What Do Immigration Lawyers Mean By “Letters of Recommendation”?

One of the most common questions we get during the artist visa application process has to do with letters of recommendation or as some people refer to them, referee letters. In order to provide the most compelling and helpful letters for your application, we’ve provided answers to the most commonly asked questions:

1. Who signs the letters?

The signers of referee letters for O-1 visa or artist Greencard applications should be high ranking individuals in (ideally) well-known companies in your field. A recognizable letterhead can be very effective towards adding weight to your application. (Yes, in this case, name dropping and brand names do matter).

2. Where should the “referees” come from?

Anywhere in the world is the short answer. They do not have to reside in the United States, in fact some geographic diversity is a good thing!

3. Who should draft these letters?

We recommend having our legal team write the first draft to ensure that all the necessary elements are included. We know the regulations and the criteria needed. In this situation it’s a “let me, help you” type of approach.

4. How many letters are needed for an application?

We’ve seen a range from three to twenty. The key here is not more for the sake of having more, it’s about quality first and foremost. We recommend that you make a list of people that could potentially be a referee for you and we can work together to determine the strongest of the bunch and focus on those.

More questions? Ask us by sending us a note at hello@lehachfilippa.com.