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H1B RFE? 5 Questions to Find the Right Credential Evaluator

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals


If you or your employee or client has a degree that does not match their field, a degree from outside of the US, incomplete college, or a degree that doesn’t have the word “degree” in the title, you will need to find the right credential evaluator for the job. Many education RFEs occur because the petition was submitted without a credential evaluation, or a credential evaluation that did not take the nuances of the visa requirements, the job, the degree, or CIS approval trends into consideration. Do not make this same mistake when responding to an RFE.

When looking for the right credential evaluation agency for the job, keep these five questions in mind:

  1. Are they affordable?

The right credential evaluation agency is inexpensive. This is not one of those situations where you get what you pay for. The agency that wants to work with you keeps their rates reasonable.

  1. Is it easy to work with them?

You will know the answer to this in pretty short order. Do they answer or promptly return your calls, texts, or emails? Do they answer your questions to your satisfaction? Do they make you feel comfortable in your communication with them? Do they offer rush delivery options? Agencies that regularly work with visa cases and their RFEs understands the time crunch you are under and makes it easy for you to get what you need when you need it.

  1. Did they ask about the candidate’s job and visa?

If the answer to either of these is no, look elsewhere. In order to write the right credential evaluation for your client’s case, the evaluator must know which visa they are working with, and what job the credential evaluation is for. Educational requirements vary from visa to visa, and what combinations of education and work experience CIS will accept as equivalencies vary as well. You don’t want to end up with the right evaluation for the wrong visa.

  1. Does the agency regularly work with RFEs, Denials and NOIDs?

If an agency works regularly with these cases, they understand what causes RFEs for H1B visas, and how to properly address them.

  1. Do they offer a free review of the case before you order your evaluation?

If an agency doesn’t review the case first, there’s no way they can know what the evaluation will entail. Never put down money without a consultation of all of your options. If an agency demands money up front before they will even look at the candidate’s documents, look elsewhere.

If you, or your employee or client has an H1B RFE for an education situation, let us provide a pre-evaluation with all of your options free of charge. Simply go to ccifree.com and attach the educational documents, a current resume, and the H1B job title, and we will get back to you within 24 hours with your pre-evaluation, a full analysis, and all of your options to overturn the RFE.

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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What is a Degree? – Find out Before You File!

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

ccifree.com, let us know the visa and job, and attach the candidate’s educational documents and resume. Within 24 hours, we will send you a pre-evaluation and full analysis of all of your options. You will know what you’re working with, and be able to move forward accordingly. It’s not uncommon for candidates to insist that their high school diploma is a college degree, or for a translated document to report a false academic equivalency. This happens for two main reasons. First, many degrees don’t actually have the word “degree” in the title. When this is translated, it is unclear whether or not the candidate actually has earned the postsecondary education necessary to meet the academic qualifications for their visa. On the same note, some credentials that do have the word degree in the title are not the academic equivalent of US postsecondary education, and some credentials don’t have the word “degree” in the title and are not degrees, period. Some countries have the same titles for different education. For example, the Indian Chartered Accountancy certification is the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree in accounting while the Canadian Chartered Accountancy certification is not. The second reason this happens is because when documents are translated from their original language into English, some degree titles don’t actually have a direct linguistic translation into English. Others do, but the academic value is different. It’s easy for translators to accidentally insert misinformed judgment into the academic value of a degree through translation. It is always best for translators to simply perform a direct translation and then have the documents passed onto a credential evaluator for the next step. Understanding the value of a foreign degree requires a complex, specialized understanding of international education. Understanding the structures of education and the educational steps required to earn each credential, as well as international trade agreements, graduate program admissions trends, CIS trends and precedents, and federal case law is required to write an accurate evaluation that CIS will understand and accept. Before you file, make sure you, or your employee or client has the right education for the visa. If you’ve already received an RFE, it’s not too late! Simply go to ccifree.com and submit the educational documents and a current resume, and indicate the visa and job. We will get back to you within 24 hours with a pre-evaluation of your case and all of your options for evaluation. 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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Aren’t All Foreign Credential Evaluators the Same?

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

  • Inexpensive. When it comes to credential evaluation agencies, you DON’T get what you pay for. In fact, some of the very best evaluation agencies are the cheapest. This is because reliable agencies don’t have to make the most financial mileage out of each customer to stay in business.
    • Easy to communicate with. This means they answer your calls, texts, and emails promptly, and when you communicate with them you feel comfortable and satisfied that all of your questions have been answered. When a company answers when you call, and responds promptly when you call or text, that means they value customer service and respect your time. When you feel comfortable talking with them and they answer any questions you may have, that indicates they are confident and knowledgeable about the work they do. This is the evaluation agency you want on your team.
    • Experience in H1B Visa evaluations, RFE’s and difficult degrees. If you call a credential evaluator about an evaluation for an H1B visa and they don’t ask about your client’s job offer, look elsewhere. An evaluation agency experienced in writing evaluations for visas know that your client’s degree specialization must match their field of employ. If they don’t ask this question, they don’t know enough about visa requirements or CIS trends to write the evaluation your client needs for his or her H1B visa. Also, evaluation agencies that write evaluations responding to RFE’s are very familiar with common education RFE’s, why they are triggered, and how to respond effectively.
    Not all credential evaluators are the same. Many agencies will write an evaluation based on the most conservative equivalencies pulled from a standard database. The problem is, there are no set standard equivalencies when it comes to evaluating a foreign degree because every situation is different. Federal case law, international trade agreements, and international education expert opinions and case studies show that the value of each candidate’s education is unique. To really understand the value of your candidate’s education, an evaluator must understand the academic context of the country the degree came from, stages of education required to earn that degree, the academic value of that degree in his or her home country and the jobs and professions that degree qualifies them for, as well as your client’s self-study, work experience, and miscellaneous educational background. International trade and labor organizations understand that the nature international education is too nuanced for standard, conservative equivalency evaluations, and this sentiment is reflected in federal case law, UNESCO conventions, and international labor and trade agreements. An evaluation agency that simply pulls equivalencies out of a database is not writing an accurate evaluation of your client’s academic value. Responding to an RFE – or even better, writing an evaluation that does not trigger one – requires an evaluator with an understanding of the nature of international education across borders and cultures. This evaluator understands CIS trends and requirements, federal case law, and international trade and labor agreements and conventions that take the full reality of a candidate’s education into account when evaluating its academic worth. Sometimes responding to an RFE takes a creative solution that an evaluator who understands not only what CIS is asking for, but WHY they are asking for the specific evidence they need knows how to answer the right question even if the exact documentation asked for is not available. Choose an affordable evaluation agency that feels good to talk to, and has experience with H1B visas, RFEs, and difficult cases. 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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    How to Bridge the Fatal Gaps Between Your Degree and Your H1B Job

    Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals

    progressive work experience, the nature of the work must have required you to take on progressively more work and responsibilities representing your progressively growing specialized knowledge base and skill set. Don’t wait for an RFE or Denial to get your degree and work experience evaluated. While an RFE or Denial is not the end of the world, it is a big red flag to CIS that will trigger a close scrutiny of your petition. Minor errors and glitches that would have otherwise gone unnoticed will be unearthed because attention has been drawn to your petition. With hundreds of thousands of H1B Visa petitions to mire through, CIS uses red flags to make the hard decision of who gets their Visa approved and who does not for the set amount of annual Visa slots. Make the decision to approve your Visa easy by making your specialized knowledge and skill set clear with a credential evaluation from a professor authorized to convert work experience into college credit. 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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