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Credential Evaluation

3 H-1B Details to Remember This Week

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

Several details often get overlooked. The best outcome in these cases is the petitioner will receive an RFE response requesting more information. Worst case scenario, your petition gets rejected outright. Even with an RFE, the USCIS views that particular response as a much-needed red flag to get through the massive pile of petitions they have to go through each year. There are only 65,000 visas available annually and last year the USCIS found themselves rummaging through nearly 200,000 petitions.

They’re looking for an excuse to reject yours. Don’t give them one.

Three details to remember before you pop your petition in the mail:

  1. Use a blue pen. You’re going to be submitting original documents and copies of original documents. You’ll have signatures – both of your own and others – from the past and present, sometimes even on the same document. The USCIS worker needs to be able to clearly tell the difference between original signatures and recent signatures. Use a blue pen for new signatures. Make everyone’s life easier.
  2. Double and triple-check for consistency. Is your name spelled the same on every document? If you have a nickname or your name is hard to spell, it’s particularly important that you double and triple-check for this. It’s alarming how many RFE’s are issued simply to check what the petitioner’s name actually is. On the same note, you want to make sure that all of the other information on all of the forms you’ve submitted is consistent.
  3. If you need a credential evaluation, get one! If your degree is from a country that is not the United States, you need a credential evaluation and you need to submit it along with the rest of your petition. The only way to show the person evaluating your petition the value of your foreign degree is with a detailed evaluation from an authorized credential evaluation agency. This is because academic standards and structures vary from country to country, much like currency. The value is not always clear, but someone who understands exchange rates can get you what you need.

At CCI we have international education experts on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. We have rush delivery services available to get your credential evaluation into your hands when you need it. Call or text us anytime at 1.800.771.4723, send us an email, or visit us online at http://www.ccifree.com/?CodeBLG/ for a consultation. We can figure out what you need to complete your H-1B petition and get it to you in time to file on April First.

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How Do I Know if I Need a Credential Evaluation?

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

You want to get your petition submitted on April First because the closer your are to the top of the stack the better. You can bet they get pickier towards the bottom as the number of available visas dwindles. You also want to make sure you get all of the evidence, documents, forms, and other information you need to clearly prove your case submitted the FIRST time, in order, and easy to read.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to submit your petition without an evaluation of your academic credentials when you need one. What this means is you are submitting transcripts without explaining what they mean in terms of US academic standards or H-1B requirements.

 

Do you need a credential evaluation? Here are three questions to ask yourself:

 

  • Is my degree from a country other than the United States?
  • Is my degree in a field different from my job?
  • Is my degree generalized?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, the answer is YES, you need a credential evaluation.

Remember, these are people who will be evaluating your petition and deciding whether or not to grant you a visa. You want to make their decision easy by making their job easy. You can do this by clearly spelling out the value of what is in front of them. That means clearly showing the US academic equivalent of your foreign degree, proving that you do have the specialized knowledge of your field of employ even if you majored in something else, and that you do have specialized education and training in your field even if your degree is generalized on paper. Give them what they need when they need it and you will be pleased with the outcome.

Call us at 1.800.771.4723 anytime or visit us at http://www.ccifree.com/?CodeBLG/ and we will take a look at your transcripts, resume, and work experience for free and discern what needs to overcome any obstacles standing in the way between you and your visa.

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Get Your H1B Petition Perfect the First Time

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

You need to clearly show the USCIS agent reviewing your petition that you have the specialized skills necessary to qualify for your H1B job.

How can you do this?

An authorized credential evaluation agency can help you bridge the gap between your job and your degree in two ways:

1) Close examination of your coursework.

At CCI, we have international education experts on hand all the time to take a detailed look at the content of your education. That means looking at the classes you took and what you learned from them. Even if your degree doesn’t reflect it on its face, a close examination of your coursework will clearly show that you do in fact have specialized knowledge pertaining to your field of employ.

2) Converting Work Experience into College Credit

An authorized credential evaluation agency has the ability to convert your work experience in the field of your H1B job into college credit hours. Evaluation of work experience and the skills and understanding gained by it can clearly show the USCIS that you are qualified for your H1B job.

