TheObama administration had made immigration reform a high priority issue. Will this increase in case load of the non-documented slow down processing for legal worker?

(EMAILWIRE.COM, November 05, 2009 ) Fort Lauderdale/Miami FL, The current presidential administration has declared immigration reform to be a high priority issue. At present, the administration has focused primarily on the country’s economics and the need for reform of the American healthcare system. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), however, is preparing for the eventual announcement that the President is turning his eyes to comprehensive immigration reform, commonly referred to as CIR. Once this reform has been initiated, USCIS expects a considerable increase in numbers of cases.

Prior to the most recent presidential election, Obama indicated his resolve to significantly reform the immigration process. He has made it clear that this reform will involve the large numbers of undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States. In fact, part of the reform proposal is expected to contain a plan for status legalization for many of these people.

Sheila Danzig, executive director of a foreign degree evaluation agency Career Consulting International, has stated that America’s present economic condition makes it likely that legalization will be strongly opposed, and the current lack of jobs for legal residents and U.S. citizens makes opposition even more likely. Despite this, USCIS is aware that at least some cases will be presented to that agency for consideration, and this is likely to bog down an already backlogged immigration service even further.
At present, persons who apply for I-140 visas (which are also known as “green cards”) must wait up to one year after their petition is filed for an interview to be scheduled. The process can be complicated by documentation or education issues. Sometimes, the USCIS issues a Request for Evidence, or RFE, indicating that some aspect of the petitioner’s application – possibly the labor certificate or educational credentials – requires further investigation.

Many companies who employ legal residents, as well as workers residing in the U.S. on temporary work visas, such as H1B visas, are concerned that this anticipated increase in USCIS’s caseload will further slow the visa approval process. Many employers depend on highly trained or skilled workers who enter the country on employment-based visas, and could experience a shortage of trained employees if this potential problem does become a reality.
The USCIS caseload is already backlogged, and the H1B visa cap did not fill for 2009 as a consequence, in part, of the recession. If the economy does recover substantially, and visa applications do increase significantly in the coming year, USCIS will need to meet the usual demands of H1B visa season, as well as Obama’s proposed immigration reform.

Career Consulting International, other foreign credential evaluation agencies, immigration attorneys, and the American public will watch the reform proposals with interest. How they affect the USCIS remains to be seen, but an increased caseload is almost certain.
For more information about foreign credential educational evaluations for H1B or I-140 Visas, visit www.thedegreepeople.com or call 1-800-771-4723.

Foreign students dream of coming to US and need temporary visas under the Student Exchange and Visitor Program.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 02, 2009 ) Fort Lauderdale, FL – A number of students from all around the world have this dream of completing higher studies from reputed institutes in the United States. And to fulfill their dreams, students with foreign credentials apply to obtain student visas. Several agencies like the Career Consulting International, www.thedeegreepeople.com, offer credential evaluation services and the students after getting their diplomas/certificates assessed, get enrollment in the university or college. Normally, students who are enrolled in the American institutes, having the temporary visas are categorized under the Student Exchange and Visitor Program database.

For such students, it is the responsibility of the colleges and universities to inform the relevant authorities about the students’ enrollment status. Moreover, the educational qualifications along with the grade point averages (GPAs) are thoroughly examined through the database. Schools that are unable to specify this data don’t comply with the terms and conditions set by the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS.
There are some foreign students who try to get themselves enrolled in college degree programs without even earning a proper visa. So, what goes for them? Firstly, the university isn’t responsible to confirm whether a student has entered the United States with a documented visa status or not. In case, it comes to the knowledge of the school officials that any student does not hold a documented immigration visa, the staff isn’t responsible to inform the Department of Homeland Security about this issue.

It is actually the responsibility of the student to abide by the rules and regulations established by the American government. Now, if a student is staying in the United States illegally, the government has the authority to deport him anytime, the officials discover the truth. Usually, such students are not allowed to re-enter the U.S. in the future as well, once they’ve been deported.

Therefore, to avoid such problems and to continue education without any tension of being caught, foreign students are appreciated to obtain a legal immigrant visa before the commencement of college studies in the U.S. Although this can be a difficult or time-consuming procedure, opting for it is a thousand times better than having it the illegal way. Besides, if a student seeks the assistance of foreign credential evaluation agencies and immigration attorneys, the overall process can be made much simpler and easier.

Once, a student decides to immigrate to U.S. for further education, contacting a foreign credential evaluation agency with a good standing, should be his very first step. The sole aim of such organizations is to prepare evaluation reports, indicating a student’s present level of education, in addition to the U.S. equivalency for the student’s foreign qualifications. In this way, a student’s time is saved and he doesn’t have to repeat the same classes again.

