Are you looking for the approval rate for degree equivalency in September 2026? 

USCIS has not provided an official percentage. It also does not publish monthly figures showing how often work visa applications in the US accept foreign degree evaluations or education-and-experience claims.

For an H-1B petition, degree equivalency is only one part of the eligibility review. You may qualify with a US degree, a qualifying foreign equivalent degree, a required license, and a combination of education, specialized training, and relevant work experience.

Your case still needs to meet the requirements of the visa category. USCIS will also look at whether your education and experience fit the specialty occupation and whether the documents submitted with the petition support that claim.

To establish an undeniable credential baseline and satisfy USCIS evidentiary criteria, you can hire our specialized agency to Order Your USCIS Academic Evaluation Service tailored directly to your educational history.

What Is The Degree Equivalency Success Rate For US Work Visas?

A success rate for degree equivalency would tell you how often a foreign qualification is accepted as meeting a particular US degree requirement. USCIS does not publish this information as a separate statistic.

If your H-1B case relies on your education, the qualification may meet the requirement through one of several routes:

• A US bachelor’s degree or higher required for the specialty occupation
• A foreign degree, i.e., equivalent to the required US degree
• A required state license, registration, or certification
• A combination of education, specialized training, and progressively responsible experience that meets the applicable requirements

If you have a foreign degree, a professional credential evaluator can explain how your education compares with the US degree requirement. That report can make the academic record easier to understand, but it does not decide your H-1B eligibility.

USCIS makes that decision after reviewing the petition and the evidence as a whole. An evaluator’s favorable opinion does not, by itself, establish that you qualify for the visa. 

To ensure your foreign credentials meet strict immigration standards, explore our comprehensive guide on Academic Evaluation for USA Immigration & Education to learn more about the evaluation process, USCIS requirements, and expert filing strategies.

Why Can A “Success Rate” Number Be Misleading?

Suppose your credential evaluation says that your foreign degree is equivalent to a US bachelor’s degree. That does not mean USCIS will automatically approve your H-1B petition.

USCIS may still question other parts of the case. For example, the degree may not relate closely enough to the specialty occupation, or the petition may not contain enough evidence to support your work experience.

Common problems include:

• Your foreign degree does not properly relate to the specialty required for the job.
• Your employment letters do not provide enough detail about your previous work.
• The specialized skills required for the position are not shown by your experience.
• The employer has not proven that the offered position qualifies as a specialty occupation.
• Your resume, degree evaluation, employer letters, and petition forms contain different information.
• The credential evaluation concludes without clearly explaining how your education meets the required US degree level.

This is why you should not treat a credential evaluation approval and an H-1B approval as the same thing. The evaluation addresses your academic qualifications. USCIS reviews those qualifications along with the job, experience, employer evidence, and the rest of the petition.

What Does the Data Show?

USCIS has not reported an 85%, 90%, or 95% approval rate for degree-equivalency cases in September 2026. If you see a website quoting any of these figures or another exact percentage, check the USCIS source it uses to support the claim.

USCIS does release H-1B data, including petition approvals, requests for evidence, and processing information. Those figures cover H-1B cases generally. They do not tell you how many petitions involved foreign degree evaluations or how many education-and-experience equivalency claims USCIS accepted.

USCIS processing-time figures do not answer this question either. Those figures tell you how long the agency may take to process Form I-129 petitions. They do not show whether your foreign degree or experience-based equivalency claim will be accepted.

If you are considering your chances in September 2026, look at the evidence in your case rather than relying on an unofficial percentage. Your degree, transcripts, work experience, job duties, and other supporting documents should all be consistent and meet the requirements of the position.

How Does USCIS Evaluate Degree Equivalency in H-1B Cases?

If you are applying for an H-1B visa with a foreign degree or a combination of education and work experience, you may need to prove that your qualifications meet the US degree requirement for the position.

USCIS looks at two separate parts of the petition. First, the employer must show that the job qualifies as a specialty occupation. Next, you must prove that you hold either the required degree or an acceptable equivalent.

A degree evaluation alone does not prove H-1B eligibility. The job itself must require the type of education or equivalent preparation that you are claiming. 

