How to format a recommendation letter

Community answers

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

• The skeleton of the letter: title, description of the recommender, how and where you met, why they recommend you, and how the petitioner can help the U.S., personal characteristics, date, and signature.

• Preexisting opinions mean more to USCIS than those written specifically for the petition. I collected both official letters on letterhead and any evidence that the employer had previously rated me highly.

• They may nitpick that the letter is not on the organization's official letterhead: any inconsistency can make the officer doubt the entire case - it's better to request a correct version in advance.

• A strong letter is not template-based and is specifically about you, from a person who is easy to find and verify (preferably someone of higher status than you), and whose organization is recognizable by the officer. Ideally, when the officer Googles the signer, they should see confirmation of their position, such as on LinkedIn. A weak letter consists of general phrases without ties to specific criteria.

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

Sources

• USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2

  How the agency weighs evidence, letters included: specifics and the author's independence, not their verdict.

• 8 CFR 204.5 - the I-140 regulation

  The source text of the evidence requirements.

Related on this site

• Letter builder
• Expert letters

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