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What is a letter of intent for EB-1A and O-1?

Key answer

There is no single form: ideally a job offer, but a letter of intent to hire with an approximate role, full-time hours and a US address works. For EB-1A it is optional and many never get one - it is effectively an offer, which needs a hiring manager among your contacts, or a real interview if cold; still, many good lawyers insist on it. For O-1 the same letter is called a deal memo, and companies sometimes prefer the less binding letter of intent. Members obtained letters through hundreds of LinkedIn messages or collected recruiter letters via a profile with a US location. USCIS does verify: there were cases where the officer wrote to the signer asking to confirm the letter.

Community answers

The answers below are translated from the original Russian - the language of the community chats.

  • The lawyers said there is no single form. Ideally, a job offer, but you can also write just a letter of intent. To strengthen it, you could specify the approximate position, whether full-time, work location with an address in the USA, to clarify that it's not a remote position. But it can be in any form that's convenient for the employer: if you push too hard, they may not provide anything at all.

  • I tried to find something in fintech, but I couldn't manage it. You need someone from your circle to be the hiring manager, as this is effectively an offer: it only differs by one paragraph from an offer. If you get a letter of intent cold, you need to go through an interview and get an offer. For EB-1A, this is not a mandatory requirement, so I gave up.

  • There was a similar situation. In my case, the company did not want to sign a deal memo because it was closer to a contract in terms of wording, and instead offered to sign a letter of intent, which is less binding. A letter of intent is mainly a term used for EB-1; for O-1, these same letters are called deal memos: they refer to the same thing but have different names. It depends on the lawyer's strategy; a deal memo is a more specific offer.

  • I got my letter of intent after sending about three hundred messages on a professional network: I stated my specialization and my intention to immigrate to the USA, and asked if my experience would be of interest to their company, sending five to seven inquiries in total. I wrote to product managers and company leaders in my niche. In the end, a Russian-speaking technical director from one of the companies contacted me.

  • My lawyer also specifically asked for a letter of intent: saying they would be happy to work with such a specialist. This is not a contract or an offer, but you can get something like this through acquaintances and friends of friends. It's not mandatory, but many good lawyers insist on it. I succeeded with my case. And remember, they check: there was a case where a recommendation letter had to be confirmed by the recommender.

The answers are anonymized community experience from the public chats, not legal advice. Officers may decide similar cases differently.

Sources

All questions on: The petition and formattingAll questions on: EB-1AAll questions on: O-1 visaAll questions on: Self-petition

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A reference page built from community experience, not legal advice. Requirements and practice change - verify on uscis.gov.

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