In addition to proving no qualified U.S. workers are available through the PERM process, a sponsoring employer must show the foreign national beneficiary meets the minimum education and experience requirements for the position. However, proving the foreign national meets the minimum education requirement can be difficult if the foreign national's education was completed abroad. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) does not consider all foreign degrees to be the equivalent of U.S. degrees. The AACRAO Electronic Database for Global Education (EDGE) is an online degree equivalency database used by USCIS when evaluating foreign educational credentials. Each petition is examined on a case-by-case basis to determine if the level of education completed by the foreign national is the U.S. equivalent of the employer's minimum requirements for the position. The most common method for establishing a foreign degree equivalency is through a credential evaluation.

Foreign Bachelor's Degree Issues

Typically, 4 years of progressive post-secondary education in the same or a related field, culminating in a single source Bachelor's degree, will be considered the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor's degree. However, in certain cases even a 4 year foreign Bachelor's degree is not the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor's degree. Moreover, some foreign Bachelor's degrees only require three years of study which creates an equivalency problem. The completion of only a 3 year Bachelor's degree precludes a foreign national from qualifying for the second employment-based preference category (EB-2).

3 Year Bachelor's Degree + 1 Year Post-Graduate Diploma

Even if a foreign national completes additional education beyond the 3 year Bachelor's degree, it is not the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor's degree unless the education is obtained from a single source. In other words, for EB-2 or EB-3 professional category purposes, neither education and experience nor equivalent education are acceptable alternatives. Accordingly, a 3 year Bachelor's degree plus a 1 year post-graduate diploma are only considered equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor's degree if the post-graduate diploma was obtained from the same institution of higher education and is progressive education in the same or a related field.

Two Independent 3 Year Bachelor's Degrees

Similarly, two independent 3 year Bachelor's degrees may not be considered the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor's degree. Commonly, to qualify as a single source Bachelor's degree, the independent degrees must have been completed at the same institution of higher education in related fields.

Foreign Master's Degree Issues

To qualify for the EB-2 category, a position must minimally require the equivalent of a U.S. Master's degree, or a Bachelor's degree plus 5 years of progressive experience. Generally, to hold the equivalent of a U.S. Master's degree, a foreign national must have completed a total of 6 years of combined undergraduate and post-graduate education, in the same or a related field, culminating in the award of a Master's degree. The USCIS will examine the foreign national's transcripts and dates of attendance to ensure they are consistent with 6 years of education. The combined 6 years of education can be attained through various degree scenarios including, but not limited to:

• 4 year Bachelor's degree plus a 2 year Master's degree;
• 3 year Bachelor's degree plus a 3 year Master's degree; or
• 3 year Bachelor's degree plus a 1 year post-graduate diploma plus a 2 year Master's degree.

Similarly, a foreign national may have completed 4 years of post-secondary education culminating in a single-source Bachelor's degree and have five years of progressive experience in lieu of a Master's degree.

Not all foreign Master's degrees are equivalent to a U.S. Master's degree. For example, some foreign institutions of higher education may grant a 5 year Master's degree without an underlying Bachelor's degree. This may qualify as the equivalent of a U.S. Master's degree in limited situations where the employer can show the degree is in a field in which a 1 year Master's degree program is common in the United States. Foreign Master's degrees that are only equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor's degree do not qualify for the EB-2 preference category unless they are combined with 5 years of progressive experience.

Exceptions

There are some exceptions to the "single-source" Bachelor's degree rule. For instance, the USCIS has accepted a 3 year Bachelor's degree and a 2 year Master's degree plus five years of progressive experience as the equivalent of a U.S. Master's degree for EB-2 purposes. Additionally, transfer credits from a community college do not violate the "single-source" Bachelor's degree rule.