H-1B cap registration season is in full swing with USCIS accepting electronic registrations until noon Eastern Time on March 25th. Those selected in the lottery will be notified starting March 31st and USCIS will begin accepting completed petitions the following day. That means it’s time to identify where your case needs strengthening.
We anticipate high levels of RFEs this year, as we have seen over the past five years. One of the most common RFE categories that has been towards the top for the better part of a decade is education. This generally comes in three forms:
- Degree is from outside of the United States, particularly the three-year bachelor’s degree.
- Degree specialization is not an exact match for the H-1B job.
- Incomplete, missing, or unaccredited college.
These are common because 1) H-1B employees have often completed their education in another country, 2) pathways through education are not always linear or traditional, and 3) employers routinely hire employees with degrees in fields related to the job because there is a high level of skill and knowledge overlap.
If you, or if your employee or client has a degree from outside of the United States – especially a three-year bachelor’s degree, incomplete college, no college, a degree from an unaccredited university, or the right degree in the wrong specialization, don’t wait for the education RFE to address the issue. Include a credential evaluation in your initial filing that closes gaps between the education the beneficiary has, and the education the beneficiary needs for USCIS to approve the visa.
The right credential evaluation is uniquely tailored to the beneficiary’s education, the H-1B job, H-1B requirements, and USCIS approval trends. USCIS will accept that three years of progressive work experience in the field of the H-1B job is the equivalent of one year of college credit in the matching specialization. This conversion must be written by a professor with the authority to issue college credit for work experience and included in the credential evaluation. The right evaluation may also take academic course content, classroom contact hours, and other professional development training into account.
At CCI TheDegreePeople.com every evaluation we write is uniquely researched and written. We work with professors with the authority to write work experience conversions.
Let us review your case for free before you file. Visit www.ccifree.com/ and we will respond in 4 hours or less.
Sheila Danzig
Sheila Danzig is the director of CCI TheDegreePeople.com. Sheila specializes in overturning RFEs and Denials for work visas.