Foreign diploma and document translation

American colleges don't know how schools and universities in your country work, so they ask for a credential evaluation: specialists compare your certificate or diploma with American ones and write what it corresponds to. For CUNY admission, its UAPC office evaluates records for free; you can also pay one of the services CUNY recognizes.

1. Find out which documents are required

   Find your country in CUNY's Required Secondary School Credentials table: it lists exactly which documents are accepted. CUNY asks for a complete secondary school record for all years and any external exam certificates, and may request more. ECE has its own requirements by country.

2. Think about safety before you request documents from home

   If you are seeking asylum, talk to your lawyer or representative before you contact a school, university or government office in the country you are seeking protection from. QARAVAN does not provide legal services, but it can point you to organizations that do.

3. Request the documents from your school

   CUNY treats a document as official when the school sends it directly in a sealed envelope; notarized or translator-certified copies, photocopies, faxes and scans are not official. But applicants educated abroad can upload secondary school documents to the application, and send more to admissions@cuny.edu if CUNY asks. ECE returns the documents you send once the report is done, except those that came in the school's sealed envelope.

4. Get a translation

   Send documents in another language in the original together with an English translation. A faculty member of a U.S. school, college or university who translates must state their department and rank. With ECE you can pay for the Translation Waiver ($85) instead.

5. Decide where to have the evaluation done

   If you are applying only to CUNY, the free UAPC evaluation is enough. If you need the evaluation for work, a license or another college, first ask which service and report type they accept; ECE itself advises this.

6. Send the documents and pay

   For UAPC, send your documents to admissions@cuny.edu. With a paid service, order on its website and have it send the finished report directly to CUNY at evaluations@cuny.edu: CUNY accepts only evaluations sent by the service, with certified copies of the documents used.

7. Take an English test if one is required

   If you are on a temporary visa and were educated in a non-English-speaking environment, you need official TOEFL, IELTS (Academic), PTE (Academic) or Duolingo scores. In CUNY's table this test column says "Required" for every country in the region.

8. Check the status of your documents in CUNYfirst

   After you apply, check in CUNYfirst whether your documents and evaluation have arrived. CUNY matches documents to your application by your eight-digit CUNYfirst ID, so include it in any cover note.

An extract from CUNY's Required Secondary School Credentials table for Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, plus Turkey. Document names are as CUNY prints them. Each document needs a complete word-for-word translation on letterhead; CUNY/UAPC may request more.

If a document is not in English, CUNY asks for both the original and a translation. A translation by the wrong person is not accepted.

• University Application Processing Center (UAPC)

  Any statusFree

  CUNY's application processing office evaluates the records of people educated outside the United States for free. Freshman applicants send their complete secondary school record for all years and any national or external certificates to admissions@cuny.edu; Transfer applicants add official transcripts from each school, which the schools send to transcripts@cuny.edu. Documents not in English need the original and an English translation. Evaluation starts only when everything has arrived. Mailing address: CUNY/UAPC, P.O. Box 350136, Brooklyn, NY 11235.

  cuny.edu

• Services approved by CUNY for credential evaluation

  Any statusPaid

  CUNY recognizes 13 services: Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc.; Educational Credential Evaluators; Foreign Credential Evaluations, Inc.; Foreign Credentials Service of America; Globe Language Services Inc.; International Education Evaluations (IEE); International Education Research Foundation; Institute of Foreign Credential Evaluations (IFCS); Josef Silny & Associates, Inc., International Education Consultants; Scholaro; The Evaluation Company; Transcript Research; World Education Services, Inc. What to order: with less than one year of university work, a Course-by-Course report with GPA on your secondary record, any external exam certificates, and a Course-by-Course report with GPA for the university work; with more than a year, proof of secondary school graduation and a Course-by-Course report, plus a Course-by-Course report with GPA for the university work.

  cuny.edu

• Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)

  Any statusPaid

  A private service on CUNY's list. Reports: General $110, General with GPA $135, Course by Course $199; the Translation Waiver ($85) removes the need for a translation. The electronic copy is view-only in your account; official copies cost $40, 5-business-day rush $90. Document requirements depend on the country (list on ECE's site). If you can't meet them, ECE says it usually can't prepare a report, and an order missing documents may be canceled without a refund, so check with ECE customer service first.

  ece.org

• World Education Services (WES)

  Any statusPaid

  A nonprofit service on CUNY's list. Document-by-Document from $118: the U.S. equivalent of each credential. Course-by-Course from $186: subjects with credits, grades and a calculated GPA. Required documents depend on your country and appear on the Required Documents page once you choose it.

  wes.org

• National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) member directory

  Any status

  An association of credential evaluation services; it doesn't evaluate credentials but lists its members. You can contact any member directly; they work online, so you don't need to be nearby. If you need an evaluation for something other than CUNY, first ask which services that institution recognizes.

  naces.org

People who had to leave often can't get documents from their schools and universities. None of these programs promises a particular result.

