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Credential Evaluation

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.]]>

     

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

    Who is at Fault for Your RFE?

    Credential Evaluation, Visa Approvals


    Regardless, the first step to successfully answering your RFE, or your employee or client’s RFE is to discover why it was issued in the first place and who is to blame. Remain calm, refrain from pointing fingers, and ALWAYS remain solution-oriented through this process.

    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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    Case Study: EB2 RFE for Mismatched Education – APPROVED

    Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals


    For an H-1B candidate, we could have written a credential evaluation that combined work experience in the field with their education and written the equivalency of a US bachelor’s degree in computer sciences that would meet CIS requirements for the visa. For EB2 candidates like our client, it’s not so straightforward.

    EB2 educational requirements demand the bachelor’s degree be a single source. That means no combining work experience with college credit, and no combining education from two different colleges. However, the EB2 visa classification requires the candidate to hold a US Master’s degree or its equivalent or higher, so instead of going after the bachelor’s degree equivalency, we focused on our client’s Master’s degree equivalency to answer this RFE.

    According to federal precedent and case law, five years of progressive work experience in the field is the equivalent of a Master’s degree in that field. Our client certainly had those five years. We wrote a credential evaluation that converted his five years of work experience in the field of computer sciences into the Master’s degree in computer sciences he needed to fit CIS requirements for his job and his visa. We backed up this equivalency by extensively citing and documenting the precedent decisions and federal case law regarding this work experience conversion for this particular visa.

    CIS accepted this equivalency and his EB2 visa was approved.

    If you, or your employee or client has a tricky education situation and his or her straightforward credentials do not match PERM requirements, don’t take chances. Talk to a credential evaluator that specializes in difficult cases, RFEs, and Denials, because they know what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to what CIS will and will not accept. Make sure your evaluator is well versed in CIS trends, CIS precedents, federal case law, international trade agreements, and international education.

    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.]]>

    Case Study: EB2 RFE for Mismatched Education – APPROVED Read More »

    Case Study: Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree Denial Successfully Answered

    Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals


    CIS is notoriously finicky about accepting a three-year bachelor’s degree as the equivalent of a US four-year bachelor’s degree, particularly Indian three-year bachelor’s degrees. Because CIS did not recognize the three-year bachelor’s degree as the equivalent of a US four-year bachelor’s degree, and because that degree was a prerequisite to the master’s program, CIS deemed that the master’s degree was not, in fact, equivalent to a US master’s degree.

    When our client filed, he received a Denial. That’s when he came to us. In this situation, the evaluator has two options to show that the three-year bachelor’s degree – and thus the two-year master’s degree – meets its US equivalent.

    First, we could break down the classroom contact hours in a three-year bachelor’s degree and apply the Carnegie Unit conversion in which fifteen classroom contact hours is the equivalent of one college credit hour. The standard US four-year bachelor’s degree has 120 college credit hours. Since the vast majority of Indian three-year degrees are comprised of at least 1800 classroom contact hours, the conversion shows that there are more than enough college credit hours in a three-year degree to be the equivalency of a US four-year degree.

    In addition to this detailed breakdown of the academic content of the three-year degree, we would also cite binding UNESCO instruments, as well as numerous three-year bachelor’s degrees that can be earned in the United States. In addition, we would provide a list of US master’s degree programs – including programs at Harvard, Columbia, and Wharton – that accept an Indian three-year bachelor’s degree as an adequate prerequisite to these master’s degree programs to prove the functional equivalency of the client’s bachelor’s degree as a step in obtaining a master’s degree. Along with all of this documentation, we would provide 400 more pages of documentation we have gathered showing how a three-year degree is the equivalent of a US four-year bachelor’s degree, and also discuss the Matter of Shah – a case that CIS depends on to invalidate three-year bachelor’s degrees. The Matter of Shah is not an accurate instrument to determine the value of a three-year degree for many reasons.

    Our second option has a higher success rate than the first option, and is in most cases the method of approach we will take. Using the method about to be explained, we have seen a 95% approval rate with three-year degrees for EB2 visas.

    In this second method is a two-step process. First, we would write an evaluation to show how three years of undergraduate education with and additional two years of graduate school are equivalent to a US bachelor’s degree. We can do this without it being considered combining education. PERM requirements clearly state that the bachelor’s degree must be a single source, and we can meet these requirements with this method by citing appropriate memos. The next step is to show how five years of progressive work experience in our client’s field of employ is equivalent to a US master’s degree. We can do this by citing federal case law.

    If the second option works so much better, why would we ever use the first option? The first option is well accepted for EB3 visas, but tends to only work half of the time for EB2. However, if a client does not have a master’s degree, or the client’s attorney specifically requests we go that route, that is the route we will take. Every case is different, and every client and their education is different.

    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.