You may be asking yourself, “Can’t I just do this on my own?”

No. You can’t.

We’re talking US immigration here. Unless you are an authorized credential evaluation agency or an international education expert, you cannot evaluate your own credentials in a meaningful and credible way.

At CCI, we will go over your case with you and identify exactly what you need to do to bridge any gaps in your petition that may stand in the way of you getting your visa approved. Call us anytime at 1.800.771.4723 or visit us online at http://www.ccifree.com/?CodeBLG/.

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Degree in the Wrong Field? No Problem!

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

But it’s just an RFE. Doesn’t that mean I get a second chance?

Technically yes, but actually no. Attorneys tell me that the USCIS views RFE’s as much needed red flags. They can use these to make their job of weeding out applicants easier. You need to get this right the first time.

That means getting your credentials evaluated. A detailed evaluation will examine your coursework to show what you specialized in even if your degree is general. This can also show that even if your degree is not in your exact field of employ, many of the classes you took are. An authorized credential evaluator can also convert years of work experience in your field of employ into college credit hours to bridge these gaps.

If this is the situation you face, we can help you. For a free consultation, visit us online at http://www.ccifree.com/?CodeBLG/ or call us anytime at 1.800.771.4723.

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Degree Not Specialized Enough for the USCIS? We Can Help!

Credential Evaluation, Visa Approvals

How can this be done? A detailed evaluation of your academic credentials from a credential evaluation agency authorized to make the necessary conversions can help you bridge these gaps in your petition in two ways:

1) A close evaluation of the academic content of your education. This involves looking at the exact classes you took and the academic content of your coursework. Even if your degree doesn’t reflect a specialization, the actual content of what you learned while in college or university will.

2) Converting work experience into college credit hours. A credential evaluation agency with the authority to convert years of work experience into years of college credit can clearly show your specialized skills that uniquely qualify you for your H1B job.

These are two ways that a detailed credential evaluation can make a huge difference in getting your visa petition approved. For a free consultation on your academic situation for your H1B petition, visit us online at http://www.ccifree.com/?CodeBLG/ or call us anytime at 1.800.771.4723.

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Is Your Job H1B Qualified?

Credential Evaluation, Visa Approvals


For a job to qualify as an H1B job, it must be a specialty occupation.  That means the position must required a US bachelor’s degree or higher in a specialized field to properly carry out the duties of this job.  The job also much include applied theoretical and practical use of specialized skills and knowledge.  You and your employer must be able to show that similar jobs in similar companies require these same minimum requirements to show that the job is actually a specialty occupation.  If similar jobs in similar companies don’t also require a bachelor’s degree or higher, you need to be able to show why this specific job in this specific company is uniquely complex as to fit the H1B requirements.

On the same note, you must also make sure that YOU fit the requirements of your specialty occupation.  That means you are either licensed in your field of specialty in the state your job is located in, you have a US bachelor’s degree or higher, or you have enough progressively responsible work experience to be considered equivalent to the needed degree.  If your licensing or degree come from US institutions, great!  If your degree is from abroad, or you have the necessary work experience but not the degree to prove it, that’s also great, it just requires one more step: having your credentials evaluated for US degree equivalence.

We have international education experts at CCI on call every hour of the day, every day of the year with authorization to convert classroom contact hours and work experience into the US college credit hours you need to clearly show your qualifications and the value of your specialized skills.  If you have a degree but it is not in a specialized field, a credential evaluation can give a detailed analysis of your coursework and academic content to clearly show the USCIS that you do have the specialized knowledge necessary to properly carry out the duties of your H1B job.

For a free consultation on your H1B credential evaluation, visit us at http://www.ccifree.com/?CodeBLG/ or call anytime at 1.800.771.4723.]]>

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How to Find the Right Credential Evaluator

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

You can’t get around this RFE by simply not having your credentials evaluated.  If your education was in a different country, you will need an evaluation.  If your degree was in a general field, you may also need an evaluation to take a deeper look into the specific content of your education.  Remember, to qualify for an H1B visa, you must have specialized training that will be applied in your specialized H1B position.  A credential evaluation is a must.  The only way to avoid getting an RFE on your credential evaluator id by finding a reliable agency from the very beginning.

