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Credential Evaluation

Avoid an EB2 RFE Before You Have to Respond to One

Credential Evaluation, immigration, Visa Approvals

Why you do NOT want that RFE Aside from taking more time and money to address an RFE, an RFE is also a big red flag on the petition. When you get an RFE for a glaring error, it draws attention to the small mistakes that would have flown under the radar, and the more holes in your petition CIS finds, the more complicated your RFE will be to respond to. If you receive an RFE, don’t panic! Receiving an RFE can be transformed into an opportunity to strengthen your case, or the case of your client or employee. However, the best way to address an RFE is to avoid it in the first place. An RFE is by no means a rare occurrence. In fact, we see more and more RFEs every single year. At TheDegreePeople, we help clients with education RFEs, which are extremely common for the EB2 classification because CIS trends change with regards to educational requirements, especially from the prevalence of work visas in STEM industry companies, and also because equivalency requirements differ from other work visas. The first mistake petitioner commonly make is that the degree must be an EXACT match for the job offer on the PERM. In most cases, employers will hire employees with degrees in related fields because there is enough educational overlap that they can be sure the employee has the specialized skills and knowledge necessary to carry out the duties of their job. This is especially the case when the employee has years of work experience in the field alongside a degree in a related field. However, CIS disagrees. If the degree is not an exact match for the job offer on the PERM, you, or your employee or client will receive an RFE. To address this issue, you or your employee or client needs to have their education and work experience reviewed to write the equivalency of the necessary degree in the appropriate field, and submit that to CIS. The second mistake – which can also be made with regards to the equivalency in the first mistake – is that the petitioner’s bachelor’s degree must be a SINGLE source. This is particularly a problem when a petitioner needs a credential evaluation to write the equivalency for a degree in the exact field of employ, or if the petitioner holds a degree from a country with a three-year bachelor’s degree track. Other visas allow for work experience and different education sources to be combined to write the equivalency to the appropriate bachelor’s degree. This is not the case with EB2. The way we handle this situation is to convert years of progressive work experience into a bachelor’s degree equivalency or a master’s degree equivalency, and then cite federal case law, graduate school admissions requirements for programs in the client’s field, and provide other necessary documentation to fortify this equivalency. If you, or your employee or client receives an EB2 RFE, talk to a credential evaluation agency with extensive experience working with specific visas, and international education experts on hand. If you call and the agency does not ask about the particular job or visa, look elsewhere. While they may be able to write an accurate equivalency, they will not be able to write the accurate equivalency that you or your employee or client needs to fulfill the unique requirements of the EB2 visa. If you have yet to file, make sure your petition, or your employee or client’s petition does not fall into one of these common EB2 education traps. Don’t give CIS an excuse to issue an RFE. Get it right the first time. About the Author Sheila Danzig Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director at TheDegreePeople.com, a Foreign Credentials Evaluation Agency. For a free analysis of any difficult case, RFE, Denial, or NOID, please go to http://ccifree.com/ or call 800.771.4723.  ]]>

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Don’t Fix H-1B RFEs – Avoid Them!

Credential Evaluation, Visa Approvals

Why You Don’t Want that RFE An RFE is a tool that CIS uses to make a decision about whether or not a candidate’s visa should be approved. While receiving an RFE is an opportunity to strengthen your case, or your client or employee’s case – a second chance at providing all of the requested evidence CIS needs to approve the visa – it is also a big red flag. A glaring omission or error on the petition triggers CIS to take a closer look at it and may very well uncover small errors and inconsistencies that would have otherwise flown under the radar that you will now need to address. With so many petitions and so few visas available, CIS needs its red flags for short cuts. While an RFE can be used to your advantage to build a stronger case for your visa, or your client or employee’s visa being approved, the roadmap to answering the RFE is not always so straightforward. In many cases, the RFE will not directly tell you how to answer it in its wording. One daunting example of this is the notorious Nightmare RFE that is virtually impossible to answer in the time allotted to answer it, and for a reasonable price. To address an RFE, sit down with your team – the lawyer, the candidate, the employer, and the evaluator – to see what is being asked and of whom, and what CIS really needs to know by the questions they are asking. If what they are asking for in the RFE is virtually impossible to provide, you may be able to answer their underlying questions with documentation and evidence that it is possible for you to provide. Of course, the best option is to avoid an RFE in the first place. We’re coming up on autumn, which means it’s time to start preparing for the FY2018 H-1B season. Here are five measure you can take from the get-go to avoid an RFE.

