Sample Letters of Recommendation

RE: Form I-140 Petition of EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) for [The petitioner] Dear Sir or Madam: It is my great pleasure to write this letter in support [The petitioner's] petition for immigration to the United States. I strongly support the EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) application for [The petitioner]. [The petitioner's] Ph.D. research was focused on one critically important membrane protein complex, the cytochrome b6f complex, which is a delicate molecular device in the photosynthetic membrane that contains at eight [sic] tightly bound protein subunits and multiple inhibitor/drug binding sites. His numerous findings from this research project have greatly advanced our view of trans-membrane trafficking, and the binding and action of drug-like chemicals within membrane proteins. Because of [the petitioner's] distinguished achievements during his Ph.D. study, I invited him to join my laboratory so that he could apply his wealthy knowledge and unique expertise of membrane protein structure and function to our studies of ion channel proteins that are involved in nervous system disorders. My laboratory in the XXXX Medical Center is a comprehensive medical research center. As a professor and chairman of the Department and Director of the XXXX Center, my work is dedicated to biomedical research, focusing on XXX. Enclosed please find my Curriculum Vitae documenting my qualifications to recommend [the petitioner's] for his EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) immigration application. [The petitioner] is an outstanding and exceptionally skilled scientist whose groundbreaking research work is of vital importance to our country's biomedical research efforts and improvement of public health in national scope. His accomplishments to date have far exceeded those of the vast majority of his peers as evidenced by his productive publications in premier scientific journals and frequent citations of his works by other researchers. [The petitioner's] research work aims to tackle the problems of neurological diseases. As we know, all neuronal activities in the brain, e.g., consciousness, learning and memory, are governed by the opening and closing of a series of ion channel proteins in the neuronal cell surface that are permeable to specific ions. Compared to all other ion channels, the BK channel is a unique potassium channel that can generate exceptionally large electrical current. Therefore the BK channels play an essential role in the regulation of neuronal excitability, neuronal firing, and neurotransmitter release in the brain. [The petitioner] has independently defined the biochemical and biophysical properties of the BK channel in brain and how this channel is dynamically regulated. What we learned from his research project is critically important for development and application of new drugs targeting at the BK channels for many mental and neurological diseases. In addition, [the petitioner] has made the milestone discovery that brain BK channels exist in several different splicing forms and are extensively phosphorylated at multiple sites in mammalian brain. He has assembled a comprehensive and robust data set of alternative splicing isoforms and phosphorylation sites on rat brain BK channels. These data represent a gold mine of information for determining how neuronal activity is dynamically modulated by the BK channels. The cytochrome b6f complex plays a pivotal role in the process of photosynthesis. [The petitioner] has conducted in-depth research to study the mechanism of electron/proton transfer within the cytochrome b6f complex. He also carried out firstrate studies on the unique structural and functional properties of single copies of solar energy absorbing pigments in the cytochrome b6f complex. His novel discoveries have provided a better understanding of membrane energy transduction in photosynthesis, and important input into the effort to harness photosynthesis to improve crop yield and to increase the efficiency of usage of renewable solar energy.

I feel fortunate to have had [the petitioner] in my laboratory. He has done an outstanding job and made a very substantial impact in the research field of membrane protein structure and function. His research works are well-recognized nationally and internationally as indicated by a large number of citations (more than 80) of his papers by other researchers in this field. [The petitioner's] significant accomplishments are far above what is expected from his peer group and have established him as a nationally and internationally outstanding researcher in the field of membrane protein structure and function. His research is doubtlessly in the national interest of the United States. I believe that [The petitioner] will be very productive in his research efforts, and I fully support and recommend that his petition of EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) be granted. Sincerely, XXXX, PhD Director of XXX Center XXX University Medical Center

