It’s no secret that the <abbr title=”United States”>U.S.</abbr> economy is in a recession, or that that recession has affected financial markets worldwide. This in turn has seriously affected the number of people seeking <strong>foreign degree evaluations</strong>. More and more people are trying to ensure their job security or explore new employment options after cutbacks and mergers have left many without positions.

People with <strong>foreign education credentials</strong>, including foreign degrees from college or high school, are usually required to prove the U.S. equivalency of their degrees to potential employers in the United States. This is also true for people seeking work or employment-based (<strong>EB visas</strong>), as well as for those persons who want to go back to college to earn an advanced degree.

Additionally, the rate at which H1-B visa numbers are filled this year may be affected by the current economic state. Many companies are extremely dependent on the use of temporary foreign workers to meet their labor needs. Because <em>H1-B visas</em> are issued on a first-come, first-serve basis to qualified applicants with sponsors, it is possible that those companies most depended on this source of labor may decide to start filing as soon as possible.

There has been discussion of increasing the cap on the number of H1-B visas issued. Moreover, persons such as Janet Napolitano, whom President Obama has nominated for a cabinet post, are in favor of increasing the number of H1-B visas offered each year. Due to the recession, however, proposals such as these may face a lot of resistance as Americans increasingly protest the presence of <em>foreign workers</em> when <abbr title=”United States”>U.S.</abbr> jobs are in short supply and high demand.

These protestors, though, need to remember that employment-based visas such as the <em>EB visas</em> and H1-B visas are offered to foreign workers who fill American jobs that cannot be filled by <abbr title=”United States”>U.S.</abbr> workers. These people either have specialized education or experience that <abbr title=”United States”>U.S.</abbr> employers require and cannot find in this country. American workers are not in fact being denied jobs because of these <em>non-immigration visas</em>; they lack the qualifications to fill these jobs.

It’s impossible to predict what will happen as President Obama takes office and begins to enact his planned policies. The effect of these policies on EB and H1-B visas remains to be seen. Hopefully, he will introduce policies that increase the availability of <abbr title=”United States”>U.S.</abbr> jobs, while maximizing the availability of temporary employment to American companies. The citizens of this country are waiting anxiously to see what will happen.

SUNRISE, FL, JANUARY 7, 2009:  The American mortgage crisis in reaching unexpected heights, and the problem is only growing with each passing month. Ms. Sheila Danzig, a first generation American, is extremely familiar with the characteristics and demographics of persons seeking foreign degree evaluations for EB-2 and EB-3 visas to the United States. After careful analysis, this expert on international education has chosen to support a proposal first presented on the Immigration Voice chat board. This proposal could help to significantly relieve America’s current housing problem while encouraging billions of dollars in economic growth.

Workers holding employment-based visas are already residing within the United States. Those applying for permanent resident status have been living in the United States for more than five years. All have professional degrees in their fields of employment, and a sizable percentage hold Master Degrees or PhDs. None are taking American jobs; these visas are issued precisely because no U.S. workers are available to do the work required by the sponsoring businesses and organizations.

The average income earned by workers holding EB visas is $65,000 yearly. The majority of these individuals have good or excellent credit ratings, and secure incomes. They are highly motivated to purchase homes and settle in family friendly neighborhoods. Unfortunately, however, they remain in limbo while they are waiting for the USCIS to approve their green card applications.

In fact, some workers are forced to wait for up to seven years before receiving a response to their application. They hold foreign credentials U.S. equivalency of professional degrees, and are workers critically needed by our society, yet they wait to learn whether they have the right to remain in this country!

More than 200,000 immigration visa numbers have been lost as workers wait for their application to be processed. This has resulted in millions of lost dollars for the economy. In the meantime, approximately 800,000 wage earners wait to see whether they will be permitted to remain in the United States. Consider, for example, the possibility that half of these persons wish to purchase a home.  If they were permitted to make a 20 percent down payment on a private home (and the average cost of a home in the U.S. today is approximately 200,000), this would result in a net financial gain of 1.6 billion dollars in immediate gain for American banks!

Immigrants are highly motivated to succeed and make themselves part of the culture that welcomes them to remain in their country. Offer your support for a solution that works for potential immigrants as well as for the U.S. economy today. The 30 years needed to pay off most mortgages will allow these persons to more than demonstrate their commitment to the stability of the U.S. economy. Finally, these stable, risk-free mortgages will help to reverse the downward spiral into which our housing market has slumped and help it to soar upward again.

Most people would argue that the might of the United States Armed Forces carries a worldwide impact, No government on the face of the planet, in fact, has ever tackled the entire might of the U.S. Military and emerged victorious. But Sheila Danzig, Executive Director of Career Consulting International (CCI), www.TheDegreePeople.com, doesn’t care.

In fact, Ms. Danzig has posed a challenge to every foreign-educated member of the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, and all active reservists within those branches. And the foreign education credential evaluators at CCI are daring service personnel to take Ms. Danzig at her word.

“I’m prepared to offer foreign degree evaluations free to 50 active military people each month.” When asked what she would do for the 51^st person, Ms. Danzig responds, “There won’t be 51. I don’t expect 50 military people who were educated outside the U.S. to come forward and take advantage of this offer every month.” She quickly adds, however, “The 51^st will be the first evaluation performed on the first day of the next month.”

Individuals who have attended high schools or universities outside the United States require foreign credential evaluations in order to demonstrate evidence of the U.S. equivalency of their foreign degrees or diplomas. People generally need these evaluations for further study at US universities, employment or for immigration purposes. These evaluation reports, however, can be costly, ranging from $70 to hundreds of dollars. This hasn’t deterred Sheila Danzig, however from offering them at no charge to our military.

“Our military goes unnoticed as they work to defend all of us,” Ms. Danzig states. CCI consultants agree. U.S. Military personnel, both domestic and abroad, offer their duty to their country unreservedly. Offering the services of that foreign education credential evaluation agency free of charge is one way Ms. Danzig can demonstrate her support, as well as those of her foreign credential evaluation agency.

CCI has agreed to continually update Armed Services personnel regarding how many soldiers respond to this challenge each month. When asked whether she’s met her match in issuing this challenge to the entire United States Military, Sheila Danzig just laughs. “I’m from Brooklyn,” she says. “I am up for the task!”

For more information about foreign credential evaluation agencies, visit www.thedegreepeople.com/ The agency  specializes in difficult cases such as those that have received RFE’s or Denials from USCIS.  However they are happy to do simple evaluations as well.

For a free consultation and to learn whether your foreign diploma is the educational equivalency of a degree at a US accredited college or university: