o1 questions x2 - expert letters
May 6th 2018, 8:46 pm
#1
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o1 questions x2 - expert letters
hi guys, you've all been so super helpful to any post i've made. thanks so much. and i apologise i may be posting new threads every now and then because i'm so confused and nervous about putting together my current application for an o1 visa. I'm doing it through a lawyer, but he has not been the most responsive, so I'm trying to be as knowledgable about the process as possible to make sure all he documentation is right. i have some questions about the letters of recommendation, if you have any thoughts on these then i'd be very grateful
1 - can the person who is writing your expert letters of recommendation be shown to have worked with you professionally? is that a good or bad thing if they have? because i read contradictory things online - that they should be people i have worked with , some other places states that i should not have worked with them and they are just admirers of my work. ?
2 - does all the information in the letters of recommendation need to be backed up by evidence? everything in my letters are true but some things would be hard for me to prove (eg: i'd need confirmation from people i worked with who i've lost contact with). so there are things tat i'm reluctant to include because of that. will i have to be obtaining letters from all past employers i've worked with to prove i worked with them and on the projects that are mentioned in these letters?
3 - the expert letters also mention other people who are high standing in my industry who i've worked with, going into great detail about their background. does that sound right?
4 - the lawyer drafted these letters clearly with a template in mind. certain paragraphs start with the same statement (eg 'it is important to establish xx's absility in the xxx field by the projects they have played a the key role in, such as..' ) they begin the same way, they close the letter in the same way, the same font, line spacing, etc does that all sound ok? or should i change that?
5 - cant the letetr have footnotes at the bottom, giving links to provide evidence of some of the testimony of the letter? such as for publications, websites of companies websites, online profiles of other people mentioned?
6 - lastly how do i go about proving awards? will a letter from the awarding bodies confirming i worked on these projects suffice? i found out a lot of the projects i did for big studios won awards but the awards didn't go to me or those studios, they went to the clients who hired those studios. so how do i go about proving that? the big studios i spoke with annoyingly dont have a record of past wins or nominations, although im sure one of them could confirm that i worked on these projects. do i then forward that to the awarding bodies and then ask them to confirm it in a letter from me? where will that even be included in the application?
1 - can the person who is writing your expert letters of recommendation be shown to have worked with you professionally? is that a good or bad thing if they have? because i read contradictory things online - that they should be people i have worked with , some other places states that i should not have worked with them and they are just admirers of my work. ?
2 - does all the information in the letters of recommendation need to be backed up by evidence? everything in my letters are true but some things would be hard for me to prove (eg: i'd need confirmation from people i worked with who i've lost contact with). so there are things tat i'm reluctant to include because of that. will i have to be obtaining letters from all past employers i've worked with to prove i worked with them and on the projects that are mentioned in these letters?
3 - the expert letters also mention other people who are high standing in my industry who i've worked with, going into great detail about their background. does that sound right?
4 - the lawyer drafted these letters clearly with a template in mind. certain paragraphs start with the same statement (eg 'it is important to establish xx's absility in the xxx field by the projects they have played a the key role in, such as..' ) they begin the same way, they close the letter in the same way, the same font, line spacing, etc does that all sound ok? or should i change that?
5 - cant the letetr have footnotes at the bottom, giving links to provide evidence of some of the testimony of the letter? such as for publications, websites of companies websites, online profiles of other people mentioned?
6 - lastly how do i go about proving awards? will a letter from the awarding bodies confirming i worked on these projects suffice? i found out a lot of the projects i did for big studios won awards but the awards didn't go to me or those studios, they went to the clients who hired those studios. so how do i go about proving that? the big studios i spoke with annoyingly dont have a record of past wins or nominations, although im sure one of them could confirm that i worked on these projects. do i then forward that to the awarding bodies and then ask them to confirm it in a letter from me? where will that even be included in the application?
Last edited by britanya; May 6th 2018 at 9:42 pm.
May 6th 2018, 11:30 pm
#2
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Re: o1 questions x2 - expert letters
1. All of my (12) letters were people I had worked with in some capacity (a couple were even as far back as fellow Grad school mates...and who have left the field altogether)
2. I would say yes. My RFE included a query about one of my references who said she had worked with me but failed to list on what. RFE asked what we worked on
3. There's a skill to the letters ...it first goes on about their achievements (their standing in the field) and then goes on to you and yours. So yes
4. Refer to answer #2. The aforementioned reference changed ONE paragraph in the letter and thats the only one out of 12 that triggered that RFE query. You do the math. Leave well alone. They know what they're doing
5. Mine didn't but it did have separate pages attached that referred them and their work. USCIS will not be following links so guess best u attach the pages of hyperlinks (the heftier the petition, the better{?})
6. Thats a tough one. Im a filmmaker so i had direct awards and noms. However there was a project i worked that had lot of press and Ellen was involved. In that case proof that i worked on the project included email print outs, travel itineraries and crew call sheet (that had my name attached) was added to petition.
