2024 H1B Education Evaluation: 8 Key Things to Know

Written by Jeremy Yan | 09/16/2024

As H1B application season is coming in March 2024, it is when you may be required by USCIS to have your foreign degree evaluated. Meanwhile, you probably haven't even heard anything called education evaluation before.

So, what is education evaluation for H1B？

Addtionally, you might be even asking why you may need an education evaluation for H1B?

Don't worry, this article is breaking it down into 8 things to answer your questions.

Table of Contents:

What is Education Evaluation for H1B?
Why do you need Education Evaluation for H1B?
How to get Education Evaluation for H1B?
What documents you may need for H1B Credential Evaluation?
What does an Education Evaluation for H1B include?
How much does an H1B Education Evaluation cost?
Education Evaluation for H1B Process Time
Education Evaluation for H1B Sample

1. What is Education Evaluation for H1B?

Education Evaluation, aka Foreign Credential Evaluation, is a service provided by professional evaluation agencies to evaluate educational backgrounds, test scores, professional experiences, etc. obtained outside the United States.

It mainly includes 2 types of evaluations:

Foreign Degree Evaluation (Diploma Evaluation/Document by Document Evaluation)
Transcript Evaluation (Course by Course Evaluation)

to make your foreign degree equivalent to a US degree or educational equivalency evaluation for H1B.

For more information, click “What is Foreign Credential Evaluation?”

2. Why do you need Education Evaluation for H1B?

According to USCIS, you are required to have at least a US bachelor’s degree or its equivalent for an H1B visa.

Therefore, a USCIS approved education evaluation is needed for the evidence that you either have a U.S bachelor’s degree or that your foreign degree is equivalent to a particular U.S degree.

For more information, click USCIS H1B website.

3. How to get Education Evaluation for H1B?

Typically, a trusted credential evaluation agency will evaluate your H1B Education Evaluation. This organization specializes in understanding educational systems from around the world and can accurately translate degrees into their U.S. equivalents, or other country-specific equivalents.

You can request an H1B Education Evaluation from one of the following credential evaluation agencies or anyone that fits your needs better:

They can all meet your needs for employment, immigration, and education.

If you live in Florida, California or Texas, we also listed the following educational evaluators for you:

(All 5-Start Reviews of AET)

4. What documents you may need for H1B Credential Evaluation?

Before you start the process of evaluating your degree, you may need the following documents for the H1B Credential Evaluation:

Degree Certificate
Translated degree certificate by a certified translator
Transcripts
Translated transcripts by a certified translator (required if doing Transcript Evaluation)

5. What does an Education Evaluation for H1B include?

An Education Evaluation for H1B usually includes:

An equivalent for each degree, diploma or transcript submitted for evaluation
Dates of attendance and location of the institution
Profile of the institution and programs (entrance criteria, status of the institution, typical and length of study)
Recommends the U.S. equivalent of each level of study and credential earned

Cited from Evaluation World and VisaPro

6. How much does an H1B Education Evaluation cost?

Anywhere between $100 and $130.

In general, you only need a foreign degree evaluation (document-by-document evaluation) to meet USCIS'requirments for your H1B visa.

The pricing on H1B education evaluation could be anywhere between $100 and $130.

Here is a list of 10 Best Education Credential Evaluation Agencies for your reference.

7. Education Evaluation for H1B Process Time

Between 7 and 21 business days.

Depending on which credential evaluation service you go with, processing time for H1B Education Evaluation is from 7 to 21 business days.

8. Education Evaluation for H1B Sample

In general, an H1B Education Evaluation includes the following:

An equivalent for each degree, diploma or transcript submitted for evaluation
Dates of attendance and location of the institution
Profile of the institution and programs (entrance criteria, status of the institution, typical and length of study)
Recommends the U.S. equivalent of each level of study and credential earned
Evaluators’ resume and references used for the evaluation

Learn more about a Sample of H1B Education Evaluation.

Conclusion

In every H1B application season, a lot of you might be frustruated by USCIS's notice that you need an education evaluation for H1B because you have never heard of it before.

We wanted to let you know that you are not alone since the founder of our company went through the same as you and that is why he started the education evaluation business to help you succeed in the US.

In conclusion, this article has reviewed 6 major questions in H1B education evaluation to help you understand the definition of it, why you may need it, how much it can cost, and your other concerns.

Contact us today for a FREE estimate if you are in need! Good luck with your application!

More about Credential Evaluation

Jeremy Yan, President & Director of Evaluation at AET

Immigrated to the U.S. back in 1998, Mr. Yan had worked for over 10 years in a prominent NACES (National Association of Credential Evaluation Services) company as a senior associate director and team leader. He has completed hundreds of thousands of foreign credential evaluation of documents from numerous foreign countries for various universities, licensing boards, U.S. government, and immigration services. He is a leading expert at American Education and Translation Services and was invited several times to be a keynote speaker to hundreds of admission counselors of U.S. universities.