  1. Show very clearly that your degree, or your client or employee’s degree is a US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent. If the degree was earned outside of the United States, you will need to have your education, or your client or employee’s education evaluated by an authorized credential evaluation agency. If the bachelor’s degree is a three-year degree – ESPECIALLY if it is an Indian three-year bachelor’s degree – you need to find an agency with the authority and international education expertise to convert years of work experience into college credit to account for the missing fourth year.
  1. Check the answers on every document and form to make sure they are consistent. Inconsistent answers – even so much as a misspelling or the wrong graduation date – can trigger an RFE.
  1. The degree must be specialized. This means that if you, or your client or employee has a liberal arts degree, or a generalized degree, CIS will not approve the visa. H-1B requirements state that an H-1B candidate must have specialized skills and knowledge necessary to perform the duties of the specialty occupation to meet the visa requirements. Without a specialized degree, CIS cannot clearly see that you, or your employee or client meet these requirements. If this is the situation you face, talk with a credential evaluator about the course content of you or your client or employee’s college career and work experience. An authorized evaluator can convert classroom contact hours in a specialized field into college credit, and also convert years of progressive work experience into college credit that can count towards you or your client or employee’s specialized degree.
  1. The degree must be an EXACT fit for the job offer. Employers often hire candidates with a degree in a related field and work experience in the exact field or even a related field because the specialized skills and knowledge base learned through work and education meet the requirements of the job. When these qualified candidates go to file their visas, they receive RFEs. The solution? If your degree, or your client or employee’s degree is not an exact match for the job offer, you need a credential evaluation that evaluates course content and work experience, and makes the necessary conversions to count towards the correct degree equivalency with a major in the field of the specialty occupation.
  1. Clearly show that the H-1B job is a specialty occupation that requires a US bachelor’s degree or higher or its equivalent to carry out the duties of the job. You can do this by providing the ad for the job, documentation for similar jobs for similar companies, or with an expert opinion letter.
The best way to address an RFE is to avoid it. Don’t give CIS an excuse to pick apart your petition, or your client or employee’s petition. Tell them everything they need to know to make an informed decision about the petition the first time. We are seeing that if credential evaluations are submitted with the initial H-1B filing, a simple evaluation seems to be enough for CIS to approve the petition. However, with an RFE, a more complicated – and expensive – credential evaluation requiring more evidence, documentation, and even an expert opinion letter is almost always required. Remember, an RFE is a big red flag waving high over the petition. Don’t wait for the opportunity to overturn an RFE to build a strong, solid case. About the Author Sheila Danzig Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director at TheDegreePeople.com, a Foreign Credentials Evaluation Agency. For a free analysis of any difficult case, RFE, Denial, or NOID, please go to http://ccifree.com/ or call 800.771.4723.  ]]>

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What’s the Scariest H1-B RFE Out There? The Kitchen Sink!

Credential Evaluation, immigration, Visa Approvals

  • Evaluation of Training and/or Experience by a College Official: Submit an evaluation form from an official who has authority to grant college-level credit for training and/or experience in the specialty of a Graphic Designer.  The evaluation must be from an accredited college or university that has a program for granting such credit in the field of study based on an individual’s training and/or work experience.
    •  
    • Note: College or university professors writing evaluations as consultants on behalf of private educational credentials evaluation firms with not satisfy this requirement as regulations limit the scope of their evaluation only to foreign education.
     
