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How to Answer an RFE for Wrong Degree Specialization

With the new H-1B Interim Final Rule, it is more important this year than ever to make sure the H-1B employee’s degree specialization is an EXACT MATCH for the proffered position.

The Interim Final Rule that goes into effect December 2020 narrows the definition of specialty occupation and codifies the way that USCIS has been adjudicating H-1B visa petitions for years now.  The degree must be an exact match for the H-1B job. 

Employers often hire qualified employees with degrees in related majors.  Employers often hire qualified employees with incomplete college, no college, or generalized degrees who instead have years of work experience in the field of the H-1B job.  Employers often hire qualified H-1B employees with degrees in a matching or related specialization earned outside of the United States.  All of these cases require the petitioner to clearly show the equivalency to the correct degree (a US bachelor’s degree or higher) in the exact specialization of the H-1B job through specific course content and work experience.

The way to do this is to include a detailed credential evaluation that fills in any gaps between the degree the beneficiary has and the degree the beneficiary needs for visa approval.  This will take the job, the education, work experience, H-1B requirements, and USCIS approval trends into account.  It often requires a work experience conversion in which three years of progressive work experience in the field of the H-1B job can be converted into one year of college credit in the major of the industry.  This conversion must be written by a professor with the authority to grant college credit for work experience.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, every credential evaluation is research and written uniquely.  There are no cookie cutter evaluations.  We work with professors with the authority to grant work experience for college credit to write the evaluations our clients need to get their visas approved. 

For a free review of your case visit www.ccifree.com.  We will respond in 4 hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com.  Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.

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