Comments on reference letter draft

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tigerm80

Registered Users (C)
Please give your comments and input on the following draft prepared by a professor for an NIW petition support. He is a member of National Academy of Science. Thank you.


To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this on behalf of Dr. XXX who has contacted me to write a letter in support of his application for permanent residency in the United States.

I would like to begin by noting that I have in no way ever been an associate, professor, employer and/or colleague of Dr. XXX’s. Thus, I have no first hand knowledge of Dr. XXX’s previous work in XXX and in XXX and of his current work at XXX. My knowledge of him comes solely from the biographical write-up provided to me by Dr XXX.

I am a Professor of XXX…. I am member of National Academy of Science. Thus, I believe that I am qualified to render this opinion letter.

At present, Dr. XXX is working at XXX, involved in cutting-edge research devoted to developing XXX models for ….. This project is funded by XXX Department of XXX through XXX. Funding from XXX is extremely competitive and attaining such funding is an indication of the importance of the project and skill of the researcher involved. Dr. XXX’s research is important because XXX. Dr XXX's research contributions are important because they directly address these vital concerns.

In addition to the above accomplishments, Dr. XXX has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals, including the XXX and XXX.

The aforementioned indicates that Dr XXX is a significant contributor to the field of XXX, and his continued and permanent presence in the United States would be of benefit to the US XXX research effort.

If there is any additional information I may provide, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
 
tigerm80 said:
I would like to begin by noting that I have in no way ever been an associate, professor, employer and/or colleague of Dr. XXX’s. Thus, I have no first hand knowledge of Dr. XXX’s previous work in XXX and in XXX and of his current work at XXX. My knowledge of him comes solely from the biographical write-up provided to me by Dr XXX.
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Take this out. The professor must have first hand knowledge of your reasearch because you are one of the best in the world. To say otherwise means you are not known in the field. All aspects of his letter must be 100% positive.

Brian
 
This letter is really bad. He clearly stated that he mad the comments based on
the c.v. you provided. I ever got one similar letter and I threw it away to the
gabage.
In fact, most people get indenpent letters from those who have indirect relationship with the applicant, either through his advisor, friends,
or through conferences.
It is hard to get a real independent letter if you are not something in your field.
 
tigerm80 said:
Thus, I have no first hand knowledge of Dr. XXX’s previous work in XXX and in XXX and of his current work at XXX. My knowledge of him comes solely from the biographical write-up provided to me by Dr XXX.
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Really bad letter. Beside many different issues the two sentence above are the worst part. You have to show for NIW that you are top in your field and for that you must be internationally recognized as a outstanding researcher but this guy is writing that he never heard your name before, he don't know any papers from you which are important and apparently he thinks you don't play a big role in the scientific community. Forget this letter, this one will really hurt you.
 
NIw petition depends a lot on letters. Such letters might not do any favour. It is good to have letter from such kind of profs. If there is scope for improvements in this letter.
Please do
1. Eliminate the part of not knowing u earlier. I beleive it was written to establish that he is independent but sir that canbe establish by "knowing you and your work and not working with you".
2.The third prong which talks why you need to avoid labor is totally missing. stressing on importance and relating it to your expertise is important.
3.Nations interest is also not clearly visible which is soul of NIW petition.
 
Since the referee is a big buzz, is it possible to ask him to rewrite it? If yes, how? Please complete the letter the way you think best to fit NIW. Thank you.
 
tigerm80 said:
Since the referee is a big buzz, is it possible to ask him to rewrite it? If yes, how? Please complete the letter the way you think best to fit NIW. Thank you.
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It is always possible to ask him and it is hard to predict how he will react. Mainly depends on how big his ego is. Though I have to admit I am a little bit sceptical in your case because he has more or less to write a complete new letter. You should ask your lawyer to help you because there is no general template for such letters. Each of them has to be tailored depending on the background of the referee and your background so that it fits perfect and gives a nice story and that is not something you can do in 20 minutes. To write excellent templates for reference letters is one of the most time consuming things of the whole process.
 
tigerm80 said:
Since the referee is a big buzz, is it possible to ask him to rewrite it? If yes, how? Please complete the letter the way you think best to fit NIW. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Since the person has given you letter he wants to help you. You can write a polite letter saying thanks and telling him that my lawyer has reviwed the letter and has suggested few points/corrections to please immigration. most of the time reserchers understand such need ......................It is essential fro you to convey that this letter will not help me in getting what i want!!

I got such letter rewritten from biggy from UK. I must say he gave me one of the most outstanding letter and i am positive that that letter made lots of difference
 
I submitted what my lawyer claimed was a very strong letter from my VP. In one paragraph he claimed "... Prior to Dr. XXX joining our company, I have not collaborated with him on any project. My opinions about his work are based on documentation he has provided me detailing his accomplishments at AAA and BBB and my witnessing of his accomplishments at our company".

He later when on to describe in detail my work prior to joining the company (gave strong opinions) and then described in detail my work for the company (very strong opionions here)...such as "led the development", "indispensable in developing the instrument and bringing it to market", "generation of significant intellectual property" etc.

So, I think it all depends on how CIS views it. My lawyer believes it is alright if a person who you have not collaborated with earlier can give details on the merits of your work and not claim that you qualifiy for NIW. The merits must be detailed and shown how it can/will benefit America. Bear in mind, not all top shots/senior people are comfortable in giving fluffy recos.

Hope this helps...

trojanblue
 
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