The EB-1 green card cover letter is the backbone of your application. It compiles your evidence and presents a complete and compelling image of your extraordinary career. When formatted correctly, it simplifies the adjudication of your application and can increase your chances of approval. This format can be used for any of the extraordinary visas, including EB1-B, EB2, EB3, NIW, the O1A, O1B and even the P visas. Read more here on extraordinary visas.
Your number one goal should be to make it easy for your examiner to approve you.
It is not difficult to get your petition letter written. If you read examples of petition letters you will see most have the same format. Many attorneys may require you to write your own. Have a read below on how to structure it.
The petition letter should be factual, written to support your extraordinary ability/achievement case to the USCIS. This is the legal argument portion of your application. Your petition letter is your opportunity to present and prove the relevance of your career achievements, linking them in ways to best suit your petition. This letter will be submitted along with the green card I-140 form, fee and extraordinary evidence or the I-129 form and fee if applying for most temporary visas.
The structure is as follows:
- Short Top Sheet Cover letter
- explaining what category you are applying for
- Memorandum in Support of a Petition
- Opening Statements – Lead in, catch their attention, and get straight to the point.
- One criterion at a time – Present your case and weave it together. Choosing the phraseology that will connect you with your examiner.
- Get the most out of those Recommendation Letters.
- Comparative Evidence – Petitioning with evidence that does not fall under the 10 criteria.
- Closing Statements – Short wrap up, summarization with a closing argument.
This is the overview. You should keep everything to the essentials that they need to know. You shouldn’t overwrite these documents.
Short Top Sheet Cover letter
- Date
- Full return address
- Subject line with the name of visa you are applying for
- Greeting
- If on a current visa explain status or detail if you have had previous visas
- Thank the officer for their time
- Mention any stage names you have worked/work under
- List of forms and fees included
- List any ‘Special Considerations’
- Signed by you if self sponsored
- the O-1 petition should be signed by your sponsor(petitioner) and have their name and address but you listed as the beneficiary
Next a longer continuation often known as the ‘Memorandum in Support of a Petition’
- Short biography where you factually present your career
- Mention any stage names you have worked under
- briefly chat about accolades
- Add appropriate phrases from recommendation letters and reviews to give an overview of your awesomeness.
- Each [criterion] that you are submitting under is then argued bolstered by the evidence you are providing, recommendation letters and upcoming work. *Each criterion should be argued separately
- Short conclusion
Short biography – we see this as telling “your story” an opportunity to add pertinent information eg if applying as an actor but previously you had a career as an engineer you can mention that in passing but if you won an engineering award you shouldn’t submit that under ‘Awards’ as it is not within the field that you intend to earn a visa in or continue to work in. Try keep your application relevant to your specialty.
All your claims in your petition letter should be backed up with your [evidence] (newspaper articles etc.), ‘extensive documentation’ as the USCIS calls it, your petition letter is best presented with an Index of Exhibits. This helps the examiner quickly find the referring evidence. The key to any government application is providing thorough and methodical support material.
The key to a successful petition letter is to keep it factual and succinct. This is not a prose exercise – your examiner doesn’t have time for flowery language. It’s not necessary to use the thesaurus. Keep it simple and assertive.
This is not a time to be shy either – as this is a paper application, the USCIS never look at the quality of your work as a critic but rather through the eyes of your peers and critics that you present in your case. You will never submit a ‘portfolio’ only the requested evidence. It is an explanation letter that tells the story of who you are as an artist, an athlete, scientist, business person, educator, each chapter a criterion.
You can choose to write the extraordinary ability letter in the first person or third person if being submitted by an attorney. All O visa letters, however, are written in third person as they are sponsored visas.
EB1 Petition Letter Sample
Date
Dear USCIS Officer,
I wish to petition for an EB1 Extraordinary Ability Green Card. This petition is being submitted under the provisions of INA §203(b)(1)(A) and 8 CFR 204.5 in the field of arts, athlete, business, science, education.
Brief introduction, explaining your background and qualifications. This should include your current immigration status, education, and pertinent experience.
Evidence of Extraordinary Ability: This is the most important section of the petition letter and should be well-documented – this will count as your evidence. You should provide concrete evidence that you have sustained national or international acclaim and recognition in your field.
Argue that you qualify as an award winner.
You will argue each criteria that you qualify for. You need only 3 to qualify:
Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field. [Necessary Proof]
Membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members. [Necessary Proof]
Published material in professional or major trade publications or other major media about you, relating to your work in the field. [Necessary Proof]
Participation, either individually or on a panel, as a judge of the work of others in the same or in a similar field. [Necessary Proof]
Original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field. [Necessary Proof]
Authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional journals, or other major media. [Necessary Proof]
Display of your work at artistic exhibitions or showcases. [Necessary Proof]
Evidence of performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations. [Necessary Proof]
Command a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field. [Necessary Proof]
Show commercial successes in the performing arts. [Necessary Proof]
Weave in how you have sustained national or international acclaim. [Necessary Proof]
Substantially benefit prospectively the United States. [Necessary Proof]
How you will continue to work in your area of extraordinary ability.
Conclusion: In the conclusion, summarize the key points of the petition and express your confidence in your eligibility for the EB1 Extraordinary Ability Green Card as you qualify in [list criteria], have sustained national or international acclaim, will substantially benefit prospectively the United States and will continue work in your area of extraordinary ability.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Make it easy for your USCIS officer to approve you.
Yes, make it easy for the USCIS officer to approve you by allowing them to check off their boxes but don’t make it easy for them to deny you, too. We recommend a short conclusion will mean the examiner will be required to read your application rather than skip to the end.
- Your petition letter should be printed on a US Letter sized paper.
- Dates in US format MM/DD/YYYY
- Use USA Spelling no matter how much it upsets you.
- Number each page in the footer.
- If you have an ‘alien number’ from a previous application add that to the footer. If this is your first application add your name and date of birth (US format MM/DD/YYYY).
If you are applying using an attorney we beg that you read your petition letter before it is submitted on your behalf – read Reasons Why Denied Rejected.
Check out how to collate the petition letter, your evidence and [index of exhibits here]. Your petition letter should be accompanied by [recommendation letters].
So how do we know how to build this letter? We wrote our own EB1 petition letters. Some of us used guides, and one of us, Z, built his own using the document USCIS document Request for Evidence Template. This template is a document that provides guidance for filing Form I-140 with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.
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All articles are written from our experiences and the experiences of our colleagues. These are fantastic visas and we wish to empower others in applying. This information is for general guidance only and shouldn’t be considered legal advice.
If you have any questions or encounter any issues that we have left out let us know – it is important that others are aware. Email here!
Read HOW TO APPLY HERE.
FAQ
How many pages are EB-1 petition letters?
If you qualify under the “One Time Award” your petition letter should be around 5 pages. If you are satisfying more than 3 criteria, for the experience of artists using our guides the petition letter average page length is 12 – 22.