Do You Really Need a Lawyer for your Visa?
Credential Evaluation
The H1B Nicknamed the Genius Visa H1B Visa Program Keeps US STEM Industries from Collapse
Nicknamed the “Genius Visa,” holding an H1B visa enables foreign nationals with advanced degrees to live and work in the United States for up to six years. This Visa ensures that they get prevailing industry wages and benefits, and that the companies that hire H1B visa holders can take on these new hires without cutting into the wages and benefits of other employees. This Visa offers a unique opportunity for highly skilled workers to live and work in the United States long-term, with their families. It is a Visa of dual-intent, so while it is a non-immigrant Visa, H1B Visa holders can choose to pursue pathways to citizenship.
About 70% of all H1B Visas go to workers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) industries. Why is this?
“Science is the engine of prosperity,” Dr. Kaku explains. “The United States has the worst educational system known to science.”
Students in the United States are not graduating high school or even college with the math and science skills necessary to fill the growing number of high tech jobs in places like Silicon Valley. According to Dr. Kaku, Silicon Valley would not even exist without the H1B Visa program because people coming to the United States to work on these Visas fill the positions that create entire STEM industries. Wall Street Journal agrees that when it comes to the highest level jobs at the highest level technology companies, Americans simply are not qualified. H1B workers are needed to create jobs for US citizens in these same industries because high-level jobs are necessary to create lower-tiered jobs in the industry through which US citizens can develop expertise through industry experience. Without a doubt, the “genius visa” is the secret ingredient that keeps STEM industries in the United States from collapsing.
While it may come as a surprise to some that Silicon Valleys are popping up in countries like China and India, it actually makes all the sense in the world because these are the countries that the top-level Silicon Valley engineers and developers are coming from. School systems in these countries cultivate strong scientific minds, and the United States attracts them with the H1B Visa program.
STEM industries aren’t the only fields attracting foreign geniuses. Dr. Kaku reports that 50% of all PhD candidates in the United States are foreign born, building the backbone of graduate programs in the country. Without the H1B visa program, 50% of all PhD candidates in the United States simply would not exist.
To qualify for H1B Visa status, a candidate must hold an advanced degree in a specialized field. That means having earned a bachelor’s degree or higher in a specialized field that matches their field of employ. While this sounds straightforward, variance of academic structures across borders muddles the value of any given degree. H1B Visa candidates are running into trouble getting their Visas approved because employers understand the value of their foreign education, but the USICS needs the value clearly articulated in terms of US educational standards. Candidates with three-year bachelor’s degrees in particular are running into trouble. When a candidate files his or her H1B Visa petition, an evaluation of their foreign degree must be included.
“Credential evaluation is a highly specialized process,” explains International Education expert and credential evaluator Sheila Danzig. “When we evaluate foreign credentials for US equivalence, we have to take classroom contact hours, USCIS and other legal precedents, university admissions decisions, and documented investigations into foreign education equivalencies into account to clearly spell out the value of your education.”
Dr. Kaku’s and the Wall Street Journal’s observations about the state of the US educational system are clearly reflected in the demographics of high-level tech jobs. All the same, the H1B Visa program requires candidates to prove their genius to their employers and graduate programs, as well as the bureaucracies that approve their visas.
About the Author
Sheila Danzig
Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director of CCI 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.]]>
Turning Work Experience into College Credit: How does THAT work?
If your client has an Indian three-year degree, you need to anticipate this problem before the H1b petition is submitted. Even though it has been proven time and again that the academic content of the Indian three-year degree actually far surpasses the US four-year degree in terms of classroom contact hours and Carnegie units, it is on your client to account for that final fourth year to the USCIS. You have two options.
First, your credential evaluator can write a detailed evaluation of the academic content of your client’s degree. That means breaking down classroom contact hours and converting them into US measurements of college credits, then comparing the number of credits needed to graduate with a US bachelor’s degree to the amount of credits your client has accumulated. This is a good option if your client has a degree in their field of employ. However, if their degree fails to exactly match their field of employ the USCIS still will not accept their qualification for the visa.
USCIS standards of educational requirements are more stringent than those of employers. While many employers understand that employees with degrees in fields related to their work usually possess the specialized skills and knowledge required to carry out their jobs. The USCIS, on the other hand, requires employees education EXACTLY meet their field of employment. That means, your client needs to not only bridge the gap in the years of education, but also the gap in specialization.
