Help: 5 Year Foreign Degree Plus 2 Year U.S. Masters Degree - EB3

[sixpad]

Hi to all of you. I hope you can help me. I have a close friend who is about to file her I-140 under EB3 category. She is a high school spanish teacher here in Atlanta, GA. She has an approved Labor Certification for EB3. Here are other facts:

She has a 5-Year Degree from a Spanish University (similar U.S. Bachelor of Arts, although there has been no formal equivalency evaluation done to her 5-year foreign Degree) in English Philosophy. In addition, she completed and received a 2-year "Masters of Arts" Degree from a fully accredited U.S. University (University of Georgia, Athens).

She is filing under EB3 because in Georgia, high school teachers are not required to have a Master's Degree. Since she works here in GA (for the same Private School for the last 4+ years - H1B visa tied to the school), applying under EB3 is her only option. Which is fine...that's not the issue.

So the question is: Could she potentially run into education qualification problems with immigration because her foreign degree has not been evaluated for US 4-year degree equivalency, or can her Masters Degree from a US university stand on its own? (I assume a 2-Year Masters degree is at least equal or exceeds the requirements for EB3 under USCIS eyes?) It must be noted that in order to get a US Masters Degree the University must have accepted her 5-Year foreign degree as equivalent to a US 4-year BA.

Sorry for the long post - i try to be as detailed as possible.

Thanks!

 

[sixpad]

Ok...maybe my orginal post was too long..I'll keep it simple:

Does a 2 year U.S. Masters Degree on its own meet the minimum education requirements for EB3 or must one prove that they have, at minimum, a 4 year Bachelor's Degree?

My intuitive belief is that a 2 year US masters degree is considered a higher degree than a Bachelors degree, so proof of a 4 year Bachelor's degree is not required. Input anyone?

Thanks

 

[manwithnoname]

Ok...maybe my orginal post was too long..I'll keep it simple:

Does a 2 year U.S. Masters Degree on its own meet the minimum education requirements for EB3 or must one prove that they have, at minimum, a 4 year Bachelor's Degree?

My intuitive belief is that a 2 year US masters degree is considered a higher degree than a Bachelors degree, so proof of a 4 year Bachelor's degree is not required. Input anyone?

Thanks

Your friend probably needs an educational evaluation of the foreign degree. Please take a look at this thread. The following thread is informative too.

 

[sixpad]

Your friend probably needs an educational evaluation of the foreign degree. Please take a look at this thread. The following thread is informative too.

Thanks for the feedback. I will advise her to try and get an educational evaluation, although I know that was what she was trying to avoid...the cost and all....

But let me get this clear....the EB3 box on the I-140 says.."A professional (at a minimum, possessing a bachelor's degree or a foreign degree equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree) or a skilled worker (requiring at least two years of specialized training or experience)."

So you are saying that you believe (let's ignore the Foreign degree for one moment) that a U.S. Master's degree on its own would not meet the minimum education requirement for EB3? If this is how the USCIS is ruling, then she would have no option than to get the foreign degree evaluated. But this seems counter intuitive.

Do you have any recommendations on what (online) companies do educational evaluations? How much do these things usually cost?

Thanks again for the feedback.