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5 Helpful Tips for Finding a Reliable Credential Evaluator

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

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:

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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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What Kind of Foreign Credential Evaluation Do You Need?

Press


Academic credential evaluations for immigration visas such as I-140 or H1B visas often differ greatly from educational evaluations used for employment or education. Learn more about the types of foreign credential evaluations and decide which one will help

(EMAILWIRE.COM, June 08, 2009 ) June 8, 2009, Fort Lauderdale, FL

If you’ve earned a degree or high school diploma in another country, you will probably need an academic credentials evaluation to show that your degree is equivalent to a U.S. Degree. Most foreign credential evaluation agencies offer a variety of different types of educational evaluations. If you’re having difficulty deciding what type of evaluation you need, this information may help you to make a better choice.

Will you be using your evaluation for immigration, for education, for employment, or for a combination of these purposes? Employment requirements are often much different from immigration requirements, so knowing how you’re planning to use the evaluation will be very important to the person evaluating your education credentials. Make certain to tell the agency how you’re planning to use the evaluation; a good consulting service will be able to tell you exactly what type of evaluation you will need and what documents you will need to provide.

Most employers only require a document evaluation, which simply states that your degree is equivalent to a U.S. degree in the same field. If you need to show that you have specific course work in a certain area, though, or if your employer requires you to show that you earned a certain grade in these courses, you will need a course-by-course evaluation.

If you’re using the evaluation for immigration purposes, tell the agency for which type of immigration visa you’re applying. Different visas have different requirements. For example, H1B visas allow workers to combine educational degrees. This combination, however, must equal four years of postsecondary education. If a person’s degree is only three years in duration, he or she must show three years of work experience to qualify for the H1B visa.

In contrast, however, an individual applying for an I-140 Visa, or permanent residency visa (sometimes known as a “green card”), must show what is called a “single source degree.” This means that a person must demonstrate his or her Bachelor Degree to be the U.S. equivalency of a four-year degree, without combining this Bachelor Degree with any other education. Some credential evaluation services offer evaluations of three-year degrees. However, they may or may not have extensive expertise in showing this equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor Degree.

Certain agencies, such as Career Consulting International (sometimes referred to as The Degree People, or CCI), specialize in showing three-year degrees equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor Degree. Executive Director Sheila Danzig often works extensively with people who have previously had requests for evidence (RFEs) or denials from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For more information about three-year degree equivalencies, visitwww.thedegreepeople.com or call 1-800-771-4723.]]>

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