To do this, an authorized credential evaluator can convert years of work experience into college credit. Work experience must be in the exact field of employ to count these towards years of academic specialization, and it must also be progressive work experience. This means the nature of the work required your client to take on more and more work and responsibilities representative of their progressively specialized skills and knowledge in the field. A credential evaluation agency with the authority to convert work experience into college credit can do this. Typically, three years of progressive work experience in a field can be evaluated as equivalent to one year of college credit in that field.
Before we delve into this any further, this is NOT a DIY manual. You cannot make these work experience conversions on your own and expect the USCIS to just accept it. You must work with an experienced credential evaluator with the authority to make these conversions, as well as a track record of being able to successfully make these conversions.
Sheila Danzig is the director of Career Consulting International at www.TheDegreePeople.com, a foreign credential evaluation agency. They specialize in difficult cases and RFEs, Denials, NOIDs, 3-year degrees, etc. and offer a free review of all H1B, E2, and I140 education at http://www.ccifree.com/.]]>
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H1b Question – Which job offer has the most RFEs in 2015?
While most of the H1b visas every year are for STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – jobs, the bulk of the RFE responses to H1b petitions are for Computer Systems Analyst jobs.
Why is this?
In their educational requirements policy, the USCIS states, “A generalized degree, absent specialized experience, is insufficient” to prove an H1b candidate is educationally qualified for their specialty occupation. For example, the USCIS cites, “Since there must be a close corollary between the required specialized studies and the position, the requirement of a degree of generalized title, such as business administration or liberal arts, without further specification, does not establish eligibility.”
When one’s education does not work standing alone, an evaluator must include the candidate’s work experience to meet H1b requirements. At the same time, the USCIS requires a candidate’s degree to specifically match their specialty occupation. While employers will hire those with a degree in a field related to their job, the USCIS requires an exact match. Which degree fits Computer Systems Analyst?
Master of Computer Analysis is the ONLY standard degree we have seen that has not triggered an RFE for that job offer. Some other degrees has “slid by” but we have seen RFEs for all of them.
A US Bachelor’s of Computer Science Engineering or its equivalent even receives an RFE for being a “generalized” degree. A bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences Analysis is an extremely rare degree in the United States, available only at colleges and universities with self-designed degrees. However with work experience you can have that equivalence.
However, most candidates don’t have a Computer Sciences Analysis self-designed degree from a US school. A Bachelor’s of Computer Analysis should be accepted by the USCIS if it is a four-year degree, however the BCA from India is a three-year degree.
The solution? An evaluator can add your client’s work experience to his or her education to show an equivalence to a US Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Sciences Analysis. Although rare this degree does exist, and more importantly it is accepted by the USCIS as fulfilling the requirements for a Computer Systems Analyst.
While RFE’s are not the end of the world and can be addressed, they are also seen as red flags. An RFE for an issue like education can draw attention to the small details of your client’s petition, which can lead to even bigger issues. It is always better to prevent an RFE in the first place than to overturn one later.
About the author
Sheila Danzig
Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com a Foreign Credential Evaluation Agency. For a no charge analysis of any difficult cases, RFEs, Denials or NOIDS, please go to http://www.ccifree.com/ or call 800.771.4723.]]>
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Change It Up: Your H-1B Transfer Option
Though the initial H-1b process was daunting, getting your visa transferred is a comparatively simple and risk-free process. All you have to do is find another specialty occupation for which you are academically qualified that accepts H-1b workers. This position must require a bachelor’s degree or higher. Once you’ve secured your status, it will be easier to find employers willing to sponsor you because now all of the hardest part of the legwork and investment is done. You don’t have to stick with a job you hate to keep your visa status.
One of the greatest benefits of H-1b visa status is you can change jobs without loosing your visa status. You don’t have to notify your employer that you plan to transfer, and once your transfer has been approved you still have the freedom to change your mind and stay with your current job. H-1b transfers are not subject to the annual cap, so you won’t have to worry about getting into the lottery. Remember, it’s a new job, not a new visa.
Once your visa is approved, you can take as much time as you want between ending your current job and beginning your new job. How much time you take and what you do with this time is entirely up to you. Some people take this opportunity to travel or visit family. Others dive right into their new job.
