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Complex Requests for Evidence (RFEs) in H-1B visa petitions present significant challenges, often involving multiple aspects of eligibility. Such RFEs occur when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) identifies critical issues in a petition, leading to comprehensive case reviews. The complexity of these RFEs can range from issues with specialty occupation and wage level to more intricate problems affecting almost every aspect of the petition.

Understanding Complex RFEs:

1. Types of Complex RFEs: These include “The Double” (focusing on specialty occupation and wage level), “The Triple” (addressing specialty occupation, wage level, and education), and “The Nightmare” or “Kitchen Sink” RFE, which questions virtually every aspect of the petition.
2. Strategic Approach: Initially, thoroughly read the RFE with your team and identify the specific eligibility areas under scrutiny. Then, revisit the petition to identify and strengthen weak points.

Best Practices for Responding:

1. Specialty Occupation and Wage Level: Include an expert opinion letter that comprehensively covers both areas for issues concerning specialty occupation and wage level.
2. Educational Concerns: When education qualifications are questioned, a credential evaluation demonstrating the beneficiary’s academic credentials as equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree or higher in the exact field of the H-1B job is crucial.
3. Employer-Employee Relationship: For challenges related to this, especially in cases involving work at a third-party site, provide a detailed itinerary of work, including client or customer information and a description of how the employer will maintain control over the employee’s work.
4. Additional Documentation: Depending on the RFE’s nature, additional evidence and documentation should be identified and included to build a robust response.

General Advice for RFE Prevention:

Ensure your petition is thoroughly reviewed for consistency across all forms and supporting documents. This includes verifying employment dates on resumes, correct spelling, and ensuring that the petition is organized and readable.

Addressing Specific Eligibility Requirements:

1. Specialty Occupation: Provide evidence that the position requires at least a bachelor’s degree in a specific field related to the job.
2. Education: If the degree specialization doesn’t match the H-1B job or if the degree was obtained outside the U.S., include a detailed credential evaluation. This may involve converting work experience into college credits.
3. Employer-Employee Relationship: In cases where the beneficiary will work at a third-party site, it’s necessary to demonstrate that the employer-employee relationship will be maintained.

Remember, an RFE is not a denial but an opportunity to strengthen your case. By understanding the nature of complex RFEs and following these best practices, you can effectively respond to USCIS’s concerns and improve your chances of a successful H-1B petition outcome.

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we specialize in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas. We work with professors authorized to grant college credit for work experience, write every evaluation uniquely to fit the situation, are dedicated to seamless communication, and are always affordable even at the last minute.

Let us review your cases at no charge what so ever at www.CCIFree.com

Sheila Danzig

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

Requests for Evidence (RFEs) for H-1B applicants often arise when the education obtained is from an unaccredited institution. 

Although many legitimate institutions lack accreditation for various reasons, such as being new or nontraditional, this can hinder the recognition of the educational value according to U.S. academic standards. For H-1B applicants with degrees from unaccredited colleges, submitting a petition without a credential evaluation often leads to an RFE.

To mitigate this, it’s essential to demonstrate that the applicant’s education is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree or higher. This is typically achieved through a credential evaluation that incorporates a work experience conversion to compensate for the missing years of accredited education. USCIS acknowledges that three years of progressive work experience, characterized by promotions and increased responsibility, is equivalent to one year of college credit in the job’s field. 

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, professionals work with professors authorized to convert work experience into college credit for these evaluations. By incorporating work experience, the evaluations effectively account for the academic deficit caused by the lack of accredited education. 

CCI offers services to assist individuals, employees, or clients in addressing or preempting an RFE, promising a high success rate and providing free reviews and consultations for cases.

Let us review your cases at no charge what so ever at www.CCIFree.com

Sheila Danzig

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

Education RFEs are common for H-1B applicants.  One of the issues applicants run into is when their education is from an institution that is not accredited.  Many legitimate institutions do not have accreditation for a variety of reasons – they are new, they are newly reopened, they are nontraditional, they are under new ownership, and so forth.  While this does not devalue the educational content, it does create a roadblock to expressing its academic value in terms of US academic standards.

If an H-1B applicant has a degree from an unaccredited institution, you can expect an RFE or worse if you submit the petition without a credential evaluation.  You need to clearly show USCIS that the applicant has the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree or higher in terms of academic value.  The way to do this is with a credential evaluation that includes a work experience conversion to account for missing years of accredited college.  This is what we do to assist our clients in this situation and we see an over 90 percent success rate.

