An FIS Expert Opinion credential
evaluation expands on our Document-by-Document evaluation
with a written opinion letter from a university professor
in the appropriate field. The Expert Opinion letter specifically
addresses the individual's academic and employment experience
qualifications to satisfy U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Service (USCIS) H-1B regulations for a bachelor's degree
equivalent.
FIS works with a large network of university professors
representing a range of disciplines. A copy of our Document-by-Document
evaluation will accompany the Expert Opinion letter prepared
by the professor.
In order to provide a comprehensive evaluation, the professors
will typically require more information than is needed for
a standard Document-by-Document evaluation. In addition to
what we ordinarily request for a Document-by-Document evaluation;
academic transcripts, employment verification letters listing
the period of employment with clearly defined job functions,
a detailed job description for the proposed position or the
petition letter will be needed for the Expert Opinion Evaluation.
Also, please note that all documents in a foreign language
will need to be accompanied by an English-language translation
prepared in the same format as the original document. Click
here for information about FIS' document translation services.
Why choose an Expert Opinion evaluation?
When a visa petitioner is relying primarily or
entirely on work experience, an Expert Opinion is highly
recommended because the USCIS looks for assessments from "recognized
authorities" or qualified university professors to confirm
the petitioner's qualifications. We have found that a letter
from a university-level professor correlating the individual's
academic and employment qualifications to the required U.S.
degree equivalent will satisfy the USCIS and
meet the requirements for H-1B status in most cases.
Industry Standard Letters
A subset of the Expert Opinion evaluation is the Industry
Standard letter. It differs from the Expert Opinion letter
in that it does not address an individual's educational equivalence.
Rather, the Industry Standard letter will qualify a position
as a specialty occupation as defined by USCIS.
Extraordinary Ability Letter
An additional subset of the Expert Opinion evaluation is the Extraordinary
Ability letter (typically used for O and EB Visa's). The
Extraordinary Ability letter will qualify the alien as an individual
of extraordinary ability as defined by USCIS.
In addition to Expert Opinion credential evaluations, FIS also
offers Document-by-Document evaluations and Course-by-Course
evaluations. Click on the links below to learn more.
Document-by-Document Evaluation
Course-byCourse Evaluation
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