Why are major US corporations hiring foreign workers and sponsoring their entry into the country with H1-B visas? How can American companies justify hiring professionals from other countries and importing them into the country to take American jobs? The answer, as seen by industry giants such as Microsoft Corporation, is startling – and painful – in its simplicity.

U.S. workers just don’t make the grade. This is the argument that the major business organizations still hiring H1-B workers for fiscal year 2010 are making. They claim that no US professionals can be found who have the necessary skills to perform the work required.

In recent years, United States universities have seen fewer American students enrolling in computer, mathematics and science degree programs. These programs, however, continue to be popular with students from other countries.

Unfortunately, many of these students are returning to their home countries to take high-paying positions in technology-related businesses and industries. This problem is even more evident at the graduate degree level. Many students receive foreign degrees from undergraduate programs in their home countries, and then enter the United States to take advantage of the educational excellence offered by top-ranking graduate degree programs. Then they return home.

Business organizations such as Microsoft Corporation hire workers with foreign degrees to work in the United States with temporary work visas known as H1-B visas. To be eligible for an H1-B visa, the worker must show the USCIS that his or her foreign degree is the U.S. equivalency of a bachelor degree or higher.

This isn’t always as easy as it might seem. Many graduates from colleges in India, for example, attend three-year undergraduate programs to obtain their Bachelor Degree. Usually, these workers also have to show three years of work experience to receive the educational equivalency of a four-year bachelor degree.

Evaluating foreign education to determine whether these academic credentials are the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor degree is often a complicated process. It requires experts who are familiar with the vast array of degree programs and education systems worldwide. Most foreign credential evaluation services, including Evaluation Credentials, also specialize in a particular area of academic credentials evaluations.