Progressive work experience occurs when education took place over the course of employment as evidenced by promotions, and increased responsibility and complexity of work.  USCIS accepts that three years of progressive work experience is the equivalent of one year of college credit in the field of the job.  At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with professors authorized to grant college credit for work experience that write this conversion for our credential evaluations.  By factoring in work experience we can show that the missing years of accredited college are accounted for on the job.

If you or if your employee or client is in this situation, we can help answer or prevent an RFE.  Visit www.ccifree.com for a FREE REVIEW of your case and consultation.  We will respond in four hours or less and offer affordable rush delivery options on credential evaluations.

Sheila Danzig

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

In recent years, computer programmers applying for H-1B visa status have run into approval issues.  This is because the position’s entry in the Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook states that to be employed in this position the applicant must hold an Associate’s Degree, rather than a Bachelor’s Degree, even though a Bachelor’s Degree educational requirement is the norm.  While H-1B eligibility requirements state the job must NORMALLY require a US Bachelor’s Degree or higher, USCIS has been adjudicating the exception as the norm, requiring a position to ALWAYS require a Bachelor’s Degree for entry.

This is a common occupation for H-1B beneficiaries, they now consistently run into Specialty Occupation RFEs instead of outright approval.  We often get clients coming to us with these RFEs, and we are able to get them overturned with an over 90 percent success rate.

Here’s how we do it:

We work with experts in every H-1B field who have extensive experience working directly in the field of the H-1B job.  These experts have held leadership positions within the field that involved making hiring decisions regarding the H-1B position in question.  They are able to lend informed weight to the case because they know what knowledge and skills an employee must have to be successful at the job, and to successfully support the company.  We ask our clients to gather documentation including a breakdown of the duties and responsibilities of the job, evidence of past hiring practices regarding minimum education requirements, the ad for the job, and ads for the same job in parallel companies that show the minimum education requirement.  Anything that can be used to justify the specialization of this position is helpful.  In addition to this evidence and documentation, the expert will use what is provided in addition to their own expertise to write an opinion letter that explains why this job meets specialty occupation requirements.

Don’t wait to get a Specialty Occupation RFE to address this common issue.  Our clients who come to us BEFORE they file for an expert opinion letter DO NOT receive Specialty Occupation RFES: their visas are approved outright.  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.

The first of FY2024 is coming up fast, and that means the last rounds of RFEs are in full swing.  Education RFEs are common hangups for H-1B candidates because pathways through education are as varied as there are beneficiaries.  One education issue that may seem insurmountable is when a beneficiary has absolutely no college education.  A minimum US bachelor’s degree or its equivalent is required for eligibility.  Our client came to us with no college, a job offer, and an education RFE.  He had been hired because his skill and experience were undeniable.  While his employer didn’t need any more convincing, USCIS did.

Here’s how we helped him overturn this RFE: PROGRESSIVE WORK EXPERIENCE!

At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with professors authorized to grant college credit for work experience.  They assist in writing credential evaluations that clearly show the academic value equivalent of education attained on the job.  Progressive work experience occurs when attainment of skills and knowledge that would be taught in an academic setting occurred on the job.  This is evidenced by promotions, taking on more responsibility, and taking on roles and tasks that require progressively greater specialized skills and understanding. 

USCIS accepts that three years of progressive work experience is the equivalent of one year of college credit in that major.  Granted, this takes a LOT of work experience.  Fortunately, our client had twelve years of progressive work experience in the field of the H-1B job.  We were able to write a credential evaluation that included a work experience conversion clearly showing that he had attained the academic value equivalency of a bachelor’s degree on the job through his 12 years of progressive work experience.  His visa was approved and he got to work just in time.

If you, or if your employee or client is facing an education RFE, we can help! We work with the broad range of education issues and boast a sustained over 90% success rate in answering even the most complex RFEs.  We offer affordable rush delivery options, which we recommend as we approach the start of FY2024.  It’s time to crush those RFEs and get to work on time. 

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.

Specialty Occupation RFES have become a perennial issue facing H-1B applicants.  At CCI TheDegreePeople.com, we answer these RFEs with an expert opinion letter written by an expert in the field of the H-1B job with extensive experience working in the field including making hiring decisions regarding the H-1B position.  We ask our clients to provide the expert with documentation regarding the position, past hiring practices, hiring practices for the same position in different companies, and a list of the factors that went into setting the starting wage.  Given this information, our experts have been able to write expert opinion letters that answer specialty occupation RFEs, wage level RFEs, and Double RFEs which take issue with both eligibility areas.

