What is the Basic Structure of a Typical Letter for an EB-1 Visa?
The letter usually starts by stating the name of the writer along with his/her title. Here, you can also give a one-sentence summary or overview of your opinion of the recommended individual.
First and foremost, the letter must establish the writer’s expertise or authority by outlining his/her professional achievements and background. The writer should ideally be someone who is an expert or familiar with the beneficiary’s field and his/her work. The writer should establish how he has come to know the applicant and came to be familiar with his/her work.
The writer should establish how they know the applicant and/or the applicant’s work. This is usually done in one or two sentences.
The writer must discuss the applicant’s work and the recognitions, accomplishments and achievements derived from the work. The adjudicating officer is interested in the extent of the recognition, accomplishments and achievements that the applicant has attained thus far, and how the applicant’s work sets him/her apart from others. This is probably the most important section, so it is very important provide as much detail as is possible with specificity. Any specific projects the writer worked on together with the applicant or is familiar with should also be mentioned within this section.
The writer should write about the beneficiary’s projects/accomplishments with which he/she has the most familiarity in order to describe those in specific detail. Some accomplishments may be repeated in other letters, but overall, it would be ideal for each letter writer to highlight 2-3 significant accomplishments that are specific to his relationship with you
Note that around one or two sentences is more than sufficient to describe the applicant’s skills and abilities. However, it is important to note that USCIS tend to push back on content that over-emphasize skills and abilities alone and/or subjective statements. Instead, the main focus of this section should be the applicant’s recognitions, accomplishments and achievements and why they are important.
This section can also include any other relevant information demonstrating activities related to any of the extraordinary ability criteria, for example, participation on a panel as a judge, membership in professional associations, a high salary or renumeration. Corroborating evidence for such activities will help to further strengthen the overall case.
Any other comments that might help to establish the extent to which the applicant has extraordinary ability in her field, along with a concluding statement containing the writer’s contact details is sufficient to end the letter.