FAQ

• EMPLOYMENT:
  A CCI credential evaluation will make you competitive with US applicants and give you an advantage over other applicants trained outside the US. The evaluation certificate shows what your education is equivalent to in the US.
• IMMIGRATION:
  A CCI credential evaluation can help you secure a Visa that has education requirements such as the H1B Visa and the Green Card. The evaluation certificate shows what your education is equivalent to in the US as required by the department of immigration. If you have received RFE’s and Denials: No charge for a detailed analysis of your case?
• UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS:
  Most universities require a document evaluation of your high school diploma for admissions into their bachelor degree program, and a course-by-course evaluation for admission into their graduate programs or when transferring credits into a bachelor degree program. Always check with admissions or the office of international students to find out what their process is and what they require before ordering.
• LICENSING:
  Most licensing offices require a course-by-course evaluation. The Degree People does not evaluate for all licenses. It is important that you check with the office that does the licensing to learn what the process is and which evaluators they accept.

We offer several different types of evaluations, including:

• Document Evaluations
• Course by Course Evaluations
• Work or Work + Education Evaluations
• Expert Opinion Letters

You can learn more about each of these options on our Academic Credentialing Page.

An evaluation report states the academic credentials you possess, the institution you attended, the date you received them, and the U.S. equivalent of your education credential.

Applications are to be submitted online. The education documents are to be faxed with a cover letter with your name, phone number and email address toll-free to 866.585.1409 or international to 954.905.4942 or sent via email to the email address on the application form.

NOTE: If you postal mail your application or documents, you do NOT qualify for the Internet Special prices.

Read the terms and conditions carefully; by submitting, you indicate that you agree with the terms and conditions stated therein.

Your evaluation will be completed within 3 business days or less for a document evaluation, 5 business days or less for a course-by-course evaluation. The time starts when the order and all documents are received. You will be notified by email and, once you approve the evaluation, it will be mailed within 2 business days. You will be notified by email, and once you approve it, the evaluation will be mailed within 2 business days.

We have several rush options. Rush starts the next business hour upon payment of a Rush Fee and receipt of all documents. You can order the rush service on the application form at the rate stated. Your evaluation will be sent via 1st class mail at no charge. For overnight or priority mail, see the application. CCI will do their best to meet or beat these rush times, but we are not responsible for acts of God or extenuating circumstances if rush times cannot be met. Rush fees are not refundable and start the next business hour after receipt.

Often, three-year degrees are accepted as bachelor’s degree with expert evidence.

Some countries require 13 years of high school for admission to a university degree program, and offering expert opinion to support the bachelor’s degree is relatively easy.

Other degrees, such as those from India, can be more complicated.

We have been fortunate to have a considerable amount of success in showing these degrees to be equal to a four-year bachelor’s degree.

Visit our case studies page to see examples of clients whose 3-year bachelor’s degree evaluations have been approved by the USCIS.

Some bachelor’s degree from other countries, however, require five or six years to complete and may be considered the educational equivalency of a U.S. Master’s Degree.

We can show medical degrees (Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Veterinary Science, and Doctor of Pharmacy) equal to a U.S. degree, as long as you received a license to practice within your specialty in the country in which you received your degree.
Some specialty boards may require specialized degree evaluations from certain organizations, so check with that licensing organization before you order your evaluation.

Our evaluations are routinely accepted by the Department of Immigration and Homeland Security, USCIS, the Federal Government for employment, most major universities and employers. Please note that an evaluation report is advisory and no evaluation will be accepted 100% of the time. Our evaluations are well accepted. However, always check with the office you will be submitting your evaluation to, and make sure that they accept the Career Consulting International evaluation. We guarantee to answer any questions that anyone ever has about your degree or evaluation – even 10 years from now. We guarantee to send additional documents, redo your evaluation and respond to any requests for further evidence. We will always be here to support you.

1. The documents we need are the secondary school and all university certificates, transcripts, mark sheets, subject lists, etc. when available in the original language and translated to English.
2. We MUST have a cover letter with the individual's name, phone number, and email address, PRINTED CLEARLY. Or you can print the application and use it as a cover letter.
3. If you are applying for an education/work evaluation we are a current accurate resume. If you worked part-time, the resume should state how many hours per week you worked. Volunteer work can be considered if the duties are explained clearly. Please be certain the resume is accurate and up to date because there is a charge to change the evaluation and expert letter after it is completed. It is always best to do it correctly the first time.
4. Your name, on the evaluation must be exactly the same as the name on the education documents. If you have had a name change, or any other issues with the name on the education documents, you can simply attach a name change form, a marriage certificate, passport or license to the evaluation whenever you present it to anyone – the same way you would with the education documents.
5. SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT THE POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMAS. Do not submit a diploma that is not recognized by the government. If we include a diploma in the evaluation it will likely not be approved by USCIS. If that happens, it is not our responsibility that USCIS did not accept it. You will likely get a query (RFE) with a request for further evidence. At that time you can order an education + work experience evaluation. It is best if you do the education + work experience evaluation in the first place to avoid this circumstance.
6. All documents must be sent to us at one time. If you are faxing, please send one fax with all of the documents. Do NOT send us numerous faxes of 1 or 2 pages each. If sending email copies of your documents, please zip them and send as one email. Sending your documents in bits and pieces will result in a delay to the delivery of your evaluation and possible rejection of the documents until they can be resent in an orderly manner.