Following the first year of widespread specialty occupation issues, we started implementing our successful strategy to prevent Specialty Occupation RFEs.  Instead of waiting for USCIS to take issue with the job, we provide an expert opinion letter addressing both specialty occupation and wage level issues right away with the initial petition.  It works! 

Whether you have received a Specialty Occupation RFE or have yet to submit a complete petition, we can help.  Some cases are more vulnerable to these issues than others, and every situation requires its own unique approach.

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.

The secret is out.  Career and vocational colleges offer an affordable alternative to four-year universities and colleges.  These educational paths also offer a streamlined education to employment pipeline, with instructors who are also field professionals and skills training directly applicable to the workforce students will soon enter.  It’s not just US nationals who are making the educational shift.

20 percent of all international students in the United States attend career and vocational colleges, as of the 2022 school year.  An additional benefit for international students is the quick transition from school to workforce, which aligns with visa requirements to stay in the country.  These schools also carry less stringent US language requirements and accommodate nontraditional schedules.

The main problem international students run into when it comes to career and vocational college enrollment is the enrollment process itself.  While traditional four-year colleges and universities have departments dedicated to helping international students navigate admissions requirements and procedures, career and vocational colleges still largely lack these resources.  CCI TheDegreePeople.com conducted an informal online survey that discovered international students continue to face hurdles in navigating admissions for career and vocational colleges in the United States, even though the rate of enrollment continues to grow.

What do international students need to qualify?

The short answer is a high school diploma or GED.  The long answer is it depends on the structure of the educational system of the country of origin.  For some countries, this is a secondary education certificate or passing a government mandated exam.  In every case, international students have to explain the value of their foreign education in terms of US academic value as part of the admissions process to show the equivalency of a US high school diploma or GED.  This can get confusing, especially in tandem with cultural and language barriers.

“I founded this business to help those born outside of the US get educated here.  I am a first generation American and big supporter of the career and vocational college experience. It was my mother’s dream,” Sheila Danzig, founder and director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com, a premier credential evaluating agency explains. 

International students need to provide credential evaluations of their foreign secondary education credentials or government exam results.  CCI TheDegreePeople.com evaluates each credential uniquely to clearly show admissions departments the academic value of foreign secondary education credentials in terms of US academic value to prove admissions eligibility for career and vocational colleges.  This evaluation is delivered in the form of a PDF directly to the college official handling international student admissions, and offers no charge rush delivery options.  As international student body admissions grow in these institutions, they face a learning curve that requires guidance.  In addition to providing evaluations, CCI TheDegreePeople.com works directly with admissions departments, being available to answer questions, provide guidance, and troubleshoot. 

“We understand the vital role career and community colleges play in the US education system,” says Danzig.  “Many schools have told us that their international student enrollment has grown because CCI has made the admission process student friendly.”

For more information on how CCI TheDegreePeople.com can improve the admissions process for your international students contact Shelia Danzig via email at [email protected] or at 1.800.771.4723.

On May 3, 2023, Utah State Law SB35 took effect, giving foreign professionals who have earned a range of professional licenses outside of the United States the opportunity to be licensed and practice in the State.  This prevents internationally trained professionals from having to jump through regulatory hoops, repeat education and professional training, take redundant tests, and pay all associated fees and costs to practice.  For professions with license portability between states, this presents an opportunity even for those living outside of Utah.  In fact, applicants do not have to live in Utah to apply for licensure through this internationally-trained applicant legislation.

To qualify, applicants must demonstrate lawful presence in the United States, and carry a foreign license in one of the following eligible professions:

• Accountancy
• Acupuncture
• Architect
• Athlete Agent
• Athletic Trainer
• Audiology
• Building Inspector
• Burglar Alarm
• Certified Dietician
• Certified Nurse Midwife
• Chiropractic Physician
• Clinical Mental Health Counseling
• Contracting
• Controlled Substance
• Controlled Substance Database
• Controlled Substance Precursor
• Cosmetology
• Court Reporting
• Deception Detection
• Dentistry
• Direct-Entry Midwife
• Electrical
• Elevator Mechanic
• Engineering
• Environmental Health Science
• Factory Built Housing
• Funeral Service
• Genetic Counseling
• Geology
• Handyman
• Health Facility Administrator
• Hearing Instrument Specialist
• Hunting Guide/Outfitter
• Interior Design
• Landscape Architecture
• Land Surveying
• Massage Therapy
• Marriage and Family Therapy
• Medical Language Interpreter
• Music Therapy
• Naturopathy
• Nursing
• Occupational Therapy
• Online Prescribing
• Optometry
• Osteopathic Physician and Surgeon
• Pharmacy
• Physical Therapy
• Physician and Surgeon
• Physician Assistant
• Plumbing
• Podiatry
• Private Probation Provider
• Psychology
• Radiologic Technology
• Recreational Therapy
• Residence Lien Recovery Fund
• Respiratory Care
• Securities Companies and Guards
• Social Work
• Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
• Substance Use Disorder Counseling
• Uniform Building Codes
• Veterinary
• Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling