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

    Common Foreign Degrees that Get Lost in Translation

    Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

    While translators need to know the nuances of language – which words translate directly, which words have changed over time, and which words do not have direct English translations – evaluators possess the same kind of specialized knowledge about international education.

    One common example of this is the mistranslation of Baccalaurate, which is often translated into Bachelor’s degree even though there are not the same. The words diploma and postgraduate diploma do not have clear meanings, and a postgraduate diploma is not necessarily the equivalency of postgraduate education. Some are, some are not. For this reason, translators will often translate a postgraduate diploma into a Master’s degree. This is an insertion of a value judgment through making a translation that is not direct and holds academic weight. This error would trigger an RFE or worse on an EB2 petition. Many degrees simply do not have a US equivalent and must be evaluated using detailed tactics, drawing from international trade agreements, CIS precedents, federal case law, and US graduate program admissions norms. Without this knowledge, translators often make value judgments when translating educational documents without realizing the damage it causes.

    Another example is the Russian specialist degree – the 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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    American Immigration Council and AILA File Suit against USCIS over H-1B Lottery

    Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals


    The H-1B lottery has always been shrouded in mystery. Despite claims of commitment to transparency, CIS has not been forthcoming with information about the mechanisms of this lottery. There is no way to hold CIS accountable for this process and possible flaws or unfairness resulting from it. There is no way to tell whether this process even holds up to statutory standards without the ability to see and review it. For this reason, a lawsuit has been brought against CIS and the US Department of Homeland Security by the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association with the purpose to seek information about the inner workings of the H-1B lottery process.

    H-1B visas are dual-purpose, non-immigrant visas that allow highly skilled foreign nationals with a US bachelor’s degree or its equivalent or higher to live and work in the United States for increments of three years to fill specialized job positions. Demand for highly skilled workers with highly specialized skills and knowledge in the rapidly expanding US IT industry has been a driving force for the number of H-1B petitions filed growing every year. CIS must continue to accept H-1B petitions for at least one business week before closing its doors. The past two years, the cap has been exceeded within five days of when CIS begins accepting petitions.

    While the lawsuit is a good step in the right direction to bring some insight and accountability to the mysterious H-1B lottery process, there is little that can currently be done by H-1B candidates and their employers and lawyers to affect whether or not the petition makes the lottery. Besides filing on April First, of course.

    “The internal workings of the H-1B lottery system are out of all of our control or understanding for now,” International education expert and executive director of prominent foreign credential evaluation agency TheDegreePeople, Sheila Danzig explains. “What you can influence is what happens when your petition makes the lottery, and you can influence this by understanding CIS trends for what gets approved and what does not.”

    H-1B visa requirements are largely based on the nature of the candidate’s job and education. For this reason CIS trends surrounding requirements pertaining to these facets are important to understand and anticipate. This is the difference between your visa or your employee or client’s visa getting approved or receiving an RFE or worse. These trends also change, and have changed over the past five or six years and the number of H-1B petitions flooding in has increased.

    Danzig recommends consulting with a credential evaluator who consistently works with H-1B cases and RFEs before filing a petition or responding to an RFE. Evaluators who do the difficult work gain a complex understanding of international education norms, CIS trends, and what works and what does not work.

    “Forget about the lottery and focus on what you can do,” advises Danzig.

    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 File Your EB2 Petition with Incorrect Education

    Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals


    Sometimes, your education, or your employee or client’s education simply will not work for EB2. Sometimes it will. In many cases, the education will work when submitted with a detailed credential evaluation citing federal case law, CIS precedent decisions, and international trade agreements.

    One common problem EB2 beneficiaries run into is that the education must be an exact match for their job title. In the past, CIS has allowed candidates with degrees in fields related to their job to have their visas approved, but educational standards have tightened. This means if you, or your employee or client has a degree in a related field, you need to take their education and work experience to a credential evaluator to fill in the missing gaps between your client’s education and job.

    However, this leads into another common problem EB2 candidates face: the bachelor’s degree must be a SINGLE SOURCE. EB2 candidates must hold a US Master’s degree or its equivalent or higher to meet educational standards on the PERM. If your client has a degree from outside of the United States – particularly if you, or your employee or client holds a three-year bachelor’s degree – the bachelor’s degree equivalency cannot be met for this particular visa by combining education from different institutions, or from combining education plus work experience. However, CIS does accept a work experience conversion of ONLY years of work experience in the field into enough years of college credit to meet CIS requirements for bachelor’s degree equivalency.

    Two more common problems EB2 beneficiaries face when it comes to having the wrong education is due to the complex nature of translation and credential evaluation across educational system structure that vary between countries.

    PERM requirements for EB2 visas are very specific, and because EB2 petitions take years less time to process than EB3 visas, candidates are tempted to try to make their credentials fit into EB2 status even if they do not fit. It’s not uncommon for a beneficiary to claim that their high school diploma is a college degree, either on purpose or by mistake. False translations are common amongst beneficiaries with degrees and certificates from countries outside of the United States because when words are translated into English, the educational value does not translate over along with it. Translating your client’s educational documents into English is not enough, even if a translation agency offers credential evaluation services. Credential evaluation is a highly specialized service requiring advanced knowledge of international education, federal case law, international trade agreements, and CIS trends.

    Many degrees exist in other countries that do not exist in the United States, and many degrees that do not call themselves degrees actually have post-secondary educational value while others do not. For example, the Indian Chartered Accountancy certificate is the functional equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree in accounting, but the Canadian Chartered Accountancy Certificate is not. The way that this is evidenced is by functional equivalency – by documenting what either degree allows the candidate to do. Taking exams or being accepted for admission into Master’s degree or Ph.D. programs that require postsecondary education that is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree is a function of a degree that can get your client’s visa approved if you can clearly show that this is the case.

    Don’t make the mistake of filing your client’s EB2 petition before you are both absolutely sure his or her education will work for this visa. Take your client’s educational documents to a credential evaluator with extensive experience working with EB2 cases, RFEs, Denials, NOIDs, and difficult cases because this kind of evaluator understands what will work, what will not work, and what will require a detailed evaluation that cites very specific evidence, sources, and documentation to work.

    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, RFE, Denial, or NOID, please go to http://www.ccifree.com/ or call 800.771.4723.]]>

    Don’t File Your EB2 Petition with Incorrect Education Read More »

    Two Common Reasons and Solutions for Educational RFEs for EB2 Petitions

    Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

    While RFEs are common and can be addressed, the best course of action is always to avoid them altogether. While an RFE can be utilized as an opportunity to strengthen your case, or your employee or client’s case on your end, it is also an opportunity to CIS to take a shortcut. An RFE is a red flag, which triggers a close scrutiny of your client’s case, in which inconsistencies and missing details that would have otherwise gone unnoticed can come to light and hurt your case, or your employee or client’s case. Little inconsistencies and missing details are not what trigger RFEs in the first place, although you always want to double-check all documents for accuracy and consistency before filing. If your education or your employee or client’s education is from a country outside of the United States, their foreign credentials must be evaluated to show the US academic value equivalency. This is where many candidates run into trouble because PERM requirements for EB2 visa education are different than requirements for other visas when it comes to equivalencies. At the same time, CIS trends when it comes to academic qualifications for work visas in general have tightened in the past few years, compounding problems candidates face.

    There are two main educational requirements that many petitions miss, and are common triggers for an RFE:

    1. The education equivalency must match the education requirements on the PERM.
    2. The bachelor’s degree equivalency must be a single-source degree.

    The first problem EB2 candidates run into regularly that triggers and education RFE is that their education does not match the education requirements on the PERM. The PERM requires your education, or your employee or client’s education to be an exact match for their job title. This leads right into the second problem.

    CIS requires an EB2 candidate’s education to have a single-source bachelor’s degree. This means that you, your employee, or your client’s education sources, or education and work experience cannot be combined to write an equivalency.

    The 2006 Annual Conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association concluded, “For employment-based immigration visa purposes, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will not equate a three-year diploma plus a post-baccalaureate diploma as being the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree for either EB2 classification.”

    This means if you, your employee, or your client has a two or three-year degree, the credential evaluator you work with needs to be able to write an evaluation to show equivalence to a US four-year degree without combining work experience to fill in the missing fourth year. While this method of evaluation works for the H1B visa, it will not for EB2.

    What is the solution? Find a credential evaluation agency that often works with difficult cases, RFEs, and Denials because they understand what triggers them, and they understand how to address them. A knowledgeable evaluator knows the concerns and questions CIS has underlying this kind of RFE and can answer them by citing CIS decisions, memos, precedents, and other evidence that show functional equivalence, and how international trade organizations view the equivalence of your client’s degree. At TheDegreePeople, we are able to write evaluations that get our clients’ three and two-year degrees accepted regularly, but it takes a VERY detailed evaluation in which we hold CIS’s hand, guiding them through the complex terrain of the equivalency.

    One way credential evaluators address this kind of RFE is by utilizing the progressive work experience conversion formula of three years of work experience in the field to one year of college credit in that field to write a Master’s degree equivalence. A credential evaluator can cite federal case law and CIS precedent decisions to write an evaluation that converts five years of progressive work experience in the field to a US Master’s degree in that field to meet PERM education requirements.

    We see difficult RFEs and Denials every day at TheDegreePeople. While there are never any guarantees with CIS, we follow their educational trends closely and know what tends to work and what does not. If you, your client, or your employ has received an RFE for an education situation, visit us online at cciFree.com. We will review your case at no cost and advise you on how to best proceed.

    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.

    Two Common Reasons and Solutions for Educational RFEs for EB2 Petitions Read More »

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