Understanding Work Experience Evaluation in the USA for Immigration Cases
If you plan to immigrate to the United States via an employment-based immigration route, you could come across a work experience evaluation USA. This process is especially important when a job calls for a certain academic degree but your professional experience is mostly what qualifies you rather than your formal education. The USCIS 3-to-1 rule, the essential criteria, and practical recommendations that might affect acceptance will be discussed in this post together with the basics of work experience assessment in the United States.
Evaluating a work experience means what?
A formal assessment of your job experience will help to establish whether it is on par with a U.S. university degree. Frequently employed for applications for work submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), it
For some visa categories, including the H-1B, a minimum qualification is a bachelor’s degree in a certain field. Not, though, is a four-year degree a requirement for every qualified professional. USCIS allows a combination of education and experience to meet degree requirements so helping to solve this problem.
The “3-to-1 rule” suggests that three years of consistent, relevant work experience can be compared to one year of college-level study. Twelve years of closely related professional experience may, for instance, be considered equivalent to a four-year U.S. bachelor’s degree if the position calls for one.
You can read USCIS’s policy guidance and regulations on degree equivalency criteria in the official USCIS Policy Handbook.
Procedure of evaluation
Usually, the process begins when an employer decides to help an employee get a visa that calls for a specified level of education. If the applicant lacks the exact degree, a credential evaluation or accredited academic expert investigates the background of the person.
Usually, the assessment process calls for:
- Letters outlining past jobs in great length
- An extensive analysis of duties
- employment dates and working hours
- Evidence for the experience was evolutionary, therefore imparting growing accountability
- Each diploma, transcript, and training certificate
The evaluator matches the experience level and duties of the role against American academic norms. Whether the mix of knowledge and experience equals a U.S. bachelor’s or graduate degree in a certain field is decided in the last report.
USCIS authorities next review the whole petition and this assessment. They may submit a Request for Evidence (RFE) if they need more information.
Errors abound and misunderstandings abound.
Many people incorrectly think that all jobs provide counts. The experience needs to be instantly related to the profession being given’s industry. Having an unrelated job history will not let one obtain a degree.
Insufficient documentation is another issue. RFEs are often brought on by ordinary experience letters that just provide job titles without clarifying duties. USCIS thoroughly considers if the encounter was progressive and focused.
Furthermore, some candidates mistake the 3-to-1 rule as implying automatic approval of all applications. It isn’t automatic. The quality, applicability, and documentation of the experience are just as crucial as the number of years.
Who often demands this evaluation?
Work experience assessment is often relevant for the following reasons:
- Experts without four-year bachelor’s degrees
- those whose foreign education does not quite match American norms.
- Those who ascended the ladder in technical industries via actual experience
- Applicants inquired by the USCIS whether their degree matches theirs
It is especially common in petitions for an employment-based green card, an H-1B visa, and other applications in which regulations call for a particular minimum educational attainment.
In closing
In the United States, the evaluation of work experience lets certified people satisfy academic requirements through recorded, cumulative experience. While the USCIS 3-to-1 rule sets the stage, relevance, complete paperwork, and a careful evaluation determine clearance. Understanding the operation of this process lets applicants and businesses submit exact requests and bypass pointless delays.
