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visa RFE

The difference between an evaluation for college study, for H1B, and for I140, and why you need to know.

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals


For example, let’s take a look at the three-year degree. Many US universities will accept an evaluation that shows the three-year degree is equivalent to a US bachelor’s degree for admission into US Master’s programs. No problem.

However, try taking that same three-year degree to CIS for H1B eligibility and you will run into trouble in a hurry. Regardless of what the evaluation says, the three-year bachelor’s degree will not be accepted for the H1B on its own. However, with a different evaluation in which work experience is added to the three-year degree by a professor authorized to issue college credit for work experience, this degree equivalency is allowed for H1B eligibility because it accounts for the missing fourth year of college through work experience.

Now comes I140. Will the same evaluation you used for H1B work for I140? No. CIS regulations surrounding combining education and work experience vary greatly between these visas. Will that same evaluation used to gain entrance into a US Master’s program work for I140? Not necessarily. For EB3, the answer is almost always yes. For EB2, if there is only a three-year degree, the answer is sometimes but not very often. But if you have a two-year Master’s and some work experience for EB2, we can provide a solution that is always approved!

Confusing? Yes.

How do you know what to do? You don’t. But the right evaluator does. If you need an evaluation for CIS, be sure you use an evaluator who understands the regulations. Otherwise, you may end up with an evaluation that is technically correct, but still results in a Denial.

At TheDegreePeople, we keep one eye on the education, and one eye on CIS. We ask questions about the visa to make sure we provide you with the best possible match based on the visa you, or your employee or client is filing.

Come to us before you file. We can review everything at no charge and eliminate any situations that simply won’t work. This will save you a great deal of time, money, and peace of mind.

For a full analysis and pre-evaluation of any case, simply visit www.ccifree.com, fill out the short form, and attach all required documents. We will get back to you in less than 24 hours at absolutely no charge with all of your options.

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 Education Not Matching PERM Requirement – APPROVED

Credential Evaluation, Immigration, Visa Approvals


Many employees are hired because their bachelor’s or master’s degrees in a field related to their occupation is sufficient for their employers to recognize that they have the specialized skills and knowledge to be successful at their jobs. Even though the degree may not precisely fit the field of employ, the knowledge base is there. This is not the case for the USCIS.

Now, the USCIS has been issuing RFE’s to petitioners whose degree specialization doesn’t exactly match their field of employ. If a foreign degree is deemed to be equivalent to the necessary US degree, if the specialization does not match the field of employ, the USCIS will not recognize that the applicant’s education meets PERM requirements.

This is what happened to our client. He came to us with an education RFE for this very reason. He held a bachelor’s degree in engineering from abroad, which the USCIS agreed was the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree in engineering. Unfortunately, to meet the USCIS educational standards for his job, the USCIS required a bachelor’s degree in computer science, not engineering. Although the fields are related to the point of much academic overlap, a bachelor’s degree in engineering was not good enough.

We were able to provide the evidence requested in his RFE and his EB2 visa was approved. We did this by supplying extensive research and evidence to show how his bachelor’s degree in engineering degree was functionally equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in computer sciences. Had his degree been a three-year degree, our evaluation would have consisted of a close examination of the course content of his degree, as well as converting years of work experience in the computer sciences field into Carnegie Unit credit hours.

However, since his engineering degree was a four-year degree already, what we needed to do was clearly spell out that our client’s educational experience – both inside and outside of the classroom – had more than equipped him with the specialized skills and knowledge necessary for a successful career in the computer sciences field. Through our examination, we were able to show that his engineering degree was the functional equivalent of a computer sciences degree by giving a host of examples of how his engineering degree would be accepted for admission to a master’s degree program in computer sciences. This clearly proved that the skills and knowledge he gained in his educational experience made him eligible to be successful in a master’s program in his field of employ. The USCIS accepted this and approved his visa.

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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Addressing the Education RFE

Credential Evaluation, Visa Approvals

Don’t panic if you get an RFE. This means your petition is under consideration and you get another chance to build a solid case for approving your petition. Take this opportunity by reading over your RFE carefully with your employer and understand exactly what is being asked of you.

The two main education situations require you to submit a detailed credential evaluation with your transcripts. The first stems from a recent change in USCIS standards regarding your degree. In the recent past – as well as in the present when it comes to hiring domestic employees – you can meet the requirements for a specialty occupation by having a degree in a field related to your field of employ. Now, the USCIS requires your degree exactly match your field of employ.

So what if you have the right degree but the wrong major? No problem! A detailed credential evaluation can do two things to remedy the situation. First, we can take a close look at the courses you took to show that you did, in fact, specialize in your field of employ even if your major doesn’t clearly reflect it. Secondly, if you have work experience in your field of employ, we can convert years of work experience into college credit hours.

The second common education-related misunderstanding that can trigger an RFE to come your way is your degree from a different country than the United States. If you earned your degree outside of the United States, this means your bachelor’s degree came from a country with a different academic system. Many of these systems have three-year bachelor’s degrees instead of the US four-year degree. At the USCIS, they look at your three-year degree and all they see is the missing fourth year. You literally need to spell out the value of your education in terms of US equivalence. Again, you can do this with a detailed credential evaluation that can take a close look at the academic content of your degree. In most cases, the only difference between a three-year degree and a US four-year degree is density. You get more classroom contact hours each year with a three-year degree and by converting classroom contact hours into US college credit hours you end up with the academic equivalence of a US four-year degree. No problem. You’ve just got to order a detailed evaluation from an agency with the authority to make these conversions.

For a free consultation on your academic RFE, visit us online at cciFree.com or call any time at 1.800.771.4723. We’re always here to help you.

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