Confused tho. BEFORE your lawyer took your case/down payment. Didnt he go through all your docs to make sure u had the docs to fill the criteria??
I had to return to mine 5 month later before he took me on because my package was missing adequate press criteria. A good lawyer would look at what u have first before taking on an O visa cos the criteria is pretty much set in stone
Hope this helps
2. I would say yes. My RFE included a query about one of my references who said she had worked with me but failed to list on what. RFE asked what we worked on
3. There's a skill to the letters ...it first goes on about their achievements (their standing in the field) and then goes on to you and yours. So yes
4. Refer to answer #2. The aforementioned reference changed ONE paragraph in the letter and thats the only one out of 12 that triggered that RFE query. You do the math. Leave well alone. They know what they're doing
5. Mine didn't but it did have separate pages attached that referred them and their work. USCIS will not be following links so guess best u attach the pages of hyperlinks (the heftier the petition, the better{?})
6. Thats a tough one. Im a filmmaker so i had direct awards and noms. However there was a project i worked that had lot of press and Ellen was involved. In that case proof that i worked on the project included email print outs, travel itineraries and crew call sheet (that had my name attached) was added to petition.
Confused tho. BEFORE your lawyer took your case/down payment. Didnt he go through all your docs to make sure u had the docs to fill the criteria??
I had to return to mine 5 month later before he took me on because my package was missing adequate press criteria. A good lawyer would look at what u have first before taking on an O visa cos the criteria is pretty much set in stone
Hope this helps
May 8th 2018, 10:00 pm
#3
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Joined: Apr 2018
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Re: o1 questions x2 - expert letters
1. All of my (12) letters were people I had worked with in some capacity (a couple were even as far back as fellow Grad school mates...and who have left the field altogether)
2. I would say yes. My RFE included a query about one of my references who said she had worked with me but failed to list on what. RFE asked what we worked on
3. There's a skill to the letters ...it first goes on about their achievements (their standing in the field) and then goes on to you and yours. So yes
4. Refer to answer #2. The aforementioned reference changed ONE paragraph in the letter and thats the only one out of 12 that triggered that RFE query. You do the math. Leave well alone. They know what they're doing
5. Mine didn't but it did have separate pages attached that referred them and their work. USCIS will not be following links so guess best u attach the pages of hyperlinks (the heftier the petition, the better{?})
6. Thats a tough one. Im a filmmaker so i had direct awards and noms. However there was a project i worked that had lot of press and Ellen was involved. In that case proof that i worked on the project included email print outs, travel itineraries and crew call sheet (that had my name attached) was added to petition.
Confused tho. BEFORE your lawyer took your case/down payment. Didnt he go through all your docs to make sure u had the docs to fill the criteria??
I had to return to mine 5 month later before he took me on because my package was missing adequate press criteria. A good lawyer would look at what u have first before taking on an O visa cos the criteria is pretty much set in stone
Hope this helps
2. I would say yes. My RFE included a query about one of my references who said she had worked with me but failed to list on what. RFE asked what we worked on
3. There's a skill to the letters ...it first goes on about their achievements (their standing in the field) and then goes on to you and yours. So yes
4. Refer to answer #2. The aforementioned reference changed ONE paragraph in the letter and thats the only one out of 12 that triggered that RFE query. You do the math. Leave well alone. They know what they're doing
5. Mine didn't but it did have separate pages attached that referred them and their work. USCIS will not be following links so guess best u attach the pages of hyperlinks (the heftier the petition, the better{?})
6. Thats a tough one. Im a filmmaker so i had direct awards and noms. However there was a project i worked that had lot of press and Ellen was involved. In that case proof that i worked on the project included email print outs, travel itineraries and crew call sheet (that had my name attached) was added to petition.
Confused tho. BEFORE your lawyer took your case/down payment. Didnt he go through all your docs to make sure u had the docs to fill the criteria??
I had to return to mine 5 month later before he took me on because my package was missing adequate press criteria. A good lawyer would look at what u have first before taking on an O visa cos the criteria is pretty much set in stone
Hope this helps
and he said he would take the case once i had articles written about me, which i have, but he didn't go through what documentation i needed as support for all the information about my background.