Often, people are unaware of the fact that a majority of colleges and institutes in the U.S. even require evaluation reports for the overseas high school diplomas. It’s a fact that most of the overseas countries have satisfactory standards for secondary education, when it comes to the comparison with the U.S. credentials, but there still are some countries where the educational standards aren’t up to the mark. In some countries, high school diplomas are awarded in specific fields or at different levels and students holding these diplomas don’t qualify for admission in certain university departments.

So, if a foreign student wants to successfully qualify for admission in reputed American universities, taking the most appropriate step towards getting the international credentials evaluated is extremely important. A student must satisfy all the requirements to immigrate to U.S. on legal grounds. Remember, if things are done in the legal way, a foreigner has greater chances of successfully completing graduation from an American institute.

Getting a Green Card can be very difficult these days but the green card lottery offers hope for many. Learn how to get one here.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, June 16, 2009 ) A Green Card is an official card issued by the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) granting foreign nationals permanent residency in the US. Form I-551 as it is officially referred to, allows the holder to live, work and study in the US. This makes it superior to H1B visa or any other visa available.

Basically, there are four sure ways to obtaining Green Card. They include:
• Green Card Employment & Sponsorship.
This way of securing a Green Card has very many advantages embedded in it. They include:
• Your sponsor or employer in most cases is responsible for all application costs. The Employer or the company is then liable to pay for your relocation costs as well.
• You do not have to undergo education evaluation since a college degree is not a requirement for qualifying for a green card.
• For an employer or sponsor to file your Green Card supplication, you mustn’t be currently in the US borders.
• You get a job waiting for you and a Green card simultaneously.

• Winning a Green card in the Lottery
There usually is an annual green card lottery which is referred to as the DV (Diversity Visa) Lottery.  It avails 50,000 permanent visas to random people across the globe. The program gets its mandate from Section 203(c) of 1990’s US Immigration Act. It is an easy process to apply and is rarely subject to any credential evaluation.
• Green Card through a US Citizen Family Member
For eligibility in this criterion, you must have immediate family currently in possession of a green card or is a US Citizen. For this (securing a Green Card on the basis of a relative being a US citizen), you have to undergo a rigorous, multi-faceted process. Your relative (sponsor) abroad has to undergo evaluation services e.g. Prove your relationship, prove support for you at 125% above poverty line et cetera.
• Green Card Via Marriage
By Marrying a US Citizen, you earn your citizenship. When the process is filed abroad (outside US) it takes a shorter duration of time usually within 6-8 months, to acquire the Green Card. While filed within the US, the individual applying, may work and live in the US immediately after filing but the process will take 12-18 months to actually secure the Green Card.
This process is not subject to any documentation by the credential evaluators.

Winning a Green Card rarely requires a credential evaluation. “We had one case of a Lottery Winner that needed an evaluations,” said Sheila Danzig, Executive Director of Career Consulting International, www.TheDegreePeople.com. “It was an unusual case and he had to show equivalence to a US High School diploma.”

Raising the H1b Cap will not take jobs from Americans, it will boost the economy according to two US Heritage Foundation Scholars.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, April 09, 2009 ) Raising the H1b Cap Will Boost the Economy.

Career Consulting International (CCI), a foreign credential evaluation agency, supports two US Heritage Foundation Scholars, Jena Baker McNeill and Diem Nguyenare, who are asking the Obama administration and Congress to increase the cap of H-1B work visas, stating that such a move would help stimulate economic growth and generate tax revenue.

“Raising the cap would not steal American jobs, as is being believed in a section in the US,” stated Sheila Danzig, Executive Director of CCI, www.TheDegreePeople.com.

Such a measure would, in fact, stimulate economic growth and generate the much needed tax revenue claim Baker McNeill and Nguven.

Career Consulting International www.thedegreepeople.com work with firms and H1b applicants to show how their academic credentials and foreign education are equivalent to US education and degrees.

This degree evaluation is required as part of their USCIS filing.

“Raising H-1B caps will provide businesses the professionals and skills they need to develop their business when ready,” wrote Baker McNeill and Nguyen.

Baker McNeill is a Policy Analyst for Homeland Security and Nguyen is a Research Assistant in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Centre for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

“Raise the cap back to 195,000 visas per year. Make the cap flexible. As the US economy fluctuates through its business cycles, the demand for H-1B visas will rise and fall. Congress should establish a quota that, if met, automatically increases for the next year. In addition, unused visas should be recaptured for the next fiscal year,” the two told Congress.

They claim that expanding the H-1B visa back to 195,000 would provide 2 billion dollars of tax revenue each year, a beneficial step in the direction of reducing fiscal deficit.

They also noted that H-1B workers are some of the brightest in the world and this will insure that they work in the US for American businesses which will only help the economy.

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.