I Earned My Degree Outside the United States. What Should I Do Next?
A practical roadmap for internationally educated professionals navigating employment, licensure, education, and immigration processes in the United States.
Key Takeaways
- Degrees earned outside the United States can often be used for employment, education, licensure, and immigration purposes — but recognition decisions are made by individual organizations, not a single government agency.
- A credential evaluation provides an independent assessment of your education and explains how it compares to U.S. standards.
- The evaluation you need depends on your goal: document-by-document evaluations are common for employment, while course-by-course evaluations are typically required for admissions and licensure.
- The general path forward involves five steps: determine your goal, confirm the required evaluation type, gather your documents, select an agency, and submit for review.
- Older degrees, incomplete document sets, and uncertainty about acceptance are common concerns — but none of these automatically prevent you from moving forward.
Can I Use a Foreign Degree in the United States?
If you earned your degree outside the United States and are now living in America, you may be wondering what steps to take next.
Many internationally educated professionals arrive with valuable academic qualifications, years of experience, and strong professional skills. However, navigating education, employment, professional licensing, and credential recognition in the United States can feel confusing at first.
The good news is that thousands of internationally educated individuals successfully use their foreign degrees every year to pursue careers, continue their education, obtain professional licenses, and build new opportunities in the United States. Understanding the process can help you move forward with confidence.
In many cases, yes — degrees earned outside the United States can often be recognized for employment, higher education, professional licensure, immigration, and other purposes. However, because educational systems vary from country to country, U.S. institutions may need assistance understanding how your academic credentials compare to U.S. education.
This is where a foreign credential evaluation often becomes important. A credential evaluation provides an independent assessment of your educational background and explains how your studies compare to U.S. educational standards.
Why Is Degree Recognition Important?
Unlike some countries, the United States does not have a single government agency that automatically recognizes foreign degrees. Instead, recognition decisions are typically made independently by each organization you interact with.
Employers
Review credentials as part of hiring decisions.
Colleges & Universities
Evaluate applicants for admission and transfer credit.
State Licensing Boards
Set requirements for regulated professions.
Professional Certification Organizations
Set their own credentialing standards.
Government Agencies
May require equivalency documentation for various processes.
Immigration-Related Entities
May request evidence of educational attainment.
Each organization may have its own requirements. As a result, individuals are often asked to provide a credential evaluation before their qualifications can be reviewed.
What Is a Credential Evaluation?
A credential evaluation is a professional review of academic credentials earned outside the United States. The evaluator examines educational documents and researches the institution, educational system, and academic program completed.
The evaluation typically identifies:
- Educational level achieved
- U.S. equivalency
- Program of study
- Institution attended
- Academic coursework (when applicable)
- Credits or semester-hour equivalents (for course-by-course evaluations)
The purpose is to help U.S. organizations understand foreign educational qualifications in a familiar format.
When Do You Need a Credential Evaluation?
You may not need an evaluation right away — but most internationally educated professionals eventually run into a moment where one is requested. A new employer asks how your degree compares to a U.S. equivalent before extending an offer. A state board won't process your teaching, nursing, engineering, or accounting license application without one. A graduate program won't review your transcript until it has been translated into U.S. credit terms. Or an immigration step in your case calls for proof of your education level.
The trigger is rarely your choice to make — it is whoever is on the other side of the application asking for it. That is exactly why Step 1 below starts with figuring out who is asking and why, before you spend money on a report.
Five Steps to Move Forward
Here is a general path many internationally educated professionals follow when putting their foreign degree to use in the United States.
Determine Your Goal
Before ordering an evaluation, identify how you plan to use your degree. Are you applying for a job, seeking a professional license, applying to a college or university, or pursuing an immigration-related process? The answer often determines the type of evaluation you need, since different organizations may require different formats.
Verify What Type of Evaluation Is Required
Many applicants are surprised to learn that there are multiple types of evaluations. Before applying, verify which evaluation type the receiving organization requires.
Gather Your Educational Documents
Documentation requirements vary by agency and by country. Commonly requested documents include degree certificates, diplomas, academic transcripts, mark sheets, examination results, and sometimes professional licenses. If documents are not in English, certified translations may also be required. Some agencies require official or independently verifiable documentation.
Select a Credential Evaluation Agency
Not all evaluation agencies use identical methodologies or policies. Consider professional qualifications, published documentation requirements, transparency of methodology, customer service, turnaround times, and recognition by the organization receiving the evaluation. Whenever possible, confirm whether the receiving institution recommends or requires evaluations from specific providers. Alianza Academic Evaluations offers Foreign Degree Evaluation services for professionals seeking recognition of their international credentials in the United States
Submit Your Evaluation
Once your documents have been submitted, the evaluation agency will review the institution attended, program structure, educational level, academic content, and supporting documentation. Additional information may be requested if clarification is needed. After the review is complete, the final report is issued and can be provided to the receiving organization.
Document-by-Document vs. Course-by-Course Evaluations
Here's the practical difference. A document-by-document report tells the reader what you have — your degree title, the school, the dates, and roughly where it lands on the U.S. scale. That's usually enough for an employer running a background check or an agency confirming you finished school.
A course-by-course report tells the reader how you got there — every class, every grade, translated into U.S. credit hours and a U.S.-style GPA. That level of detail is what a university registrar or a state licensing board needs in order to slot your transcript into their own system, which is why it's the version most teacher-certification and university-admission applications ask for.
Document-by-Document
Course-by-Course
If you're not sure which one applies to you, that's normal — it's almost always determined by the recipient, not by you. Ask them directly, or see our complete breakdown of evaluation types for the full comparison.
Common Concerns About Foreign Degree Recognition
Internationally educated professionals often have the same handful of questions as they begin this process. Here are honest answers to the most common ones.
Building Your Future in the United States
Earning a degree is a significant accomplishment regardless of where it was completed. If you earned your education outside the United States, your next step is understanding how your credentials can be presented and recognized within the U.S. system.
By identifying your goals, gathering the appropriate documentation, and obtaining the correct credential evaluation when needed, you can move forward toward employment, licensure, further education, and professional growth.
Need a Foreign Credential Evaluation?
Alianza Academic Evaluations helps internationally educated individuals understand and present their educational achievements for use in the United States. Whether you need an evaluation for employment, higher education, professional licensure, or another purpose, understanding the requirements early can help make the process smoother and more efficient.
Always confirm the specific requirements of the organization requesting your credentials before ordering an evaluation.