You can’t just change jobs without alerting the USCIS. Just like all other visa-related processes, you will have to petition the USCIS for an H-1b transfer. This process takes about 4-8 weeks, but can take more. In this petition, you’ll need to include your last three pay stubs, copies of your immigration paperwork, as well as copies of your educational documents. If your specialized degree is from a country besides the US, you will need to submit a credential evaluation along with your documents to clearly show the value of your education in terms of US academic structures and standards. Don’t submit educational documents without first getting them translated into English and evaluated for US academic equivalence.
Don’t stick it out with a job you hate when you can find fulfillment in your dream job. The hard part is over, you’ve got your H-1b visa status. Now make the most of it.
Sheila Danzig is the director of Career Consulting International at www.TheDegreePeople.com, a foreign credential evaluation agency. They specialize in difficult cases and RFEs, Denials, NOIDs, 3-year degrees, etc. and offer a free review of all H1B, E2, and I140 education at http://www.ccifree.com/.]]>
ALERT: Attorneys and Employers Be on the Lookout for False Translations
Education evaluation is a complex, specialized process. Evaluators typically hold graduate level degrees in international education, or have a significant amount of experience with international credentials by working in a university admissions environment or the like. Credential evaluators must have a firm grasp of not only education system structures internationally, but must also be knowledgeable about USCIS statutes, precedents, and decisions regarding educational qualifications. The evaluation process requires skill, judgment, and integrity to ensure an accurate and appropriate evaluation. In large firms, to ensure accuracy, junior evaluators are supervised by senior staff members.
Credential evaluation is too complex to be an a la carte service, but more and more translation agencies are offering it as such. There are shortcuts to writing a credential evaluation based on databases listing educational equivalencies, which can be purchased by anyone. Some translation firms are using these databases to write evaluations in a cookie-cutter fashion. However, the equivalencies in these databases only represent the most conservative evaluations for any given credential. These equivalencies are controversial and will not be applicable in every scenario. Furthermore, when this is the practice, an “evaluation” is misleading because the expertise involved in the evaluation did not actually come from the evaluator. The expertise came from whoever wrote the database, not from the firm that wrote the evaluation.
Without an extensive background in international education, there is no clear way to tell which situations are unique and which equivalencies are applicable to which degree. When credential evaluators write an evaluation, detailed analysis, expertise, and research is always needed to ensure accuracy and to truly address each client’s unique situation.
Beyond simply not having the expertise required to write accurate evaluations, much of the value of a client’s educational documents gets lost in translation – both of the words and of the academic content. Even without meaning to, translators often interject an evaluation through mistranslation. For example, a common mistranslation is Baccalaureate, which often gets translated into a Bachelor’s degree even though they are NOT the same. Just as words get mistranslated, degrees are also commonly mistranslated when a translator interjects a judgment on equivalency. A degree in one country does not directly translate to a degree in another country. Knowledge of the academic content, years required, and admissions decisions must all be taken into consideration when discerning the educational value of any given degree. This includes which colleges accept which foreign degrees to meet the requirements of their programs.
International education expert Dr. John Kersey explains, “In international education, the same term may mean entirely different things. Most bachelor’s degrees in Pakistan, for example, are only two years long and are comparable to a United States associate’s degree, not a bachelor’s degree which requires three to four years of study. The European Master degree typically represents four years of postsecondary education, and is thus comparable to a United States bachelor’s degree, rather than a master’s degree, which requires five to six years of postsecondary study.”
The words diploma and postgraduate diploma have no clear meanings. A postgraduate diploma does not mean that it is a graduate level education. Regardless, a postgraduate degree often gets mistranslated into a master’s degree. This, however, is not the result of a direct translation; this is the result of a value judgment from someone who does not understand the nuances of international education. While some postgraduate degrees are, in fact, equivalent to a master’s degree, none should be TRANSLATED as a master’s degree.
In a similar fashion, the Russian specialist degree often gets mistranslated. The kandidat naouk, which is generally the equivalent of a US doctorate cannot be TRANSLATED as a doctorate degree or a PhD. In the US, we know that a CPA is not a degree title. The title Certified Public Accountant is a professional title. The same is true for the CA (Chartered Accountants) in Canada. However, in India, the CA is actually equivalent to a degree in India, but this cannot be translated. It must be carefully evaluated based on academic content and legal precedents. Words must be translated, and credentials must be evaluated. These are two completely different processes and to combine them is both dangerous and misleading.