By applying online and faxing or emailing all of your documents, you qualify for the online discount. If you mail any part of the application or documents through the postal service, you do not qualify.

No. Clear copies of all educational documents are sufficient. On rare occasions, CCI reserves the right to request original documents for verification purposes. Documents from an institution that is sent to us cannot be returned.

Send ONLY copies or you can have the original notarized as a TRUE COPY. There are notaries at every bank. Whatever you send us will be noted on the evaluation. You should NEVER send your personal original document in the mail.

The education requirements for the H-1B visa are the equivalency of a US bachelor’s degree or 4 years of post-secondary (college /university level) study. If you do not have a 4-year degree or if you have an incomplete degree, you can combine with a post-secondary diploma from a GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZED institution or you can use work experience. USCIS uses the 3 to 1 rule. Every three years of progressive work experience in the field is equivalent to 1 year of post-secondary study. For example, three years of university study + 3 years of progressive work experience in the area is equal to 4 years of study or a US bachelor’s degree. If you have no post-secondary study, we can show 12 years of work experience as equivalent to a US bachelor’s degree. Two associates degrees may NOT be combined but a 2-year associate’s degree and six years of work experience may be combined to be equivalent to a US bachelor’s degree.

For USCIS to accept your work experience, you need employers’ letters stating your dates of employment, designation and job duties. This MUST be on the employers’ letterhead and signed. Employment may be from outside the US and may be during that time you attended university.

It should state if you worked full time and if not, how many hours per week you worked. Volunteer work can be considered if the duties are explained clearly.

If you send us appointment letters or a resume, we will work from that and state that the work experience is unverified. Your lawyer will still have to provide USCIS with verification of the work experience so it is best if you submit the work experience letters to us. All work experience letters are to be submitted with the original documents, or it will cause a delay in fulfilling your evaluation.
The most important part of getting an H-1B Visa is to get a sponsor. For fiscal year 2009, CCI will be referring people to a service that helps finds sponsors. H-1B Visa filings for fiscal year 2009 start April 1, 2008 so it is important that you start contacting potential sponsors as soon as possible. Click here to receive information about this service.

Yes, if you have work experience and/or education in the field of interest, we can combine your work and educational experience to offer a work plus education evaluation.

These evaluations can be used for employment or immigration, but not for admission to graduate school.

Generally, three years of work experience equals one year of college, so 12 years of work experience would equal a bachelor’s degree in the field of your work experience.

Fill out the form and be certain to send us a clear copy with your documents. For a free analysis of your RFE, NOID or Denial, please go to www.ccifree.com and fill it out.  Then follow the directions on that application to send us your documents (the email and fax # is different from our regular numbers) and we will have a professor and our director review your situation at no charge.

For a free analysis of your 3 Year degree for I-140 purposes, please go to www.ccifree.com and fill it out and follow the directions on that application to send us your documents (the email and fax # is different from our regular numbers). and we will have a professor and our director review your situation at no charge. For the H-1B visa, you should combine the 3-year degree with a diploma from a government recognized institution or with 3 years of work experience to show equivalency to a US bachelor’s degree for H-1B purposes.

If you have questions about your evaluation report or disagree with its conclusions, please email us. We will reply to you in writing via email. Do not call regarding changes to your evaluation; it can only be handled via email.

Professional English translations must accompany all foreign language documents. If you need a translation click here: http://www.thedegreepeople.com/translation

For six months after you have received your document evaluation, we will “upgrade” it to a course-by-course, you will only need to pay the actual difference between what you previously paid for the document evaluation and would have paid at the time for the course-by-course evaluation. It will take 5-7 business days, and it will include one additional hard copy sent via first class mail.

You will receive two official hard (paper) copies of the evaluation. You can order extra official copies on the application form at the rate prescribed therein. We can also provide you with a signed electronic copy. Select the option on the form.

No, they are not. Once you submit the evaluation we begin processing it, and it cannot be canceled with a refund. If you are not happy with the outcome of your evaluation, you may contact us (see above) however our job is not to make you happy but rather to do an honest evaluation. Most of our clients are very happy as you will be if you have honest, realistic expectations.