May 9th 2018, 10:23 am
#4
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Re: o1 questions x2 - expert letters
it does help, thanks so much. the first step with my lawyer has been writing these letters, so far he has not stated that all the info in them needs to be backed up by other letters or other info.
and he said he would take the case once i had articles written about me, which i have, but he didn't go through what documentation i needed as support for all the information about my background.
and he said he would take the case once i had articles written about me, which i have, but he didn't go through what documentation i needed as support for all the information about my background.
how is he writing letters but waiting on written articles (which is usually no quick feat...it took me hiring a PR and 4 months to get 2 write ups)
May 9th 2018, 5:03 pm
#5
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Re: o1 questions x2 - expert letters
Sounds like the lawyer wants to see if you have a chance before taking your money. But he won't offer you more detailed advice until you sign a contract, which is fair enough. It's just that chicken'n'egg negotiation dance.
EB1A here, not O1, but there are similarities:
1. I suspect that could work both ways, depending on the context.
2. Anybody can write you a letter. What the officials want to see is that the person who wrote you the letter is notable themselves. I had a professor at a university write me a letter, so I found evidence he was indeed a renowned professor at that university, and got evidence of published works by him - the latter partly because my work was in one of his books.
3. Not sure I understand.
4. Are you saying the recommendation letters were written by the lawyer and sent to your experts to simply sign? While I believe I may have drafted a paragraph or two for my experts, I don't think any of the letters looked like another. I would suggest not making it so blatantly obvious that the experts did not author the letters.
5. As long as the reviewing officer can find the evidence, I don't think it matters whether it's a footnote, or a separate set of pages. What IS important is that the entire petition is well organised so the officer can locate whatever s/he needs.
6. Did you win those awards, or did your company/team? You need to prove that it was YOUR doing that got those awards. Being a minion is not really proving that you are THE one. Maybe you could get a letter of the form "Company X won award Y and Z [you] was a major influence on winning that award because s/he did ABC". Then prove the award itself is worthy with evidence.
EB1A here, not O1, but there are similarities:
1. I suspect that could work both ways, depending on the context.
2. Anybody can write you a letter. What the officials want to see is that the person who wrote you the letter is notable themselves. I had a professor at a university write me a letter, so I found evidence he was indeed a renowned professor at that university, and got evidence of published works by him - the latter partly because my work was in one of his books.
3. Not sure I understand.
4. Are you saying the recommendation letters were written by the lawyer and sent to your experts to simply sign? While I believe I may have drafted a paragraph or two for my experts, I don't think any of the letters looked like another. I would suggest not making it so blatantly obvious that the experts did not author the letters.
5. As long as the reviewing officer can find the evidence, I don't think it matters whether it's a footnote, or a separate set of pages. What IS important is that the entire petition is well organised so the officer can locate whatever s/he needs.
6. Did you win those awards, or did your company/team? You need to prove that it was YOUR doing that got those awards. Being a minion is not really proving that you are THE one. Maybe you could get a letter of the form "Company X won award Y and Z [you] was a major influence on winning that award because s/he did ABC". Then prove the award itself is worthy with evidence.
May 13th 2018, 9:09 pm
#6
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Re: o1 questions x2 - expert letters
So are you his client or not....I've never heard of a lawyer doing anything beyond a first consult for free (let alone drafting letters which you have seen all these errors) without a financial commitment made
how is he writing letters but waiting on written articles (which is usually no quick feat...it took me hiring a PR and 4 months to get 2 write ups)
how is he writing letters but waiting on written articles (which is usually no quick feat...it took me hiring a PR and 4 months to get 2 write ups)
May 13th 2018, 9:23 pm
#7
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Re: o1 questions x2 - expert letters
Sounds like the lawyer wants to see if you have a chance before taking your money. But he won't offer you more detailed advice until you sign a contract, which is fair enough. It's just that chicken'n'egg negotiation dance.
EB1A here, not O1, but there are similarities:
1. I suspect that could work both ways, depending on the context.
2. Anybody can write you a letter. What the officials want to see is that the person who wrote you the letter is notable themselves. I had a professor at a university write me a letter, so I found evidence he was indeed a renowned professor at that university, and got evidence of published works by him - the latter partly because my work was in one of his books.
3. Not sure I understand.
4. Are you saying the recommendation letters were written by the lawyer and sent to your experts to simply sign? While I believe I may have drafted a paragraph or two for my experts, I don't think any of the letters looked like another. I would suggest not making it so blatantly obvious that the experts did not author the letters.
5. As long as the reviewing officer can find the evidence, I don't think it matters whether it's a footnote, or a separate set of pages. What IS important is that the entire petition is well organised so the officer can locate whatever s/he needs.