    • The evaluation by an official, preferably the Registrar of a college or university must be on behalf (on the letterhead) of the college or university where they are employed and have authority to grant college credit for training and/or experience.  A private educational credentials evaluation service may not evaluate an alien’s work experience or training; because these regulations limit the scope of educational credential evaluators to evaluating only foreign education.
     
    • Professors writing evaluations as consultants may, in the alternative, be considered as recognized authorities if they can clearly establish their qualifications as experts; provide specific instances where past opinions have been accepted as authoritative and by whom; clearly show how conclusions were reached; and show the basis for the conclusions with copies or citations of any research material used.
     
    • This evaluation should describe the material evaluated and establish that the areas of experience are related to the specialty.  Resumes or Curriculum Vitae alone are usually insufficient to satisfy this requirement.  Also, provide a letter from the Registrar of the institution (on the institution’s letterhead) to establish that the particular evaluating official is authorized to grant college-level credit on behalf of their institution, and that the evaluator holds a bachelor’s degree in the field of study he or she is evaluating.  Further, provide written verification or other documents or records to clearly substantiate that the evaluator is actually employed by the claimed college or university. 
     
    • Provide copies of pertinent pages from the college or university catalog to show that it has a program for granting college-level credit based on training and/or experience.  Merely stating in a letter that the school has such a program is insufficient.  The program must be clearly substantiated.  Further, CLEP and PONSI equivalency exams or special credit programs do not satisfy this requirement because the regulation requires that the beneficiary produce the results of such exams or programs in order for them to qualify.  Also, training or experience derived from internship programs may not satisfy this requirement unless you can establish that the experience or training claimed was gained through enrollment in the particular college or university’s internship program.
     
    • Moreover, provide evidence to show the total amount of college credit the Registrar or evaluator may grant for training or experience as part of the program.  The evaluator may provide copies of the evaluation made by a school official, preferably the Registrar, which clearly shows how the alien met the college or university’s program requirements and how much possible college credit the alien may be granted for his or her training and experience.
      Trembling yet? This RFE is virtually impossible. We’re not sure what triggers it, and we’re not sure that CIS even has the right to ask this of anyone. Even if it were possible to gather every last bit of evidence and documentation this RFE asks of candidates, with the number of agencies and individuals you would have to go through, there is literally no way this could be done in time to answer the RFE. Not to mention the cost would be enormous. At TheDegreePeople, we see a handful of these RFEs every year and we know of NO ONE who can actually meet all of the demands in this RFE. We DO, however, know how to respond to it. Instead of looking at this RFE in terms of the documentation it asks for, we look at what CIS is really trying to determine with the demands they make. We answer the underlying questions backed up with evidence and documentation. With a slightly different approach and a new credential evaluation, roughly 95% of all of the Kitchen Sinks that come across our desks are approved. It’s a seeing the forest through the trees approach – take a step back and look at the big picture. Since we work with difficult cases and RFEs on a regular basis, and follow CIS approval trends very closely, we know what the forest looks like. If you, or your client or employee receives the Kitchen Sink, take a deep breath and a big step back. Don’t get thrown off course by getting caught up in the wording. Keep in mind what needs to be done to meet the original H-1B requirements and make the changes to the case necessary to meet these requirements. The answer to this RFE is not in the Kitchen Sink. Consult with people who have encountered the Kitchen Sink before and know how to navigate it. About the Author Sheila Danzig Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director of TheDegreePeople.com a Foreign Credentials Evaluation Agency. For a no charge analysis of any difficult case, RFEs, Denials, or NOIDs, please go to http://www.ccifree.com/ or call 800.771.4723.]]>

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    Who is at Fault for Your RFE?

