For EB-1/EB-2/O-1 a US equivalency of a foreign degree is often useful. The evaluation itself has hard steps: which service, course-by-course, sealed transcripts from the institution, certified translations of the diploma and transcript, a US-equivalency statement, timing, and tying it into the petition exhibit. Answer the questions and we show what is missing. Guidance, not legal advice.
Have you chosen a recognized evaluation service (WES, ECE or SpanTran) rather than an unknown provider?
A member of a recognized association (NACES) is what reviewers and employers expect; an obscure provider can be questioned.
Did you order the right report type (course-by-course, not just document-by-document) for your case?
A document-by-document report only states the degree; petitions and equivalency usually need the detailed course-by-course report.
Are official, sealed transcripts being sent to the evaluator directly by your institution (not opened by you)?
Most services require transcripts straight from the school in a sealed envelope; documents you opened can be rejected as unofficial.
Do you have certified translations of the diploma AND the transcript (not just the diploma)?
Foreign-language documents must be fully translated and certified; a missing transcript translation stalls the evaluation.
Does each translation carry the translator's certificate of accuracy (name, signature, statement)?
A certified translation without the certification statement is treated as uncertified - a routine, avoidable rejection.
Does the report state the US-degree equivalency in plain terms (e.g. equivalent to a US bachelor / master)?
The whole point is a clear US equivalency statement; without it the report does not support a degree-based argument.
Have you accounted for processing time (and a rush option) so the report is ready before you file?
Standard evaluations take weeks once all documents arrive; a late report can hold up the entire petition timeline.
Is the finished evaluation tied into your petition as a labeled exhibit (with its translations)?
An evaluation sitting outside the exhibit index is easy to overlook; it should be a numbered exhibit next to its source documents.
Answer all questions (0/8)
This is a self-check of evaluation readiness, not a USCIS assessment or legal advice. Verify service requirements and forms on their official websites.
An evaluation is needed where you have to show a US degree equivalent - above all for EB-2 with an advanced degree, and for some O-1 and NIW profiles. It is not mandatory for EB-1A, though it is often attached when education carries part of the argument.
The check follows the points where the process usually breaks: whether the service is one the recipient recognizes; whether a course-by-course report was ordered rather than a general one; whether transcripts went in a sealed envelope from the institution; whether translations were done where needed; and what US equivalent the report states, and whether it matches what your petition relies on.
That last point matters most. A report finding your degree equivalent to a bachelor’s does not support an argument built on a master’s - and this surfaces at the least convenient moment.
Myth: 5 years of professional experience automatically and exactly replace 2 years of a master's degree for immigration qualification.
In reality: Such experience can be counted as an education equivalent only with a proper evaluation of diplomas and experience; this is not an automatic or guaranteed substitute, and the conclusion depends on the specific expert review and category requirements.
Distilled from the public community chats, anonymised; corpus as of June 2026. These are participants' observations, not legal advice and not USCIS statistics.
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