I want to help those in need. Here are some guidelines that I got from my attorney. Hope they helps. Best of luck everyone.
Letters of Recommendation
As mentioned above, we believe that it is absolutely necessary that you collect letters of recommendation written on your behalf by colleagues in the field. While these letters of recommendation are not a stated requirement of the law, we believe that they are critical to help the INS review officer understand more about your work. We recommend that you obtain not less then eight letters of support. Also, we have combined the language of BOTH the NIW and Outstanding Researcher into the sample letters. You will only need ONE letter from each referee; the same copy of the letter will be used in both petitions.
We have some tips for these letters:
• The author can be any expert in the field – they need only have an advanced degree;
• The author can hold any position – they can be a Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Associate, Professor, Assistant Professor, Principle Investigator, Department Chair, or the like;
• The author can be from the United States or overseas;
• Every letter MUST include a paragraph that explains the credentials of the author/referee – this is very important so that the INS can evaluate the credibility of the recommendation;
• If the author has very good credentials, then please provide us with his/her CV so we may include it behind that support letter in the actual petition;
• The letter should be signed and placed on official letterhead – if possible;
• If official letterhead cannot be used by the author, then ask for his/her business card;
• The INS does NOT need to have an original letter, so a fax copy will be acceptable – this should ease receipt of letters from overseas;
• All letters should be addressed as follows: “U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Regional Service Center;”
• YOU should collect all of the final letters from your referees and then forward them to our office in one complete package;
To prepare the letters, we recommend you closely follows these steps:
1. Carefully read the sample letters in the VISA GUIDE;
2. YOU then identify not less then eight (08) referees who will write on your behalf;
3. YOU then prepare a complete draft letter specifically for each of these referees which follows our format;
4. Each of these draft letters MUST be different and you should vary the tone and style to reflect their own preferences;
5. You must also prepare three other and separate documents at the same time. These are needed by our office to understand more about you and to help us edit your letters. These include: a detailed summary of (A) your area of expertise, (B) your background and experience, and (C) your significant scholarly contributions.
6. You then MUST e-mail the draft letters AND the required background documents listed above (in #5) to our office for review (we MUST have all of these materials to edit your letters);
7. We will then return these drafts to you via e-mail with our edits and comments;
8. You should then forward each letter to that specific referee with directions to review, edit where required, and to sign and return to YOU;
9. After you receive all of the final letters, you should then send them to our office to be included in the petition.
If you follow this time line, and these tips, you will not only help our office is the processing of our petition but you will also increase the chances of your petition approval.
III. VISA PROCESSING
The filing of the Form I-140 Petition for Immigrant Worker through the Outstanding Researcher program involves several steps.
Step # 1
First, we must collect from you all of the documents that are listed on the CHECK LIST. These should be sent to us in one complete package and NOT in many different parts to avoid any delays or misplaced materials.
Step # 2
Second, we will write a detailed legal document to persuade the INS that you meet all of the requirements for approval. Our legal memorandum generally exceeds twenty pages, and this is the most important part of the process followed by the expert support letters. Once we complete the draft of this memorandum, we will e-mail it to you for your review and comment. At that time, we will also send you the one form that needs to be signed by your boss. The second legal fee payment is also required at this time.
Step # 3
These materials are filed with the INS Regional Service Center (either Vermont, Texas, Nebraska, or California) together with the Form I-140 Petition for Immigrant Worker which your boss would have already signed and returned to our office. The average INS processing time for this petition is approximately five to nine months from the date it was received by that agency.
Step # 4
If the Form I-140 Petition is approved, the hard part is over!!! At that time, we can start the final step called “adjustment of status” processing. The third legal fee payment is also due at this time.
Alternatively, the INS may not directly approved the petition but ask for additional information and evidence to show that you qualify. In this situation, we will need to obtain several additional expert support letters from new referees. After submitting that evidence, the INS would make a final determination.
Step # 5
The Form I-485 Application to Adjust Status process seeks to change you and your family members from your present temporary visa to that of permanent resident. Before we send to you the draft documents, we need to verify two important issues:
• If you had a J-1 visa, we will need to confirm that you are not subject to the two year “home residence” requirement, or that you have obtained a WAIVER from State Department;
• A visa is currently available for you based upon your country of birth and Employment-based Visa Classification (EB-1) as listed in the monthly “Visa Bulletin” issued by the State Department (see, http://www.travel.state.gov/visa_bulletin.html).
Assuming these two issues are resolved, you will need to complete all forms and background documents. We will send you a complete list of the materials and forms at that time. However, you should be aware that we will need a copy of your (and each family member’s) birth certificate or family registry with translation, and a copy of your marriage certificate with translation (and any prior divorce certificates).
Step # 6
After we file the Form I-485 Application, the INS will issue a Notice of Fingerprint. This will require that you and all family members over age 14 obtain a fingerprint at a designated INS office.
Step # 7
Normal processing time for the I-485 application varies, but may range from ten to fifteen months. The INS can complete the processing in one of two ways. They can either:
• Approval of your case without a personal interview. In this situation, you will take the final approval notice to the local INS District Office and they will issue the Green Card stamp to you and your family. At that time, your case is closed and you are a permanent resident.
• Or, they can request that you attend a short interview in the local INS District Office. We will advise on this process later, if required, and prepare you for this short meeting which generally does not last longer then five minutes. The end of a successful interview results in the issuance of the Green Card stamp to you and your family. At that time, your case is closed and you are a permanent resident.