But how do you know if you’ve found a reliable credential evaluation agency?

First and foremost, you should feel comfortable talking with them.  They should be friendly, helpful, and answer all of your questions directly and to your satisfaction.  You should be able to reach them whenever you call, text, or email, and they should have a team of professors and experts in international education on hand at all times to write your evaluation.  They also need to have the authority to convert classroom contact hours and work experience into college credit hours because educational structures and standards vary across the world.  Remember, your evaluation is how you can show the true value of your education.

If you are wondering if you qualify for H1B status, visit us online for a free consultation at http://www.ccifree.com/?CodeBLG/ .]]

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Simple Tips to Streamline Your H1B Petition Process

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals


st is rapidly approaching. It’s officially crunch time. That means you’re finishing up your applications, gathering up the rest of your education and immigration documents, triple-checking your work, and getting your credential evaluations ordered. The USCIS is required to accept H1B petitions for a full business week before closing regardless of how many petitions they receive in that time. Last year it was literally hundreds of thousands for just 65,000 H1B visas. That means you need to have your petition submitted on April 1st and you’ve got to make it easy on the USCIS worker evaluating your petition to approve it.

How can you make this happen? Simple. By making the USCIS worker’s job easier.

Submit all of your documents, applications, and evaluations together, in order, on time, and to the correct address. Go over your forms to make sure all of the information in your H1B packet is accurate and consistent. If you’ve answered questions inconsistently that’s a big red flag and will land you in the rejected pile.

Make sure to always put your signature in blue ink so the USCIS worker evaluating your petition can tell the difference between you and your employer’s signatures and signatures on original documents and copies of original documents. This will streamline the process for the USCIS – who has literally hundreds of thousands of packets to go through – and will make reading your petition a more enjoyable experience. Remember, people will be deciding whether or not you can get your visa. These people want to have a good day. Make theirs a good day by making their job easy and they will approve your visa.

You also want to be sure to submit a credential evaluation along with your transcripts and diplomas if your education is from outside of the United States. You need to clearly show the US equivalent of the value of your education and the only way to do this is with a thorough evaluation from an authorized credential evaluation agency.

At CCI, all of our evaluators are experts in international education with the authority to convert work experience and classroom contact hours into college credit hours to clearly show the value of the academic content of your degree.

We are available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. We will always answer the phone, text you back, or return your email promptly. We understand the time crunch you face and offer rush services on your credential evaluation order. We will also work off of emailed copies of your academic documents to save you time and hassle.

Remember, no matter how hard you are feeling the crunch, it is essential to always make time to double-check your work, make sure you’re sending the right documents to the right addresses, and to make sure you have everything the USCIS has asked for in the proper order.]]>

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How Do I Transfer My H1B Visa?

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

One of the greatest advantages of H1B visa status is that you can transfer your visa as many times as you want without being subject to the H1B cap. What does this mean? It means you won’t be stuck in the same job for the duration of your H1B stay. You can get a new job without getting a new visa. You can make this transfer so long as your new job meets H1B standards – meaning it is a specialty occupation requiring a US bachelor’s degree or its equivalent or higher – and your new employer is willing and able to sponsor your visa. Your job can change without your immigration status changing. You don’t have to notify your current employer about your transfer, and once your transfer is approved you can choose to stay with your current employer anyway if you change your mind. Also, there is no limit on the amount of time you can take between job A and job B once your transfer is approved. You can start working right away, or take advantage of the opportunity to take some time off. H1B transfers are NOT subject to the annual H1B cap because you are not actually applying for a new visa. You’re still under the terms of your existing visa, the only difference is you’ve obtained a new job. You will have to petition the USCIS for an H1B transfer, a process that takes 4-8 weeks and possibly more. You will need to submit copies of your immigration paperwork, your last three paystubs, and copies of your educational documents along with various other documents requested. If your degree is from outside of the US, you need to be sure to get your credentials translated into English and evaluated for US equivalence. You don’t want to waste time on your H1B transfer, especially if you’re changing jobs for financial reasons or if there is a problem in your current work situation. At CCI, we offer rush services on our credential evaluations and are ALWAYS available to talk, email, or text with you 24 hours a day.

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