How Does Foreign Degree Equivalency Work?

If you earned your degree outside the United States, you may need a credential evaluation to explain how your education compares with a US degree. The evaluation should look at your actual degree, transcripts, coursework, and other academic records. Simply stating that you completed a certain number of years of education may not be enough.

For example, AAO decisions have involved applicants who completed three years of US-equivalent academic study but could not prove that their education matched a US bachelor’s degree in the required specialty. The number of years alone did not provide the required equivalency.

If you hold a three-year foreign bachelor’s degree, review the complete academic record before assuming that it automatically equals a four-year US bachelor’s qualification.

Can Work Experience Substitute For A Degree In An H-1B Case?

In certain H-1B cases, you can use specialized training and work experience along with your education to establish the equivalent of a required US degree. The H-1B rules allow three years of specialized training and qualifying work experience to count toward each year of college-level education you lack, provided the regulatory requirements are met.

That does not mean USCIS will automatically convert three years of employment into one year of college. Your experience must show the right type of specialized knowledge and meet the requirements for recognition of that expertise.

If you rely on work experience, explain what you actually did, what skills you developed, and how that work relates to the specialty required for the H-1B position.

To ensure your combined credentials officially satisfy federal immigration standards, you can hire our specialized agency to Get a Certified Academic Degree Evaluation that documents your full equivalency.

What Evidence Can Show Recognition Of Expertise?

If you are using work experience to support degree equivalency, you may need evidence showing that others in the field recognize your expertise.

Depending on your background, this evidence may include:

• Recognition from at least two recognized authorities in your specialty
• Membership in a recognized professional association or society
• Published material by or about you in qualifying professional publications or media
• A foreign license or registration to practice your specialty
• Significant contributions recognized by an authority in your field

You do not necessarily need every type of evidence listed above. The right documents depend on how you are proving your equivalency and what evidence you already have.

What Factors Affect The Outcome Of A Degree Equivalency Case?

1. Does Your Education Match the Job?

Your education needs to connect with the specialty required for the H-1B position.

Having a bachelor’s degree does not automatically satisfy the requirement. If the position requires a degree in a particular specialty, your education or qualifying equivalent experience must relate to that specialty.

The petition should make the connection clear. Your academic background, professional experience, and proposed job duties should support the same specialty.

2. How Strong Is Your Work Experience Evidence?

If your case depends on work experience, avoid relying on a resume alone. USCIS needs enough information to understand the work you performed.

Your employer letters should ideally explain:

• When you worked for the company
• Your job title
• Your main duties
• The specialized skills you used
• Any relevant training
• Changes in your level of responsibility
• How your work relates to the claimed specialty

A job title such as “Software Engineer” or “Business Analyst” does not, by itself, prove the nature or level of your experience.

3. Does Your Experience Show Increasing Responsibility?

The number of years you worked in a field is only one factor of your experience.

If your experience supports degree equivalency, your records should show the type of work you performed and how your responsibilities developed over time.

For example, a letter that only confirms five years of employment does not tell the full story. The letter should cover the work you handled, the skills you used, the training you received, and how your responsibilities changed during those five years.

4. Do Your Documents Match?

Make sure the information in your petition remains consistent from one document to another.

Your degree evaluation, resume, employer letters, job description, petition forms, and other evidence should describe the same education and professional background.

If your degree evaluation relies mainly on your information technology experience, but your employer letters describe your previous work as mostly administrative, USCIS may question whether that experience supports the claimed equivalency.

5. Does the H-1B Position Qualify as a Specialty Occupation?

Your qualifications are only one side of the petition.

The employer must also show that the offered position meets the specialty occupation requirements and requires the qualifying degree or equivalent preparation.

Even a detailed degree evaluation cannot fix a position that does not meet those requirements. You need to establish both parts of the case.

Does an RFE Affect Degree Equivalency Approval Chances?

Receiving an RFE does not mean USCIS has rejected your degree equivalency claim. It means the agency wants additional evidence or an explanation before deciding the petition. An RFE may ask questions about your foreign degree, academic records, previous employment, specialized experience, or the connection between your background and the H-1B position.

