USCIS.loveDegree Evaluation Readiness (WES): Checklist
How to check readiness for foreign degree equivalency evaluation in the U.S.: which service (WES / ECE / SpanTran), course-by-course, sealed transcripts from the university, certified translations of the diploma and transcript, the U.S. equivalency wording, and linking it to the petition exhibit.
Author: Alina Kanametova- updated
The Tool Itself
Open the tool: /tools/wes-check. This page is a guide for using it.
Key answer
Diploma evaluation for the US is a report from an evaluation service stating which American degree your foreign diploma is equivalent to. For EB-2 NIW, this report is usually required; for EB-1A and O-1, it is often done at your discretion. However, the process has strict steps, and missing any one of them slows down the entire process. This tool checks whether your evaluation is ready for submission.
Who Needs Diploma Evaluation and Who Doesn't
EB-2 NIW is based on an education threshold: either an advanced degree is required or a bachelor's plus years of progressive experience, and a foreign diploma without an equivalency report does not meet this threshold. EB-1A and O-1 have no educational requirements at all - they assess accomplishments.
In general, there are no requirements for having an education, much less for diploma evaluation, in EB-1A.
Still, it can be wise to do it: according to community observations, people order the report for potential future use - for work, licensing, or study in the US, where the requirements are stricter than for the petition.
When to Use
At the evidence-gathering stage: before ordering the evaluation and translations, and again right before adding the final report to your petition package.
How to Use
Answer questions about the service (WES / ECE / SpanTran), report type, transcripts, certified translations, US equivalency wording, timelines, and linking to the petition. The tool will give a readiness verdict and show what needs to be fixed first.
Course-by-course or document-by-document
Document-by-document only confirms the degree level: bachelor, master. Course-by-course additionally lists courses, hours, and grades, making it more expensive and time-consuming. Based on community experience, a degree level evaluation is often enough for petitions, but some order the more detailed report just in case.
It's better to choose immigration, and better to pick the most detailed type of evaluation (with courses and grades) right away in case you need the report for other purposes later.
Transcripts: Why the University Sends Them, Not You
This is the trickiest part. Some services accept academic transcripts only in a sealed envelope from the university itself; if you open the envelope, they will not accept it. Others work with scans. Learn the requirements before you pay.
Ask Wes (they might even provide an automatic request form) for a form to request from your university. Take this form to your university and insist they do it right - have them seal the envelope and put on their stamp. What does it cost them?!?
Translations, Apostille, and Certification
A certified translation of your diploma and transcript is required separately - the evaluation does not replace it. According to the community, evaluation services do not accept notarized translations; a translator's certificate is needed, and normally no apostille is required. For details, see the articles document translation and translator certificate.
How Long Does It Take
The timeline is set not by the service, but by your university's processing speed, so plan for the worst-case scenario.
You need to consider timing when choosing a credential evaluation agency. My evaluation with WES took almost half a year. The university spent two months preparing the documents, then they took a month to reach Canada.
An evaluation based on scans, without university involvement, took just a few days. The range can be from days to six months-this is why you should start early instead of waiting for petition approval.
Why This Matters
Delays are almost always procedural, not substantive: the wrong report type, transcripts not sent directly from the university, missing translator certificate, or the report does not specify US equivalency. Keep track of your documents in the translation tracker and include the evaluation in your document checklist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Materials
Related materials - Helpers and calculators
- Readiness check: how many criteria do you meet
- EB-2 NIW Check by Dhanasar Test
- Analysis of Real EB-1A Decisions and Decision Database
- Visa match: EB-1A, O-1 or EB-2 NIW, which fits you
- Community Cases: Anonymous Talent Visa Case Board
- Media check: is this a major publication (Major Media)
- Directory: journals, awards, associations, conferences
- Recommendation Letter Builder + Quality Assessment
- Translation Tracker: Get Documents to Certified Translation
- Printable petition packet assembly
- Which USCIS forms do you need by visa and stage
- Cost and timeline: estimated O-1 budget and schedule
- RFE Response Builder: Structure with Real USCIS Wording
- Interview Simulator: Consular Interview Practice
- Petition and RFE analysis against the criteria rules
From community discussions
«For the EB it's all the same as for the O-1, but with increased weight. For developers you need major projects where you were indispensable and can prove it; work at very large and well-known companies; talks at specialized conferences; judging at IT contests; several interviews about you in media at the RBC level; recommendation letters from weighty figures; a job offer in the US.»
Sergey · from public community chats
«The consul works by clear rules. His task is to prove to himself that you're an immigrant, and your task is the opposite: who beats whom. You either play this game by the rules or you don't. After all, it's you who needs the US, not the consul.»
Ruslan · from public community chats
«I'm not arguing here that he apparently checked it poorly, but when you buy a package service and not just a lawyer, you expect more. And why was he told to go for EB-2 NIW when he already came with a pretty good package for EB-1 (over 20 years working as a research scientist with a bunch of patents, awards) - he only needed to add media.»
Kate · from public community chats
Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.
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