When an H-1B applicant doesn’t have a U.S. degree

On Behalf of | May 7, 2016 | Employment Immigration |

As a U.S. employer based in Miami, you may discover that the ideal candidate for a position within your company lives in another country. Filing for an H-1B visa may be the best way for you to bring the person with the special qualifications you need to the United States. At Cuevas and Garcia, P.A., Attorneys at Law, we are aware of the challenges that may arise when you are attempting to meet the requirements for this employment visa.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services points out that if your foreign national employee does not have a bachelor’s degree from this country, the outcome of the application could fall to the adjudicators. Determining whether an education from another country is equivalent to its counterpart in the United States may not be difficult. The more documentation you are able to provide to show the degrees are compatible, the more likely you are to be successful in your application. For example, certifications, course descriptions and transcripts may be helpful supporting materials.

Proving that your applicant has professional work experience that is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree may be much more difficult than merely comparing one college degree to another. Documentation that demonstrates the level of work experience the employee has must be specific, but obtaining this type of detailed information from past employers may not be easy to accomplish. Not only that, for every year of undergraduate education, you will need to provide evidence of three years of comparable professional experience. There is more information about types of work visas and requirements on our web page.

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