6. Did you win those awards, or did your company/team? You need to prove that it was YOUR doing that got those awards. Being a minion is not really proving that you are THE one. Maybe you could get a letter of the form "Company X won award Y and Z [you] was a major influence on winning that award because s/he did ABC". Then prove the award itself is worthy with evidence.
EB1A here, not O1, but there are similarities:
1. I suspect that could work both ways, depending on the context.
2. Anybody can write you a letter. What the officials want to see is that the person who wrote you the letter is notable themselves. I had a professor at a university write me a letter, so I found evidence he was indeed a renowned professor at that university, and got evidence of published works by him - the latter partly because my work was in one of his books.
3. Not sure I understand.
4. Are you saying the recommendation letters were written by the lawyer and sent to your experts to simply sign? While I believe I may have drafted a paragraph or two for my experts, I don't think any of the letters looked like another. I would suggest not making it so blatantly obvious that the experts did not author the letters.
5. As long as the reviewing officer can find the evidence, I don't think it matters whether it's a footnote, or a separate set of pages. What IS important is that the entire petition is well organised so the officer can locate whatever s/he needs.
6. Did you win those awards, or did your company/team? You need to prove that it was YOUR doing that got those awards. Being a minion is not really proving that you are THE one. Maybe you could get a letter of the form "Company X won award Y and Z [you] was a major influence on winning that award because s/he did ABC". Then prove the award itself is worthy with evidence.
to further comment on some of those points
- Iv already paid the lawyer. That’s why Iv been worried, he’s not been that responsive or clear and I’m having to To re-do these letters he drafted ...... im
not sure if what e says is reliable which is why I’m comig on here to ask
- proving these people are notable or are who they say they are im assuming all that is needed are their contact details obviously that will on the letters and print outs of their Website bios, LinkedIn and Wikipedia pages, imdb ?
- what I meant for number 3 was: in each letter the lawyer had drafted for the experts to write a paragraph about other notable people I’ve worked with. For example, expert number 1 writes I have worked with other well known people like XX, and then the rest of the paragraph goes into the things that XX has done that makes them notable. Is that weird ? To me it is ... :/ I don’t know what normal or not in this process
May 14th 2018, 6:35 pm
#8
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Re: o1 questions x2 - expert letters
His suggestion for 3 sounds a bit "mates endorsing mates" but who knows, maybe it works. The lawyer (presumably) has the expertise; many of us here only know only one case where our petition worked, and who knows what the officer thought was good and what was unsubstantiated/irrelevant.
May 14th 2018, 10:38 pm
#9
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Posts: 8,427
Re: o1 questions x2 - expert letters
OP is both asking good questions but also strikes me as overthinking things.
It should be noted that there is a difference between experience letters and expert letters. Expert letters are a variation of opinion letters. But experience letters can incorporate opinions.
Every case is different and evaluation of what is needed is often a judgement call.
The main thing to be avoided are what can be called "puff letters." Puffery may work to be elected president of the United States, but not to support visa petitions. (I was actually impressed with candidate Trump - he was very good at puffery.)
It should be noted that there is a difference between experience letters and expert letters. Expert letters are a variation of opinion letters. But experience letters can incorporate opinions.
Every case is different and evaluation of what is needed is often a judgement call.
The main thing to be avoided are what can be called "puff letters." Puffery may work to be elected president of the United States, but not to support visa petitions. (I was actually impressed with candidate Trump - he was very good at puffery.)
May 17th 2018, 5:24 pm
#10
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Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 41
Re: o1 questions x2 - expert letters
OP is both asking good questions but also strikes me as overthinking things.
It should be noted that there is a difference between experience letters and expert letters. Expert letters are a variation of opinion letters. But experience letters can incorporate opinions.
Every case is different and evaluation of what is needed is often a judgement call.
The main thing to be avoided are what can be called "puff letters." Puffery may work to be elected president of the United States, but not to support visa petitions. (I was actually impressed with candidate Trump - he was very good at puffery.)
It should be noted that there is a difference between experience letters and expert letters. Expert letters are a variation of opinion letters. But experience letters can incorporate opinions.
Every case is different and evaluation of what is needed is often a judgement call.
The main thing to be avoided are what can be called "puff letters." Puffery may work to be elected president of the United States, but not to support visa petitions. (I was actually impressed with candidate Trump - he was very good at puffery.)
thanks for the response
i hope i am over thinking things. if you see a previous post of mine, my worry stems from my previous visa denial which nobody saw coming and no real explanation was given. and im doing all i can to avoid that happening again. what do you mean by puff letters? abundance of subjective compliments? i agree that doesn't sound very professional. and in regards to what these letters are, i was just told 'expert letters'. the next wave of letters are more specific - based on work/past projects