Dear Sir or Madam: It is my great pleasure to write this letter in support [The petitioner's] petition for immigration to the United States. I strongly support the EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) application for [The petitioner]. [The petitioner's] Ph.D. research was focused on one critically important membrane protein complex, the cytochrome b6f complex, which is a delicate molecular device in the photosynthetic membrane that contains at eight [sic] tightly bound protein subunits and multiple inhibitor/drug binding sites. His numerous findings from this research project have greatly advanced our view of trans-membrane trafficking, and the binding and action of drug-like chemicals within membrane proteins. Because of [the petitioner's] distinguished achievements during his Ph.D. study, I invited him to join my laboratory so that he could apply his wealthy knowledge and unique expertise of membrane protein structure and function to our studies of ion channel proteins that are involved in nervous system disorders. My laboratory in the XXXX Medical Center is a comprehensive medical research center. As a professor and chairman of the Department and Director of the XXXX Center, my work is dedicated to biomedical research, focusing on XXX. Enclosed please find my Curriculum Vitae documenting my qualifications to recommend [the petitioner's] for his EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) immigration application. [The petitioner] is an outstanding and exceptionally skilled scientist whose groundbreaking research work is of vital importance to our country's biomedical research efforts and improvement of public health in national scope. His accomplishments to date have far exceeded those of the vast majority of his peers as evidenced by his productive publications in premier scientific journals and frequent citations of his works by other researchers. [The petitioner's] research work aims to tackle the problems of neurological diseases. As we know, all neuronal activities in the brain, e.g., consciousness, learning and memory, are governed by the opening and closing of a series of ion channel proteins in the neuronal cell surface that are permeable to specific ions. Compared to all other ion channels, the BK channel is a unique potassium channel that can generate exceptionally large electrical current. Therefore the BK channels play an essential role in the regulation of neuronal excitability, neuronal firing, and neurotransmitter release in the brain. [The petitioner] has independently defined the biochemical and biophysical properties of the BK channel in brain and how this channel is dynamically regulated. What we learned from his research project is critically important for development and application of new drugs targeting at the BK channels for many mental and neurological diseases. In addition, [the petitioner] has made the milestone discovery that brain BK channels exist in several different splicing forms and are extensively phosphorylated at multiple sites in mammalian brain. He has assembled a comprehensive and robust data set of alternative splicing isoforms and phosphorylation sites on rat brain BK channels. These data represent a gold mine of information for determining how neuronal activity is dynamically modulated by the BK channels. The cytochrome b6f complex plays a pivotal role in the process of photosynthesis. [The petitioner] has conducted in-depth research to study the mechanism of electron/proton transfer within the cytochrome b6f complex. He also carried out firstrate studies on the unique structural and functional properties of single copies of solar energy absorbing pigments in the cytochrome b6f complex. His novel discoveries have provided a better understanding of membrane energy transduction in photosynthesis, and important input into the effort to harness photosynthesis to improve crop yield and to increase the efficiency of usage of renewable solar energy.

I feel fortunate to have had [the petitioner] in my laboratory. He has done an outstanding job and made a very substantial impact in the research field of membrane protein structure and function. His research works are well-recognized nationally and internationally as indicated by a large number of citations (more than 80) of his papers by other researchers in this field. [The petitioner's] significant accomplishments are far above what is expected from his peer group and have established him as a nationally and internationally outstanding researcher in the field of membrane protein structure and function. His research is doubtlessly in the national interest of the United States. I believe that [The petitioner] will be very productive in his research efforts, and I fully support and recommend that his petition of EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) be granted. Sincerely, XXXX, PhD Director of XXX Center XXX University Medical Center

Dear USCIS Officer: I am a professor at the Department of Agriculture at of Virginia Polytechnic and State University. It is my pleasure to support [the petitioner's] petition for immigration to the United States in the EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) category. I am writing this letter to provide evidence that his research and development work is in the national interest of United States. I have not directly worked with [the petitioner] and I became aware of him through his meta-analysis paper published in Crop Science in early 2006. His method is a very useful one and our program started to apply his method to our research later in 2006. Discovery of resistance genes in wheat accessions is crucial in the development of resistant cultivars for the United States. Quantitative trait loci mapping is a major tool for discovering the genes for resistance to Fusarium head blight in wheat. Sixty-three QTLs (the genome regions where the genes may lie) have been reported in 23 studies for resistance to this disease. However, inconsistent results were reported due to the limitations of QTL mapping techniques. This inconsistency significantly hinders the use of the identified QTLs in wheat breeding. Thus, our research group is applying [the petitioner's] method to resolve this problem and we have obtained interesting results. The results from the meta-analyses can help breeders identify consistent and unique resistant genes. Therefore, breeders can combine them in new varieties to breed durable resistance. I believe that [the petitioner] has made significant contributions to plant breeding and genetics. Not only is our research group, other researchers all over the world are citing [the petitioner's] work. Recently, a book entitled "Molecular Plant Breeding" was published. This book covers 16 chapters. In one sub-section of Chapter 7 (Molecular Dissection of Complex Traits: Theory), the author introduced and discussed [the petitioner's] method called pooled analysis which was published in 2006. After a comprehensive investigation, the author found that [the petitioner's] method is the first one for discovering genetic basis of quantitative traits, using multiple mapping population data in plant species. [The petitioner] is also a highly productive researcher. Considering the amount of work, [the petitioner's] productivity is very unusual. Judging from [the petitioner's] record in research and his exceptional performance, I firmly believe that he will be a successful researcher in future. I strongly feel that [the petitioner] will be an important asset of the United States, and recommend that he be granted permanent residency. I hope this letter will fully support [the petitioner's] petition for a change of his visa status, so he can continue his current research and development projects. His research is certainly in the national interest of the United States, in light of improving U.S. economy, solving the problem of starvation and improving the overall health of people living in the United States. If I can be of further assistance in support of his application, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely yours, XXXX Chairman of the XXXX Committee University of XXXX