The solution to this is for the translator to always translate the literal words without making an educational value assessment. Leave that to a credential evaluation agency. To get an accurate evaluation that will not mislead employers and not leave visa candidates out of luck when the USCIS questions the credibility of their credential evaluator, keep this a two-step process. You would never hire a credential evaluation agency to translate documents. Do not hire a translation agency to discern academic equivalencies.
Bear in mind that not all credential evaluation agencies have evaluators qualified to assess equivalency with accuracy either. In fact, we are seeing more and more Requests For Evidence inquiring into the credibility of credential evaluation agencies. Not all credential evaluators have the expertise to write accurate evaluations, and not all agencies have the authority to make the necessary conversions to prove equivalence. When you and your client or employee are looking for the right agency to hire to write a credential evaluation, here are three things to keep in mind:
- When you talk with an agency, ask about the credentials, experience, and expertise of the person who will be writing the evaluation. If the agency will not discuss this with you, look elsewhere. A credential evaluator should at minimum hold a degree in higher education that includes significant study in international education systems, or have extensive experience working in university admissions. Working in admissions gives evaluators first hand knowledge and experience with how foreign degrees are valued in the eyes of the universities and graduate programs the evaluation will be written for.
- Higher cost does not directly translate into higher quality when it comes to credential evaluations. In fact, it’s the credible evaluation agencies that typically offer inexpensive services. If an agency requests a large payment up front before they are willing to discuss your case, look elsewhere. If they charge exorbitant prices, look elsewhere.
- Many evaluation agencies are members of professional bodies and trade associations. Evaluation agencies are not required to be members in organizations such as these, although many are. While membership may make an agency look more official and credible, do not base your decision on these associations. Membership does not make for a meaningful assessment of an agency’s product.
- Beware evaluation mills. Some evaluators will just rubber-stamp whatever equivalency is asked for. This is misleading for employers and will certainly land your client or employee an RFE come visa petition time. How can you avoid this? When you talk to a potential evaluation agency, ask about their evaluation policies. This will show you whether or not they are prepared to tailor their services to your client or employee’s individual situation.
Look for a credential evaluation agency that is forthcoming with the qualifications of their evaluators, and that will address your client or your employee’s unique situation.
About the Author
Sheila Danzig
Sheila Danzig is the Executive Director of CCI 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. Mention that you saw this in the ILW article and get 72 hour rush service at no charge.
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5 Helpful Tips for Finding a Reliable Credential Evaluator
Not all credential evaluation agencies are authorized to make the necessary assessments and conversions, and not all agencies hire actual experts to write these evaluations. If the agency your client or employee hires to write the evaluation is not reliable, the USCIS cannot accept the evaluation as evidence to support H1b visa eligibility. Don’t waste time and money on an unreliable agency.
Learn how to pick out a good one with these five helpful tips:
- Easy to reach
If an agency fails to answer or return your calls, texts, and emails, look elsewhere. Reliable agencies are not only reliable in their expertise, but also in you being able to work with them. If you can’t even rely on an agency to answer your call, you can’t rely on them to write a credible evaluation. Look elsewhere. A reliable agency will be easy to reach in any medium you choose – call, text, or email – any time of the day or night. This is because a good agency understands the time crunch you are under, and that the line of work you are both in is inconvenient in its nature. You work odd hours for your clients and employees in the H1b petition process, and if an agency is reliable, they will too.
- Affordable
This is NOT one of those instances where the more you pay the more you get. A higher price is NOT indicative of a higher quality credential evaluation. Reliable credential evaluation agencies are low-cost because they understand the realities of their clients, and they don’t have to make the most financial mileage out of each customer. Look for an affordable, low-cost agency to work with.
- Comfortable to talk to
Go with your gut. If you don’t feel comfortable in your communication with them, look elsewhere. When you feel comfortable on the phone with an agency, that means they are confident and knowledgeable in what they do. They answer your questions in ways that make you feel safe and satisfied. They are able to meet you where you are and work together with you. Look for an agency that you can have a good, helpful conversation with.