There is no USCIS statistic showing the approval rate for degree-equivalency cases that receive an RFE. Your result will depend on the specific concern raised in the notice and the evidence submitted in response. When you receive an RFE, address each question directly. Simply sending the same documents that you submitted with the original petition may not resolve USCIS’s concerns.

AAO decisions have also found problems with equivalency claims when employment letters lack enough detail. In some cases, the letters did not explain the applicant’s duties, specialized knowledge, or professional experience clearly enough to support the claim.

What Evidence Can Strengthen a Degree Equivalency Evaluation?

If you are relying on foreign education or work experience, gather documents that allow USCIS to understand your complete background.

Depending on your case, you may use:

• Diplomas and degree certificates
• Academic transcripts
• Course descriptions, when needed
• Official educational records
• Detailed employment verification letters
• Resume or CV
• Records describing specialized duties
• Training records
• Professional licenses or registrations
• Professional memberships
• Evidence of publications or recognized achievements
• Documents connecting your previous work to the H-1B specialty

For experience-based equivalency, what you actually did at work matters more than the number of years shown on your resume.

A professional credential evaluation can help organize your academic history and explain how your education and experience support the claimed US degree equivalent. Keep in mind that the evaluation is supporting evidence. USCIS makes the final decision on eligibility.

How Does Degree Equivalency Apply to Other US Work Visas?

Do not assume that the H-1B degree-equivalency rules apply to every US work visa. Each category has its own requirements.

L-1 Visa

If you are applying for an L-1 visa, your case mainly depends on the qualifying relationship between the US and foreign companies, your qualifying employment abroad, and the position you will hold in the United States.

For L-1A and L-1B cases, you must meet the requirements for a managerial, executive, or specialized-knowledge position. The H-1B bachelor’s-degree equivalency rules do not serve as the main test for L-1 eligibility.

O-1 Visa

The O-1 visa follows a different standard. You must show extraordinary ability or achievement in your field and provide evidence that meets the O-1 requirements.

A traditional bachelor’s-degree equivalency does not determine whether you qualify for O-1 classification.

TN Visa

TN eligibility depends on your profession and the educational or professional requirements attached to that profession.

Some TN professions require a specific degree, while others may allow alternative qualifications. If you are applying under the TN category, check the requirements for your specific profession rather than using the H-1B three-for-one rule.

These visa categories have different eligibility standards, so there is no meaningful single “US work visa degree equivalency success rate.”

Conclusion

There is no official degree-equivalency success rate for September 2026. USCIS does not publish this information as a separate monthly statistic.

If your H-1B case involves a foreign degree or work experience, focus on proving the actual requirements of the petition. The employer must establish the specialty occupation, and you must show that your education or qualifying experience meets the requirements for that position.

The three-for-one rule may help in certain experience-based cases, but it does not automatically turn work experience into college education.

If you are relying on foreign education or professional experience, make sure your documents clearly explain your academic background, employment history, specialized duties, and connection to the H-1B position. A professional degree equivalency evaluation can help present that information clearly, but USCIS makes the final determination.

To ensure your credentials are presented accurately and backed by strict regulatory standards, you can hire our specialized agency to Request Professional Academic Evaluation for Immigration before filing your petition.

Master EB-2 NIW RFE tactics, L-1 visa approval metrics, and TN USMCA success trends with the detailed guides below:

• How to Overcome an EB-2 NIW RFE: Approval Rates, Key Trends & Response Strategies
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• What Are Your Odds for L-1 Visa Approval? USCIS Data, Standards & Key Trends
  Analyzes recent USCIS adjudication data for L-1A executives/managers and L-1B specialized knowledge workers. Highlights critical success factors, common denial causes, and practical ways to strengthen petition documentation.
• How High Are TN Visa Approval Rates? USCIS Adjudication Trends & Case Factors
  Reviews current approval data and adjudication benchmarks for Canadian and Mexican professionals applying under USMCA guidelines. Details border vs. USCIS filing outcomes and strategies to avoid credential-match RFEs.