What is an Expert Opinion evaluation?
The Expert Opinion evaluation provides an evaluation of educational credentials and professional work experience or technical training by a university professor or official in the specialty field. The Expert Opinion evaluation is a professional opinion letter from an expert in the specialty field to meet the requirements of USCIS regulations.
Why do I need an Expert Opinion letter?
An Expert Opinion evaluation is recommended for immigration purposes when the individual is relying primarily or solely on work experience to qualify for H-1B status, to respond to a USCIS Request for Evidence (RFE), Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) or Decision (“Denial”). Expert letters are also used to qualify a position as a “specialty occupation” according to USCIS regulations, support L-1 petitions for Executives or Managers or employees with “specialized knowledge”, support petitions for O-1, EB-1 and many other purposes. To respond to Department of Labor (DOL) audits, Expert Letters have been successfully utilized to overcome “Ability to Pay” and “Business Necessity” challenges. The FIS Expert Opinion application is located here.
What documents should I submit?
You should submit all educational documents you want evaluated, including diplomas and certificates, as well as marks sheets, transcripts, or other records of the courses you have completed. Submit the original-language documents and English translations in the same format as the original-language documents. Certified translations are required for all marks sheets, transcripts, or other records of the courses that have been completed. The petitioner's support letter and a detailed position description, including percentages of time for each duty, has been very useful in addressing petition deficiencies as reported in USCIS "Requests for Evidence (RFE)." For work experience evaluations, detailed employment letters, including the dates of employment, the position title(s), expanded description of duties and other related information are most useful.
Do you use work experience for non-immigration evaluations?
If you submit a resume or employment verification letters, we can mention them in our evaluation report, however, we do not use work experience in degree equivalencies for non-immigration purposes. Also, the USCIS has shown preference for more detailed letters from professors and experts for H-1 petitions, which we can facilitate through our Expert Opinion Services.
Will I get the equivalency or conclusion I am requesting?
We will work with you to provide the equivalency requested, however, we cannot guarantee that our evaluation will indicate the degree equivalence you are seeking. The FIS staff has extensive experience in international education, and our reports are also based on numerous reference materials and current practices at public and private educational institutions in the U.S. We do our best to provide a fair and accurate evaluation and to let you know ahead of time if we cannot grant the equivalency you are seeking. If the equivalency you have requested is not possible, we will contact you prior to completing the file to discuss alternative options.
Do you have an expert in my field?
FIS has a large network of university-level professors and college level officials who represent a wide range of disciplines. Due to the large number of colleges and universities with which we work, we are usually able to accommodate your needs. Please contact us if you have questions about a specific field. You can review the Expert Specialty Areas webpage for examples of specialty areas we've covered and positions that our professors have supported.
How are FIS' Expert Opinion letters different from those of FIS' competitors?
FIS Evaluations and expert opinion letters are different for several reasons. As one of the founding “Charter Members” of NACES, we have worked with the USCIS for over 30 years to provide accurate and professional evaluations. Our educational evaluations are supported not only by an extensive comparative education resource library, but also our years of professional experience working in higher education. Our professors are trained to understand the USCIS regulations from which the specific petitions will be adjudicated, so they address the key elements factually, and not merely expressing their personal opinion. Many of these professors have worked closely with FIS for over 10 years. Finally, unlike the practice at many other evaluation companies, our friendly and professional evaluators and expert opinion coordinators are always available to speak with you regarding your case.
Please contact us if you need additional information.