- Available
A reliable agency will make it easy for you to work with them. That means they will have a variety of rush delivery options depending on your needs. They will always be there to answer your questions and address your concerns. If an agency does not offer options or guarantee their follow-through, look elsewhere. A reliable agency will be able to meet the needs of you and your client or employee because they understand the extent of what needs to be done to successfully file an H1b petition.
- Great references and testimonials from past clients
You should be able to easily find references and testimonials from people who have worked with the evaluation agency in the past. Ask if they can provide you with contact information from past clients, and if they cannot do so swiftly, look elsewhere. NEVER order an evaluation from ANY agency without first reading testimonials from past clients. No matter how good an agency looks on their website, on paper, or from what they have to say about themselves, the only way you can be sure they will be reliable for your and your client or employee is by checking into whether or not they have been consistently reliable in practice.
Reliable credential evaluation agencies have international education professors and experts on call to write detailed evaluations any time. Find an agency with the authority to convert years of work experience and college classroom contact hours into college credit. These experts and professors are authorized to take a close and thorough look at your client or employee’s education and work experience to get an accurate measure of the value of their specialized skills and knowledge.
Sheila Danzig is the director of Career Consulting International at www.TheDegreePeople.com, a foreign credential evaluation agency. They specialize in difficult cases and RFEs, Denials, NOIDs, 3-year degrees, etc. and offer a free review of all H1B, E2, and I140 education at http://www.ccifree.com/.]]>
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3 Reasons Why You Didn’t Steal Anyone’s Job
Here are three things you can say – either aloud or to yourself – when you are accused of job stealing:
1) “I didn’t steal your job, I made ten new ones.”
The fact that you’re working an H-1B job means your making the prevailing wages of a specialty occupation. That means you are a person with a reasonable – and in many cases, ample – income who lives in the United States. That means you’re putting a large portion of your income back into the US economy. Every H-1B worker needs to rent a house or apartment, pay for food and clothing, a cellphone, a haircut, and so forth. Not to mention, if you’ve brought family members over on H-4 visas, they will also be spending your income in the United States. This means more money circulating in the economy and the need for more jobs created to meet the needs of more people who are making more money to spend. This is the very definition of economic growth.
2) “I didn’t steal your job, and neither did anyone else.”
The myth that this country is overrun by immigrants snatching up jobs from the hands of American citizens is simply that: a myth. If you applied for an H-1B visa, you are painfully aware that there aren’t that many work visas to go around. In reality, even if the United States were to double the number of work visas issued every year, the number would be less than one million. That’s less than 0.7% of the US workforce. That means currently, the percentage of non-US citizens in the workforce “stealing jobs” is less than half of one percent of the entire US workforce. This number hardly constitutes a flood of workers. No one is stealing anyone’s job.
3) “Immigration doesn’t actually make a difference on wages and employment.”
A notable example is the Mariel boat lift in 1980 where 125,000 immigrants from Cuba came to the United States all at once. About 45,000 of these immigrants were of working age, and they all landed in Miami increasing the city’s labor supply by 7% overnight. Guess what happened? Absolutely nothing. This sudden and massive influx of workers made no measurable impact the wage rate or the employment rate in Miami. Forty-five thousand new workers landed in a single city at once and not one of them stole anyone’s job.
The United States has a long and monumental history of immigration. This country was literally built on immigration and the health of its economy depends on a healthy influx of immigrants to fill existing jobs and create new ones. In fact, the reality that immigration is good for the economy is a long-standing, proven economic principle. So what’s the problem? Why are you being accused of job stealing?
The fallacy comes from thinking of people as commodities. For example, if the market is flooded with tomatoes, the price of tomatoes will drop. It’s easy to think of people in the same way – if the job market is flooded with more workers, wages and job availability will drop. There are two big differences here:
1) The job market is NOT flooded with immigrants.
2) People are NOT tomatoes. Tomatoes don’t spend money on food, clothing, shelter, entertainment and hobbies, and so forth.
People do, and people making money do even more so. This creates more jobs and greater wealth for everyone.
Sheila Danzig is the director of Career Consulting International at www.TheDegreePeople.com, a foreign credential evaluation agency. They specialize in difficult cases and RFEs, Denials, NOIDs, 3-year degrees, etc. and offer a free review of all H1B, E2, and I140 education at http://www.ccifree.com/.]]>