• WES Gateway Program

  Any status

  A WES program that evaluates the credentials of refugees and other forcibly displaced people who can't get official documents from the country where they studied. Conditions: you can't get official documents directly from the institution; you studied in Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Türkiye, Ukraine or Venezuela; you completed high school or some or all of college or university; you have copies of your diploma or transcript; and you live in the U.S. or Canada. From Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus only Ukraine is on the list. WES partner organizations decide who is eligible. If you can submit the standard documents, WES recommends its standard process.

  wes.org

• ECE Aid

  Any statusFree

  An ECE program of free reports for refugees and other displaced people. ECE doesn't give them to individuals directly: colleges and nonprofits it selects hand out fee waiver vouchers. With a voucher, you fill in ECE's standard online application, enter the code and send the required documents. No country limits. ECE names Upwardly Global as a participant. Ask a college, an adult education program or a refugee-serving organization whether they have vouchers.

  ece.org

• SUNY credential review and Prior Learning Assessment

  Any status

  SUNY (the State's public college system) says some campuses can review academic credentials, and can offer Prior Learning Assessment, an assessment of what you know, to people without documents. Ask the admissions office of the campus you want.

  system.suny.edu

• High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma as an alternative

  Any status

  If you can't get your school certificate, you can earn a New York State HSE diploma: CUNY accepts it; send a copy of the diploma and your scores to admissions@cuny.edu. How to earn it: “The High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma: how to earn it in New York State”.

  cuny.edu

For professions New York State licenses, a diploma evaluation is not enough: you need a license, and the process depends on the profession. Here is the process for registered nurses (RNs) from the State's official page.

1. Check your education

   You must have graduated from a general nursing education program of at least two academic years in a country outside the United States that is acceptable to the New York State Education Department (NYSED, the State agency that oversees education and licensing), and the licensing authority or appropriate governmental agency of that country must certify to NYSED that the program prepares graduates for practice as a registered professional nurse.

2. Complete the State's required courses

   Complete a NYSED-approved Infection Control Course and a Child Abuse Identification and Reporting Course from an approved provider, or qualify for an exemption.

3. Submit online Form 1

   Fill in online Form 1 (Application for Licensure - RN) and pay the $143 license and first registration fee by credit card. If you have not taken the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN, the national licensing exam for nurses), you can apply for a limited permit with Form 5: complete Section I, ask your prospective employer to complete Section II, and mail it with the $35 fee. To continue a saved online application, you need a Social Security number.

4. Have your foreign nursing education verified

   Two options. First, through TruMerit (trumerit.org), a nonprofit that collects and reviews foreign-educated nurses' credentials and sends a report to NYSED. Second, your nursing school completes Form 2F (Certification of Professional Education) and sends it to NYSED with your official transcript; a translation service acceptable to NYSED translates a transcript not in English. Either way, if you were licensed as a nurse abroad, NYSED must receive verification from the issuing authority (Form 3F with the second option). NYSED says TruMerit is not required, but applying without it is often harder and slower.

5. Register for the NCLEX-RN

   If you have not passed the NCLEX-RN, register for it with Pearson VUE (pearsonvue.com); Pearson VUE will not allow you to take it until NYSED completes a review of your application and education credentials.

• NYSED Office of the Professions: RN Pathway #5

  Any statusPaid

  The New York State licensing office's page for graduates of foreign nursing schools (RN Pathway #5), with every step in detail. Other professions have their own pages.

  op.nysed.gov

• Upwardly Global

  Any statusFree

  A national nonprofit that helps immigrants, refugees and asylees with professional credentials restart their careers in the U.S. It says its resources and programs for immigrant professionals are free. It takes part in ECE Aid. Check on its website whether you qualify.

  upwardlyglobal.org