    Credential Evaluation, Visa Approvals

    Sometimes No One is to Blame In many cases, this is exactly the situation. CIS visa approval trends change every year and it is practically impossible for everyone to keep up on them – even CIS. The best you can do is to work with a team that follows CIS trends as closely as possible and do your best. Working with a credential evaluation agency that specializes in RFEs and difficult cases is advised because they understand what works and what does not. This will not always prevent an RFE, but you’ll know you are in good hands in any case. Sometimes it’s The Candidate’s Fault This is a hard but true fact. Oftentimes, a candidate will make a mistake, and if this is your situation, it’s time to eat some humble pie and move forward towards a solution. Candidates, did you make a mistake about the value of your degree, certificate, license or diploma? Did you provide poorly or even fraudulently translated documents? Did you provide poorly evaluated documents? Did you receive your degree from an unaccredited institution? Educational document errors and inconsistencies, as well as mistranslations can be picked up by a skilled credential evaluator, but sometimes that’s not the first agency you work with. Be honest with yourself and your team about your credentials, and find honest, well-trained translation and evaluation agencies to work with from the beginning. At the end of the day, candidates, your petition is your responsibility. Sometimes it’s The Attorney’s Fault Attorneys, did you file the petition incorrectly? Sometimes this happens. Find out what went wrong and what you need to do to fix it. At this point, it’s probably not worth it to fire the attorney unless a horrible mistake was made. Oftentimes, when the attorney is at fault it’s for the same reason that candidates may have been at fault: they worked with the wrong translation or evaluation agency and ended up submitting inaccurate documents. These problems can be addressed by working with credible translation and evaluation agencies. Just make sure you work with TWO SEPARATE agencies – one for translation and one for credential evaluation – as these are two highly specialized services that require very different and very specific sets of skills. Sometimes it’s CIS’s Fault It’s no secret that CIS makes mistakes. Sometimes an RFE may be factually incorrect. Your petition, or your employee or client’s petition could be absolutely spotless, filed perfectly, and filed on time, and CIS will still issue an RFE. While these RFEs are frustrating, they are also easy fixes because you already have all of the documentation and information you need at your fingertips. Sometimes Your Evaluator – or the Evaluation itself – is at fault Maybe it was your evaluator’s error that triggered the RFE. Maybe it was the evaluation that your evaluator wrote but not your evaluator. This may sound confusing, but it’s actually a fairly simple differentiation. The candidate’s visa requires a very specific evaluation to write the equivalency to the US degree that you, your employee, or your client needs to meet H-1B visa requirements, and in the field that matches the H-1B job. If your degree, or your client or employee’s degree was earned outside of the United States, or with a major that is not an exact match to the job, you need an evaluation written that converts years of progressive work experience into college credit to fill in the gaps between the degree and the job, or the degree and the degree CIS requires you, or your client or employee to have. Not every evaluation agency can provide this. Some do not specialize in immigration and visa evaluations, and some don’t have the authority or cannot provide the evidence needed to back up a work experience conversion. Talk to potential credential evaluation agencies. They may be able to write an accurate evaluation, but it may be the wrong evaluation for the H-1B petition. If an agency does not ask about the job or the visa, look elsewhere. The agency you want is one that specializes in immigration and visa evaluations, and specializes in RFEs and difficult cases. An RFE is a chance to strengthen your case, or the case of your client or employee. Sit down with your team to find out who – if anyone – dropped the ball, who can solve the problem, and how to best proceed. About the Author Sheila Danzig Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director at TheDegreePeople.com, a Foreign Credentials Evaluation Agency. For a free analysis of any difficult case, RFE, Denial, or NOID, please go to http://ccifree.com/ or call 800.771.4723.  ]]>

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    International Students Scapegoated for General Trend of Academic Dishonesty in US Colleges and Universities

    Credential Evaluation, News

    In early June, Wall Street Journal published a highly-circulated article stating that the number of international students caught cheating in US colleges and universities in the 2014-15 school year was 5.1 in 100, while the number for domestics students was 1 in 100.  The article then went into a list of reasons why international students are more likely to cheat, cheating tactics and strategies, and why schools are turning a blind eye.  However, these numbers are problematic, as WSJ touches on in their article, and this statistic is not representative of international students in general, which this article will explain shortly.

