Degree Requirements and Foreign Equivalency

If you require a Bachelor Degree in the PERM petition, it refers to a US Bachelor Degree or foreign equivalent.

USCIS will allow a combination of academic work and work experience to be used in an Academic Evaluation for an H-1B Visa petition, but they do not allow it for PERM / I-140 based petitions.

If the beneficiary has a foreign degree (highest degree is non US Bachelor or Master Degree), then you will need to obtain an Academic Evaluation to show that it is the equivalent to a US Bachelor or Master Degree.

Trusteforte Corp. performs this service and their work is accepted by USCIS. You will want an Academic Evaluation using the EDGE database.

In the advertisement and recruiting, the acceptance of a foreign degree would be shown in the requirement line as (for example): Bachelor Degree or equivalent in Computer Science. This means that you would accept a US Degree or foreign equivalent. If the requirement reads: Bachelor Degree in Computer Science, this is interpreted by DOL and USCIS that you would not accept a foreign degree equivalency for this position.

In general, a 3 year foreign bachelor degree is not considered to be equivalent to a 4 year US bachelor degree. In this case, you would not be able to require a bachelor degree since the beneficiary does not possess a (4 year) bachelor degree.

Related Links:
PERM Overview
EB-2 vs EB-3
PERM / I-140 Ability Pay Requirement
PERM and Prevailing Wage Processing Times
PERM and I-140 Complete Do it Yourself Kit
PERM Attorney

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