Appendix D: Letters

You’ll need a few letters as evidence for USCIS for the different criteria you’re submitting under.

Judging

You’ll likely need a letter from the organizer of any judging event proving that you were indeed a judge at the judging event. If possible the letter should also mention how judges as selected and the nature of the event, i.e who the event was for.

Critical Employment

You’ll need letters from your managers or executives from any company in which you held critical employment.

The letter should explain the role of the letter writer and in what capacity they were related to you at the company. It should explain why the company itself is distinguished, and it should also explain why your employment was critical for the business. And more generally, It should explain why the letter writer thinks you are an exceptional individual.

Advisory Opinion

The advisory opinion letter is probably the most important letter in your entire petition. You need to find someone who is in your industry who is well know and has an impressive resume.

Recommendation Letters

Some lawyers will recommend that you get recommendation letters from peers or people that you worked with previously, but I wouldn’t recommend spending much time here since I don’t think they have much weight. The advisory opinion letter is much more important. When I filed my second O1 petition, it included zero generic recommendation letters.