    First, let us take a look at how this survey got its numbers.  Over a dozen US colleges and universities were involved in this survey.  The survey’s results are based on institution-reported rates of cheating.  The reason the number of participating institutions is not higher is because many of the schools approached do not track cheating in such a way because it would not be reflective of those who cheat and get away with it, and the actual chore of collecting and interpreting this data is overwhelming.  Why is this?  According to the International Center for Academic Integrity, about 60% of all US college and university students report having cheated at least once in the last academic year.  This number includes both foreign and domestic students.  This means schools cannot track actual rates of cheating because it is so rampant.  It also means that while schools are catching international students cheating at higher rates than domestic students, the fact of the matter is who they catch does not reflect the rates of who actually cheats.
    The second problem is that schools quantify cheating in different ways, a crucial difference in measurement that WSJ indicated was not taken into account in the cited survey.  Some schools quantify cheating by the number of incidents, while other schools quantify by the number of students involved. Since many of the incidents of students getting caught included clusters of students all having the same wrong answer on a test raising a big red flag, the number of incidents and the number of students involved yield vastly different rates of academic dishonesty.
    WSJ delved into the reasons as to why rates of cheating were so high amongst international students.  High pressure to do well to keep their visa status, trouble with the English language, and misunderstanding of US academic integrity were all on the list.  Another factor indicated is that schools have been accepting more and more international students without taking into consideration the extra socialization these students need to fully integrate into the US academic atmosphere and be successful.  These students face high pressure to succeed in a new culture and in a non-native language, and are targeted by entrepreneurs offering test-taking and custom paper-writing services that have been discovered on college and university campuses across the country.  It is also believed that the high rates of international students caught cheating means that since these students feel that everyone else is being academically dishonest anyway they might as well join in and ease the pressure.  Meanwhile, WSJ reports that international students caught cheating do not get expelled because schools depend on the high tuition rates they pay to offset in-state tuition and deceased state subsidies.
    While it is true that international students have kept colleges and universities in the US financially healthy, it is not true that there is a culture of cheating amongst these students. It is true that international students are targeted by services offering to take tests, write papers, and even take on a student’s entire course load – for an ample fee, of course.  However, the vast majority of international students do not buy into these services, and could not afford them even if they wanted to.  It is easier to catch cheating when a student who does not speak English very well turns in a beautifully written paper, or an impersonator shows up to take a student’s test, however the rates of who gets caught cheating do not accurately reflect the rates of all of those who cheat.
    While WSJ interviewed professors and administrators of college and universities, they overlooked a group of professionals that works very closely with international students from all over the world: foreign credential evaluators.  Foreign credential evaluators are international education experts who understand academic infrastructure, norms, and ethics around the world.  Evaluators work closely with these students to evaluate their foreign education in terms of US academic standards for the purposes of admission to undergraduate and graduate programs in the US, as well as employment and visa status.
    Sheila Danzig, international education expert and Executive director of prominent credential evaluation agency TheDegreePeople does not agree that there is a culture of cheating amongst international students.  In fact, she sees quite the opposite.
    “The 5.1 in 100 ratio does not accurately reflect the reality of academic integrity in US colleges and universities,” explains Danzig.  “International students tend to be incredibly honest and hardworking, and greatly appreciate the opportunity to earn a degree in the United States.”
    About the Author   Sheila Danzig Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director of TheDegreePeople.com a Foreign Credentials Evaluation Agency. For a no charge analysis of any difficult case, RFEs, Denials, or NOIDs, please go to http://www.ccifree.com/ or call 800.771.4723.
    ]]>

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    Common Foreign Degrees that Get Lost in Translation