Dear Immigration Officer: I write this letter in support of [the petitioner's] petition for immigration to the United States, in the category of EB2 NIW (National Interest Waiver). [The petitioner] made significant scientific contributions to the field of two-dimensional turbulence where new non-invasive techniques were implemented with a great potential for future research. [At] XXX University, he has continued studies in hydrodynamics, but now in binary mixture systems. This work is especially timely because of possible impacts on oil refining techniques and oceanography studies. I am presently a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at XXX University. I received my Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Duke University in 1990. I have been a Principal Investigator for XXX Program sponsored by the United States Department of Defense. My research have been published in a number of highly esteemed journals, such as IEEE. I have also presented my work at conferences around the world. Additionally, I have served on the peer review board for United States Department of National Defense research grants, and have been invited to review papers for several leading scientific journals including IEEE. Thus, I believe I am well qualified to evaluate [the petitioner's] research ability and contributions to the field and its benefits to United States' National Interest. Attached is a copy of my Curriculum Vitae for your review. I met [the petitioner] in the summer of 2001 when I visited Professor XXXs lab at the University of Pittsburgh. During my 6 weeks of stay there, [the petitioner] and I worked together on the research project of two-dimensional thermal convection. It was during that time that I noticed his special understanding and broad knowledge in physics, especially in the area of fluid turbulence. Although I have not met [the petitioner] in the last few years, I noticed from reading the literature that his scientific career is really taking off. For example, he has published just within the last 18 months 4 papers in the journal Physical Review Letters, which is indisputably the best physics journal in the world. This is a tremendous achievement for a research scientist in the field. In many universities in the world a single publication in this journal is sufficient to lend someone a full professor position. [The petitioner's] work at Pittsburg [sic] focused on the extremely challenging and important problem of two-dimensional turbulence. Though somewhat surprising, the flow of systems that are effectively two dimensional is relatively common, occurring in various thin films and biological membranes. Therefore, [the petitioner's] work on understanding turbulence in two dimensional systems will have wide ranging impacts. . . . [The petitioner] made significant scientific contributions to the field of two-dimensional turbulence where new non-invasive techniques were implemented with a great potential for future research. Important results were also obtained by [the petitioner] in the field of polymer-turbulence interactions where polymer stretching imparts a drastic effect on quenching turbulence. He also obtained new, important and unexpected results regarding the exponential tail for the decaying two-dimensional turbulence. These results might shed a new light on the physics of final stage of a vortex liquid. [The petitioner] outstanding contributions to the scientific community and its benefits to U.S. national interest have been recognized nationally and internationally. He has been elected as a senior member of IEEE, which is a leading Scientific Research Society, offered to those who have shown noteworthy achievements as an original investigator in a field of electrical engineering.

In summary, I believe that [the petitioner] is a talented investigator who has made, and will continue to make, substantial contributions in United States and its economy, and his work is in U.S. national interest. I endorse [the petitioner's] application for U.S. permanent residence status strongly and without reservation. I will be pleased to provide any additional information that might be helpful in your evaluation and approval of this petition. Sincerely yours, XXXX, Professor Department of XXXX XXXXX Center XXXXXUniversity