Validity of EB1 reference letters


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Hello,

I am considering filing the green card application through EB1A.

I have a Masters and a PhD degree from reputed US universities.

7 peer-reviewed publications.

77 independant citations.

I have reviewed 6 journal papers.

 

A couple of lawyers indicated that I have a low chance of approval in the EB1A category, while a strong case for NIW EB2. I am thinking of taking my chances with the EB1A category anyway and would certainly hire a law firm to represent my case. However, if the I-140 is denied in this category (EB1A), I could apply for the NIW on my own.

Now, my main question is:

What is the expiration date on the recommendation letters that I will be acquiring to support my EB1A petition? If the processing time for EB1A takes 6 months and the petition is denied, by the time I draft a new petition for the NIW case, the letters might be almost a year old.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

 

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Thank you for the reply.

This means that if I request letters from my referees today and use them for NIW petition 1-2 years later, the letters will still be valid as exhibits. Am I right?

That is correct. Because a referee's opinion about you and your work is not going to change after a year or two.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yes, there is no expiration for recommendation letters. I drafted recommendation letters in such a way that they will be useful in the same way for both NIW and EB1A I-140 petitions. Your case is sureshot for NIW. 3 years back I am in the same situation, applied for NIW I-140 with 4 publications, 68 independent citations and only 1 journal review and got the approval within 30 days. I had to wait for 18 months for improving my citation count to 77 and journal review count to 25 and then applied for EB1A I-140 and got it approved within 5 months. All recommenders helped me in changing the date on the letters before applying EB1A except one recommender and I had to use the old letter without any date change. I took help from the same attorney for both NIW  and EB1A.

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  • 2 years later...
On 8/6/2015 at 11:43 PM, ryanoberoy said:

Hello,

I am considering filing the green card application through EB1A.

I have a Masters and a PhD degree from reputed US universities.

7 peer-reviewed publications.

77 independant citations.

I have reviewed 6 journal papers.

 

A couple of lawyers indicated that I have a low chance of approval in the EB1A category, while a strong case for NIW EB2. I am thinking of taking my chances with the EB1A category anyway and would certainly hire a law firm to represent my case. However, if the I-140 is denied in this category (EB1A), I could apply for the NIW on my own.

Now, my main question is:

What is the expiration date on the recommendation letters that I will be acquiring to support my EB1A petition? If the processing time for EB1A takes 6 months and the petition is denied, by the time I draft a new petition for the NIW case, the letters might be almost a year old.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

 

Hi There,

I have applied for EB1-A and because of low citation, I am having less chance of approval. Can anyone here suggest me if I can use the same letter (which I used in EB1-A) for the NIW? My letters contain the word EB1 in some letters, so can I use the same for EB2?

Also, I have the cover letter for EB1 by the attorney, and I want to modify it for NIW. can anyone guide how to change it for NIW?

 

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