Sometimes it is Not What business You Have, but How You Run the Business. Foreign Credential Evaluations: No Recession For One Firm.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, March 13, 2009 )
April 1st marks the beginning of the filings of the work visas (H1B). It’s usually a busy time for immigration attorneys and many companies who sponsor persons with foreign degrees to work in the U.S. on temporary visas. The global recession, however, has given people cause to wonder just how this will affect employment based visas. The answer is – yes, there is a slow down here to.

Many companies are cautious about determining how many H1B to sponsor this year.  Last year there were 3 filings for each available visa. The cap filled virtually the day filings began, and many firms did not get all the employees they needed.  This year things look different.

H1B jobs are only available when no US residents can fill the job.  Most of the jobs are high tech IT jobs where there is still a big demand and limited supply of talented workers. But there is a misunderstanding in the country that these foreign workers are taking jobs from Americans. While this is not the case, firms are feeling uncomfortable hiring non-US workers.

Despite this slowdown, the professionals at Career Consulting International (CCI) have stopped wondering how their business will go this “season”. The busy season which normally starts in mid-March, was off to an early start. Apparently, while the total pool of applicants maybe smaller this year, CCI is getting a bigger share of that pool. CCI’s Executive Director Sheila Danzig released a statement to her employees the revenues for the last week in February was up 58 percent compared to the same time period in February 2008.
CCI, found on the Internet at “http://www.TheDegreePeople.com“, specializes in evaluating foreign degrees and diplomas for their U.S. equivalencies. People who attend high school or college in other countries are usually required by universities and employers to have their degree evaluated for the U.S. educational equivalency by a professional evaluation agency.

Rush fees often account for a substantial part of the visa season’s profit, but the opening filing date is weeks away, so most clients appear to be getting their orders in well in advance, to save on rush fees in late March and early April. One HR executive explained, “Why should I wait longer so I can pay more money later?”

When asked about the number of larger clients (corporations, IT firms, and attorneys with large numbers of H1B visas to process), Director of Operations Marian Aronson-Finnk offered a glimpse at the busyness unfolding in her work week: “I am not surprised by the number of bulk applications we have processed as of this date,” she shared. “We have built many relationships over the years. Our clients return to us for our personal service, fast turn-around time and lowest-price-guarantee policy.”

CCI believes that is the reason the recession has not caught up with them yet. Customer service liaison Jim Howell was asked whether he’s overwhelmed yet by the number of calls coming in. Howell just smiled and responded, “Our team’s job is to help people and give them the best support and advice possible, one at a time, and that’s what we are continuing to do.  Our trained, experienced support staff is ready to help.”
For more information about Career Consulting International’s bulk application prices, visit  “http://www.thedegreepeople.com/cciapp_bulk.html” or call the toll-free number at 1.800.771.4723. Someone from the agency is always near the phone, eager and willing to help.

Thousands of talented students enter the US to attend our top universities. These would be assets to our workforce but many go back to their home country, denying the US some of the top minds in the world.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, March 25, 2009 )
Thousands of people enter the United States each year on temporary education visas to earn a college degree. Many of them try to stay, but restrictive immigration policies prevent some graduates, family members, or spouses from remaining in this country. After getting their academic credentials from prestigious universities such as Stanford or Harvard, they return to their home countries.

Sometimes, the college graduate wishes to stay, but his or her spouse or significant other may have earned a degree from their home country before entering the U.S. Then, a credential evaluation service must complete an education evaluation stating whether the foreign degree is equivalent to a degree from a university in this country. Career Consulting International (CCI) offers educational credential evaluation services, and a number of similar agencies offer the same services.

Unfortunately, many people who want to immigrate to this country choose agencies that may or may not be fully familiar with complex educational evaluation. CCI often receives referrals from many people with three-year degrees who are hoping to have their degree evaluated as being equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor Degree. For this reason, Professors John Kersey and Sheila Danzig spent several years researching the complexities of demonstrating these diploma equivalencies.

CCI’s success rate with 3-year degrees is very high, with far more approvals than not. Many of the clients referred to CCI are seeking a degree equivalency after receiving an RFE or denial, and have had an educational evaluation completed by a previous agency in the past. For more information about Career Consulting International, and the agency’s credential evaluation services, visit www.thedegreepeople or call 1-800-771-4723.

Frequently, however, graduates whose family members and significant others do have academic credentials that would allow them to obtain E3 or other work visas and remain in the United States. Despite this, many decide to return to their home countries. Many of these persons have strong family ties, and prefer to return home to marry and raise their children.

Additionally, a number of other foreign students who graduate from American colleges are being offered excellent job opportunities in their home countries. Their education and knowledge allows them to obtain high-level positions rather than the junior positions they might receive if they remained in the United States. The rising unemployment rate in the US has been breeding a “hire Americans only” attitude thus losing the people who would fill these jobs where there are no Americans with the skills to fill the jobs particularly in fields like programming. This has resulted in many technological advances in countries such as China and India.
With the current economic recession, businesses are having a difficult time justifying approaches such as offering bonuses to foreign students to immigrate to the United States and continue to work. Although they are working to find other ways to encourage students who have earned their academic credentials in the U.S. to remain in the country, some graduates continue to leave, seeking opportunities that just aren’t here right now. With the end of the recession nowhere in sight, it’s impossible to see how this will turn out.