It is of note that a professional licenses is NOT a work permit.  While this legislation legally permits successful applications to practice in that profession, a work permit is also needed to work legally in the United States.  That means applicants still must obtain H-1B, Green Card, or other work permit status.

Over the next few years, we hope to see more states adopt similar legislation to address skilled worker shortages, strengthen professional industries, and remove redundancy barriers to work.

Sheila Danzig

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

Every year, qualified H-1B beneficiaries with Three-Year Bachelor’s degrees from India are hit with education RFEs.  USCIS requires that H-1B beneficiaries hold a US Bachelor’s degree or higher, which typically takes four years to complete.  While the Indian Three-Year Bachelor’s degree has the same or greater classroom contact hours as the US Four-Year Bachelor’s degree, USCIS is hung up on the missing fourth year.

A 2022 client of ours exemplified this situation.  He came to us with an RFE for education even though he had a Bachelor’s degree in the exact field of his H-1B job.  The problem was, the degree was a Three-Year degree earned in India.  We got the RFE overturned.  Here’s how:

We asked about his past work experience.  USCIS accepts that three years of progressive work experience in the field of the H-1B job is the equivalency of one year of college credit in that major, so long as a professor with the authority to grant college credit for work experience writes the work experience conversion as part of a credential evaluation.  Progressive work experience is a period of employment in which education occurred on the job as evidenced by increased complexity and responsibility of work over the course of employment.  Our client worked for three years in the field for the same employer, and over the course of his employment was promoted twice.  This clearly showed that over the course of employment, he gained field-specific skills and knowledge.

One of our staff professors wrote the work experience conversion as part of a detailed credential evaluation that clearly showed USCIS that our client had the equivalency of a US Four-Year Bachelor’s degree.  The missing fourth year was accounted for with three years of progressive work experience as detailed in the evaluation.  Our client submitted the credential evaluation with his RFE response, the RFE was overturned, and he got right to work on October 1^st.

If you, or if your employee or client has received an education RFE for a Three-Year Bachelor’s degree, or any other reason, we can help.  Visit www.ccifree.com for a free review of your case.  We will respond in four hours or less.

Sheila Danzig

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

There are many educational pathways that lead to skill attainment.  Some of them are entirely academic. Some begin in college and then end in the workplace rather than with degree completion.  Some are entirely experiential.  However, USCIS needs to see the US academic equivalency to circuitous educational journeys.

Last year, an H-1B beneficiary came to us with an education RFE for incomplete college.  They had the skills and understanding required for their specialty occupation, as evidenced by past work experience in the field.  While working in the field of the H-1B job, they had been promoted twice, showing applicable development of skill and understanding through the course of employment.  However, USCIS requires an H-1B beneficiary to hold a US bachelor’s degree or higher in the exact field of the H-1B job.  While our client had three years of college in an accredited institution in the United States and three years of progressive work experience, not having a full degree led to approval issues.

Here’s how we successfully got the RFE overturned:

We wrote a credential evaluation that took our client’s entire situation into account: the H-1B job, the education, the work experience, and USCIS approval trends (which we always keep an eye on).  Leveraging the three years of college credit, highlighting course content directly applicable to the field of the H-1B job, and including a work experience conversion, we were able to show USCIS that our client had the equivalency of a bachelor’s degree in the field of the H-1B job in terms of US academic value.

The work experience conversion was the key component to visa approval.  At CCI TheDegreePeople.com we work with professors authorized to grant college credit for work experience.  USCIS accepts that three years of progressive experience in a field is the equivalent of one year of college credit in that major.  The professor authorized this work experience conversion, which was included in the credential evaluation, showing that the education which occurred on the job – as evidenced by promotions – served as the equivalent of the missing fourth year of college credit.

This conversion can also work for three-year bachelor’s degrees, which are notorious for causing education issues for H-1B beneficiaries. 

If you, or if your employee or client has incomplete college, missing college, or a three-year bachelor’s degree, we recommend including a credential evaluation with a work experience conversion.  We can help.

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

Sheila Danzig

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