    Credential Evaluation, immigration, Visa Approvals

    kandidat naouk – which is generally considered to be the equivalent of a US doctorate degree. However, it cannot be TRANSLATED as such; the degree must be evaluated in terms of academic content and functional equivalency. In the same way, the Indian Chartered Accountancy Certificate, which is the equivalent of a US Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, is NOT a US CPA, a certificate that does not equate to postsecondary education. However, the Canadian Chartered Accountancy Certificate DOES fit the equivalency of a US CPA, and for this reason candidates with Indian Chartered Accountancy certificates often have their degrees mistranslated in such a way that it looses academic value. How can you prevent mistranslations from putting a costly damper on your EB2 filing process? First, have the documents translated. The translator should make direct translations without inserting value judgment, sticking to the literal translation of the words in the document. Second, take these translated documents to a credential evaluator who can review the language translation for academic accuracy, and then write the detailed evaluation necessary to show the academic value of your client’s education. Do not trust agencies that offer a one-stop shop for translation and evaluation. If your educational documents, or your employee or client’s educational documents must be translated, make sure that translation and evaluation remains a two-step process, working with professionals in both separate fields. About the Author Sheila Danzig Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director of TheDegreePeople.com a Foreign Credentials Evaluation Agency. For a no charge analysis of any difficult case, RFEs, Denials, or NOIDs, please go to http://www.ccifree.com/ or call 800.771.4723.]]>

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    Five Questions to Ask to Find the Right Credential Evaluator

    Credential Evaluation, immigration, Visa Approvals

  • Are they easy to work with?
    • What does this look like? When you call, she answers. When you text or email, she responds promptly. When you have a question, it gets answered to your satisfaction the first time. You feel comfortable talking to him and asking any question you may have without fear of judgment. Being easy to work with also means the evaluator is affordable and offers rush delivery options to meet your needs and the needs of your employee or client. An evaluator who makes it easy for you to work with them wants to work with you and prioritizes customer service.
    1. Did they offer a free review of your case, or your employee or client’s case?
    Only work with evaluators who will review your client’s education and consult with you on how to best proceed before asking for payment. An evaluator cannot know what services to provide without first reviewing your case, or your employee or client’s cases. Particularly when it comes to EB2 visa eligibility, an evaluator needs to take a close look at your education and work experience, or your employee or client’s education and work experience to determine if the strict PERM educational requirements for this visa can actually be met.
    1. Do they work with RFEs, Denials, and NOIDs often?
    Evaluators who work with difficult cases on a regular basis understand what works and what does not work in getting these difficult cases approved. They have insight into what triggers an RFE, Denial, or NOID, and they understand what tends to work when addressing them, even when the pathway to approval is not clear. Evaluators who work with these kinds of cases on a regular basis can understand what questions CIS is looking to have answered in the documentation they ask you or your employee or client to provide. They also have deeper insight into CIS approval trends, which change with every year.
    1. Did they ask about your visa, or your employee or client’s visa?
    Educational requirements vary from visa to visa, and what kinds of educational equivalencies and combinations of education and work experience CIS will accept vary from visa to visa. For example, with an H1B visa, candidates can combine work experience with college credit to form a US four-year bachelor’s degree equivalency. This is not the case for EB2, where the bachelor’s degree equivalency must be a single source. If the evaluator did not ask about your client’s visa, he does not know this vital element in writing the evaluation you and your client need.
    1. Did they ask about your job offer or your employee or client’s job offer?
    The evaluation that will get your client’s visa approved lends itself to your job, or your employee or client’s job. PERM educational requirements insist that your degree, or your employee or client’s degree be an exact match for the job offer. This means that if the degree is in a related or completely different field from the job, the evaluation must compensate for this and show that you, or your employee or client has the academic equivalency of a degree in the field of employ. This is a common problem because employers commonly hire people with degrees in related fields with work experience in the field because employers know these workers have the specialized skills and knowledge needed to perform job duties. CIS needs an exact match. A credential evaluator cannot write the evaluation that you, or your employee or client needs without knowing the job offer. About the Author Sheila Danzig Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director of TheDegreePeople.com a Foreign Credentials Evaluation Agency. For a no charge analysis of any difficult case, RFEs, Denials, or NOIDs, please go to http://www.ccifree.com/ or call 800.771.4723.]]>

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