been removed, as we always protect our clients’ privacy):

Guys,

I want to share good news, finally I got a magic email from USCIS that my I-140 is approved at TSC service center. Here are my details:

My first I 140 filed from NSC using substitute labor was denied in Jan’03. Reason: Education Evaluation. [I was] denied from AAO after one year. Recently my original labor was approved from backlog center, this time I did my evaluation from Sheila Danzig, she did excellent job, she actually evaluated my 3 years of Polytechnic(Met Engg) equivalent to US BS, total credits 122.5. Ms. Danzig also produced an expert opinion, evaluating my AMIIM( Associate Member of Indian Institute of metals) equivalent to Master in Met engg. With that my attorney applied [for the] I-140 at TSC on 31st March and today I got the email from USCIS for approval. Actually I must thank to United Nations, who advised me to get my evaluation done thru Sheila. Guys this is not an advertisement for Sheila or United Nation but its true success story.

Recently, a client came to us with a 3-Year Bachelor of Arts Degree in Corporate Secretaryship. He had applied for an EB-3 visa, and required an expert opinion that his degree was in fact the functional equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor Degree in Computer Science.

Using only the expert opinion of Professor John Kersey, whose evaluations have regularly been approved by the USCIS, we were able to help the client demonstrate that his degree was in fact functionally the same as its U.S. equivalency in Computer Science. This client was directed to us by an experienced immigration attorney who had previously worked successfully with Career Consulting International.

Due to the unique nature of every case, CCI cannot guarantee that every outcome will be successful. We do know, however, that we regularly receive reports like this from our clients that their work or immigration visas have been approved, or that RFEs and Denials have been successfully answered. Because we specialize in the toughest cases, we are glad to know when our efforts achieve results. If you have a similar story to share, contact us today!

The professionals at Career Consulting International have received a number of requests for educational evaluations from people who have ordered evaluation reports from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) and received RFEs. These clients have applied to us indicating that a foreign credentials evaluation of their 3-year degrees had resulted in RFEs and denials.

Ms. Sheila Danzig, and academic expert, Professor John Kersey, have developed an approach for evaluating 3-year degrees that has been very successful with USCIS authorities. Because of this effective method, many people who have experienced RFEs or denials of immigration visas because of their three-year degrees have been able to successfully appeal these decisions.

Ms. Danzig and Professor Kersey have compiled more than 400 pages of evidence supporting the equality of the 3-year degree for employment-based and immigration visas for people holding foreign credentials.  If you’ve had enough difficulties with problematic foreign credentials evaluations from other agencies, get a low-cost pre-evaluation from the experts at TheDegreePeople today!

Recently, our clients here at Career Consulting International have been consistently writing us that they are having a great deal of success with our foreign credentials evaluations. Lately, we’ve had several clients write and let us know that their I-140 visas have been approved as a result of our evaluation reports.

Our most recent success story was a client with a 3-Year Indian degree in Business and a Master Degree in Business Management. We were able to offer an expert opinion that his degrees were the U.S. equivalency of a Master Degree as demanded for his labor requirement.

We did this through equating each of his foreign degrees to its U.S. equivalency. We showed that his foreign diploma for high school was equal to an accredited U.S. high school diploma, and that his Bachelor Degree was equal to a U.S. Bachelor Degree. Finally, we offered substantial evidence that his Master Degree was equal to a Master Degree from an accredited U.S. university.

After examining our foreign academic credentials evaluation, the USCIS agreed. Our client’s immigration visa was approved on the basis that Immigration Services agreed that he indeed met the educational requirements for his position.

A client approached us for assistance with an RFE from the USCIS regarding his Chartered Accountancy (CA) Certificate from India. The RFE stated that the USCIS did not believe that his CA was the U.S. equivalency of a Master Degree, which was the requirement for his employment visa.

Career Consulting International was asked to deliver a foreign credentials evaluation of the client’s Indian Bachelor Degree and CA certificate. In our educational evaluation, we were able to demonstrate that his foreign degree and certification was indeed the U.S. equivalency demanded by the labor certificate.

The USCIS reviewed our evaluation report and determined that we correctly evaluated the client’s education. As a consequence, his visa was approved.

Finally, success. . .   . Career Consulting International has just learned that one of the company’s clients received approval for their I-140 immigration visa from the USCIS. This individual had a 3-Year degree from a polytechnic school in Engineering.

Initially, the client had requested a foreign credentials evaluation from another educational evaluation agency. His first petition was denied from AAO after only one year. Then he came to Career Consulting International.

We were able to show that his 3-year degree was the U.S. equivalency of a four-year Bachelor Degree in the same field. We also issued an evaluation report indicating that the client’s Associate Membership in the Indian Institute of Metals (AMIM) was the U.S. equivalency of a Master Degree in Metals Engineering.

The client’s attorney used these evaluations to submit a brief arguing that the client’s petition should be approved. The client’s I-140 visa was subsequently granted.

Our client was from Pakistan. He had graduated with a Bachelor Degree after two years, and continued his education to get a Master Degree. He obtained an educational evaluation for a work visa indicating that his foreign academic credentials were equivalent to a four-year degree. The USCIS issued a denial, indicating that the evaluation report had combined two degrees to issue the U.S. equivalency of a single four-year degree.

Career Consulting International was able to offer an expert opinion that, combined with a large quantity of research, persuasively demonstrated that the client’s foreign credentials were equal to a four-year degree. Furthermore, this was done without attempting to combine the client’s foreign degrees to achieve this equivalency. The USCIS found the evaluation persuasive, and reversed the denial on appeal.