how to write a reference /recommendation letter
A reference/recommendation letter is a crucial part of your submission for an EB2-National Interest Waiver petition. It is recommended that you obtain multiple recommendation/reference letters from a supervisor, co-workers, and other experts working in the same field. You should make a list of potential recommenders/referees to write your letter who either have collaborated with you directly or from well-recognized "independent experts" in the field. USCIS means "independent" as an expert with whom the alien applicant has not worked before. By "well-recognized" USCIS means a well-credentialed expert with lengthy experience in the field of endeavor. Thus a recommendation/reference letter from well-recognized independent experts carries more weight for an EB2 National Waiver petition because it speaks of your accomplishments in the field. This includes organizations or people that the client may never have met but that are knowledgeable of the client’s reputation or work.
NIW (National Interest Waiver) reference letters for I-140 petitions should concentrate on your contribution and influence on the relevant field. Generally, your specific work is expressed in technical or specialized language, avoid empty compliments and praise instead, statements regarding your work should be elaborated by examples or evidence. The letter should focus on your unique contribution and influence in the field these are crucial aspects of the decision-making process for the USCIS when determining eligibility for an NIW (National Interest Waiver).
EB2-NIW DIY self-petitioners should avoid pitfalls in submitting reference/recommendation letters since you are also drafting or making a suggestion on how your recommender /referee will write the letter. Watch out for these mistakes:
- Avoid obvious similarities in the letter. USCIS adjudicators are usually suspicious of reference letters that are noticeably similar and will often discount their merit.
- Change it up, always try to make your reference letters seem dissimilar by using different formats and fonts per letter, or writing styles through variation of sentence structures and tone.
- It's the quality, not the quantity. Avoid overcompensating your perceived flaws in your field by attempting to hide them with an overabundance of mediocre reference letters containing empty compliments, exaggeration, and redundant emphasis on your contribution and influence in the field without the context of proof.
The USCIS has never defined the format of a NIW (National Interest Waiver) reference letter, so any format may be used. Depending on your relationship with the writer and the field of endeavor you are seeking NIW, the letter should outline key points.
- The letter should evidence your significant role in an area of substantial intrinsic merit, and the proposed endeavor will benefit the US as a whole
- The letter should be written by someone who utilized and or implemented your work and explains how they have done it.
- Avoid writing broadly. Where reference letters say that “original research has produced new and important findings that are continuously having positive global implications throughout the field” but do not offer specific examples of such implications is nothing but empty compliments and praise.
