By Sheila Danzig, director, Career Consulting International (CCI), www.TheDegreePeople.com

At the JUNE 2007 American Immigration Law Association conference in Orlando Florida at a talk about evaluations the audience was told that all three year degrees are now at risk of being denied. The service is beginning to expand the use of A MATTER OF SHAH to include degrees from all over the world, where in the past it was used primarily only for degrees from India. Evaluators have started to see a vast increase in these denials and we were advised this will only increase.

How do we counter this problem?

1. With regards to the 3 year degree immigration attorney and author Ron Wada stated: “This is one situation where the service centers’ case by case policy can work in your favor, because that cuts both ways. They still leave the door open to say, “If you can show us that your three year degree is equivalent to a US 4 year bachelor degree then we will approve your case. But the burden of proof is on you. Alright, so one can visualize that it is possible to do this … ” With regards to evaluations Wada stated, “I would like to say one thing here, for the future, the way I see the future of credential evaluations, we have to get smarter. We cannot assume that what we’ve used in the past, the cookie cutter, on the cheap, credential evaluation is going to fly. If you have a case that solidly meets the requirements you don’t even need a credential evaluation and it is not useful in that situation. When you need it is when you’ve got facts that aren’t clearly approvable and you need a credential evaluation to back that up. You are going to need a credential evaluation that does something for you, that gives analysis, that provides back up documentation. It cannot be the simple evaluation you’re used to getting.

This matter has been addressed in both 2006 and 2007 AILA liaison meetings with USCIS.

The following response by the Center was given to a question posed during the April 19, 2006 AILA liaison visit with the I-140 product line manager supervisors:

“We are aware that some countries (i.e., many European countries) have educational systems that have the equivalent of 13 years education prior to university, and that education plus a three-year university degree is the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree in the U.S. However, many other countries’ educational systems have only 12 years of education prior to university, and then only three years of university coursework. With respect to such degree, we need evidence that the beneficiary has the equivalent of the required degree…A simple credential evaluation stating that the degree is equivalent may not be sufficient. It should be supported by a detailed explanation of how that conclusion was made and the transcripts of the beneficiary’s schooling to support the explanation and to document where the evaluator found the coursework equating a four-year degree.”

In this response, the Center acknowledges that a degree issued in a 12+3 educational system, such as that pertaining in India, may be accepted as the equivalent of a United States four year bachelor’s degree provided coursework is demonstrated that equates to a four year degree. In this expert opinion we will present a detailed explanation referencing comprehensive evidence that will conclude that on the basis of the comparison of coursework the Indian 3 year bachelor’s degree is equivalent to the United States 4 year bachelor’s degree.

Again, as stated in the April 2007 NSC Liaison Spring Meeting:

“2. We understand that NSC reviews a beneficiary’s educational qualifications on a case by case basis, and considers credential evaluations to be purely advisory in nature. The “case by case” policy makes it difficult for petitioners to understand what documentation is needed to support their case. One member reports receiving multiple RFEs requesting documentation of the “length and complexity” of the academic program; but this type of request in an RFE still does not provide the guidance needed to prepare a response. For the situations listed in Question 1 where documentation beyond the official academic record is needed to establish either bachelor’s degree or master’s degree equivalency, it would be helpful if NSC counld provide some basic guidance concerning the minimum content of the supplementary documentation that would be needed to establish foreign degree equivalency with U.S. degrees. For example, for EB2 cases involving beneficiaries with an India year bachelor’s degree followed by a 2 year master’s degree, we understand that NSC has approved I-140s where the petitioner has submitted either:

1. Examples of comparable U.S. master’s degree programs requiring only one year to complete (indicating that a total of 5 years of undergraduate and graduate level education is sufficient); or
2. Credential evaluations that provide a detailed comparison of credit hours completed by the beneficiary for the 3 year bachelor’s degree program with credit hours required by comparable U.S. bachelor’s programs.

Please confirm whether either or both of these types of documentation can establish equivalency in situations where NSC requires supplementary evidence of degree equivalency.

Answer: Generally either of these would be sufficient to permit the service to make a determination regarding equivalency of education. Each petition filed must contain sufficient documentary evidence to establish that the beneficiary meets the qualifications set forth in the labor certification. If a master’s degree is required and the beneficiary does not have a U.S. master’s degree in the specified field of study the petitioner should be prepared to submit sufficient documentation to establish that the education that the beneficiary possesses is the equivalent to a U.S. master’s degree in the required field.”

To help attorney’s, employers and clients with educational RFE’s and Denials CCI will review all educational RFE’s and Denials at no charge. Please call CCI at 1.800.771.4723 for details.

Sheila Danzig is the director of Career Consulting International, an evaluation agency that specializes in USCIS educational RFE’s and Denials. She has co-authored an article about the Indian three year degree which you can read at http://degree.com/3-year-indian-degree.html