Do I need a credential evaluation, and which service?

Community answers

The answers below are translated from the original Russian - the language of the community chats.

• A copy of the official diploma plus evaluation from a recognized agency in the U.S. is needed - to professionally confirm to the officer that this is indeed the education.

• WES is favored by universities and Canada, but for it, the university needs to directly confirm the documents, which is increasingly a problem. If evaluation is only for USCIS - you can choose any recognized agency.

• Almost no one attaches a diploma for EB-1A: education is mentioned in passing while describing the career path. However, for EB-2 NIW, higher education is an important milestone: with it, the first evidentiary part is covered.

The answers are anonymized community experience from the public chats, not legal advice. Officers may decide similar cases differently.

Sources

• USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5
• 8 CFR 204.5 - the I-140 regulation
• Form I-140 on uscis.gov

Related on this site

• Evaluation checker
• EB-2 NIW guide

Similar questions

• Can I file two petitions in parallel?
• Is a business plan required for EB-2 NIW?
• What is the EB-2 NIW endeavor and how do I frame it?
• Is EB-2 NIW possible without scholarly articles?
• Can I work for a new employer on an O-1?
• Where do I get an O-1 advisory opinion without a union?
• Is there a petition template, or do I write from scratch?