Recording for April 11, 2024 Conference Call with Rajiv S. Khanna
Immigration.com
Green Card
Discussion Topics:
Discussion Topics:
Topic: Accreditation of Distance Education in USA
Date: March 12, 2012
Total Time: 2 mintues 40 seconds
Hello, everyone. This is Rajiv S. Khanna for the Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, P.C, immigration.com.
A number of people have asked me this question in the last few days about how do they tell, if they finish a masters degree online through distance education in the U.S., how do they know if the degree is accredited?
I have looked into this issue because it became such a big issue for people, especially those who are born in countries where EB-3 is very backed up and EB-2 is a much better option.
So I did some review. This is the best of my knowledge. I am not an expert in accreditations, but what I see is this. On the screen in front of you, you see this page where they talk about accrediting agencies recognized for distance education and correspondence education.
This is a page on the Department of Education website.
http://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg10.html
Let me backtrack for a second.
First thing you do is ask the school where you want to go whether the particular program you want to do is accredited and, if so, who accredits it. In other words, the accreditation agency that is accrediting it. Get the name, and see if that name appears on this list right here.
Sometimes a particular program or a particular degree might be accredited, but not the whole school, and sometimes vice versa. So be careful--make sure that particular program is covered by the accreditation.
Good luck to you folks and if you have further questions, log in to the community conference call or we can talk a little bit on the blog itself.
The annual limit in the EB-2 category for India and China has reached. This has been confirmed by the State Department. A notification sent to USCIS on April 11, 2012 states that no further visas for the above mentioned categories will be authorized. On the basis of cut-off dates published in the April and May Visa Bulletins USCIS will continue to accept adjustment applications.
We have recently received an EB2 approval for a Physical Therapist. EB2 classification has become especially important now that EB3 category cases for severely backlogged countries are delayed so much. The good news with PT’s is that they do not have to go through the PERM process. But the bad news is that USCIS seems to question whether or not truly a Master’s degree or BS+5 years level job is being offered. The I-140 approval took 1.5 months in regular processing.
The Department of State recently posted its July Visa Bulletin indicating that the cut-off date for EB-2 Worldwide, Mexico and the Philippines has regressed to Jan. 1, 2009. The June cut-off date for EB-2 Worldwide, Mexico and the Philippines is "C" for "current." This means that a cut-off date is not specified for these categories through the end of the month.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is updating its policy guidance to clarify how USCIS evaluates eligibility for the second preference employment-based (EB-2) classification for immigrant petitions filed with a request for a national interest waiver (NIW).
FAQs: Eligibility for 1-year H-1B extension under 365-day rule based on PERM filed on November 1, 2023 || Assessing eligibility and strengthening profile for EB2-NIW application without a research background
I'm from Bangladesh and am pursuing a non-thesis Master’s degree in Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University. My area of specialization is Geotechnical Engineering. I’ll graduate with my degree in May 2025 after completing a co-op with one of the top Engineering and construction companies in the United States. The company also offered me a full-time position after my graduation so that I could continue my work with them. Many PhD candidates from my country with a master's degree are applying for EB2-NIW using their citations and research experience.
1. Since I lack a prominent research background (basically, I have no experience at all in terms of publication/citation), do I have a chance of getting approval for EB2-NIW?
2. Is citation/research compulsory for EB2-NIW to get approved?
3. If I want to apply in the future, how should I prepare my profile to increase my chances? I’m more interested in working in the industry than in research and academia.
4. I want to mention that, from my experience, there is a huge demand for geotechnical engineers in the civil engineering industry, but not many people, especially Americans, are pursuing this major. Can I use this fact to show national interest?
The key is to emphasize activities and achievements that demonstrate your potential to contribute significantly at a national scale. Your profile should highlight projects or initiatives that have a broad, national-level impact, as this aligns closely with the NIW criteria.
Release Date
07/24/2024
Effective Oct. 1, 2024, USCIS will increase the investment and revenue thresholds under the International Entrepreneur Rule, as required every three years. The application fee will not change, however.
Background