Petitioning for an H1b visa with an advanced degree from somewhere outside of the United States? You’re going to need submit a detailed evaluation of your degree along with your transcripts. This evaluation needs to clearly spell out the value of your degree in terms of US academic standards, and that your degree is in your field of employ. The only way to do this is to have your degree evaluated by a credential evaluation agency with international education professors and experts on hand to write these evaluations, authorized to make the conversions and assessments necessary.
Before you order an evaluation from just any agency, beware that not all of these agencies are reliable or credible. More and more RFE’s are issued every year requesting evidence as to the credentials of the evaluation agencies. Not all of these agencies are actually authorized to make conversions that assess degrees in terms of US value. Don’t order an evaluation from an evaluation agency without looking into who you are working with. A credential evaluation from an unreliable agency is a waste of time and money at best, and a denied visa at worst.
Here are the top five tips to finding a reliable credential evaluation agency:
- The price is right. If it costs an arm and a leg to get a credential evaluation, look elsewhere. Reliable agencies are low-cost, regardless of what the expensive ones may want you to believe.
- The conversation flows. When you feel comfortable talking with an agency, it’s a reflection of their confidence in their work. Discomfort is an indicator that your questions aren’t being answered smoothly, the agency is not confident in their work or knowledgeable about visa and immigration issues, or are otherwise failing to meet your needs. A good conversation that you can walk away from feeling satisfied is a good indicator you’ve found a reliable agency.
- Past clients are happy. Never order an evaluation without first getting testimonials from past clients and reading their reviews. No matter how good an agency looks on paper, or sounds over the phone, the experience of people who have done what you are about to do speaks the loudest.
- They answer the phone…or email, or text. If you can’t count on an agency to be reliable enough to answer your communications, you can’t count on their evaluation to be reliable either. A credible agency will be available to you in any medium you choose, day or night, every day. This is because reliable agencies that do good work understand the timeframe and pressures of the immigration process. If you can’t reach an agency, don’t order from them.
- They offer a range of options. Reliable credential evaluation agencies understand the time crunch of visa deadlines. They are well-versed in the many surprise hang-ups that may arise in the process of H1b petitioning. For this reason, agencies that actually understand the ins and outs of your situation will have a variety of rush delivery options, also available at low prices. Order from agencies that give you inexpensive options.