The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to analyze student's decision-making strategies as they engage in the processes of transferring institutions and awarding of academic credits. To date, research in higher education has explored the transfer experience of students at both vertical (2-year) and horizontal (4-year) institutions (Government Accountability Office, 2017; Handel, 2011). Researchers have looked at this topic from the lens of students, faculty, and administration (Bensimon & Dowd, 2009; Townsend & Wilson, 2006). The field has a long way to go in understanding the transfer experience for students with foreign credentials. Because of the decentralized evaluation model in the United States (U.S)., the transfer experience for students with foreign credentials can vary greatly. To better understand the experience, this research focused on a particularly vulnerable student population, refugees, and their outcomes. A refugee is a person who is forced to flee their country because of persecution, war, or violence (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2020). There is little research on refugee students, their experiences with higher education, or their system of accessing foreign credentials (Abdul Satar, 2017; Campbell, 2017). This research may help institutions reflect on their policies and practices to ensure they operate in a manner that is fair and equitable to all students. This research will describe unique and common experiences amongst highly educated refugees who are looking to have their foreign credentials recognized by a U.S. college or university. The use of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework provided a structure to describe and examine the lived experiences of refugee students (Cannon, et al., 2003; Longley Maxwell, 2003). Using an exploratory qualitative research design, this study described perceived experiences with systems and processes that either allowed or restricted a person's ability to access assets. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]