Foreign education is evaluated by independent private agencies who are providing foreign credential evaluation services. There is no governmental body in the United States that approves agencies that offer this service. If you have a degree or diploma from a foreign country it is necessary to have your educational background formally assessed for employment, further education or immigration purposes. A Foreign Credential Evaluation Service like Evaluation World provides this service.

Most foreign credential evaluation agencies offer different types of evaluations. Most employers only require a document evaluation, which simply states the US equivalent of your credential, unless you need to show that you have course work in a certain field or need a certain minimum GPA, you will need a course-by-course evaluation. If you’re using the evaluation for immigration purposes, the type of evaluation you would need would depend on the type of immigration visa you’re applying for. For example, H1B visas require only a document evaluation in most cases. If the degree program is less than four years in duration, then an education and work experience evaluation would be the right option. For education purposes, a course-by-course evaluation (transcript evaluation) is generally preferred, listing each subject completed, credits, grades and the Grade Point Average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale.