Education/Work Experience Evaluations    (H-1, TN, L-1) 

The expert opinion letter for an education and work experience evaluation is accomplished through one of two prongs of the regulations where a bachelors degree equivalency can be demonstrated.  Most letters will be (D1) an evaluation from an official who has authority to grant college-level credit for training and/or experience in the specialty at an accredited college or university, which has a program for granting such credit based on an individual's training and/or work experience.  Alternately, an equivalency can be made by:  (D5) A determination by the Service that the equivalent of the degree required by the specialty occupation has been acquired through a combination of education, specialized training, and/or work experience in areas related to the specialty and that the alien has achieved recognition of expertise in the specialty occupation.  (See: 8CFR214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C)(4)(D1) and (D5)

Business NEcessity Letter (PERM audits)

The business necessity letter will typically be used in response to a Department of Labor audit where a PERM application contains a job duty or requirement not ordinarily contained in the description of a given occupation. The letter will help demonstrate that the job duty or requirement bears a reasonable relationship to the occupation in the context of the employer’s business and is essential to perform the job in a reasonable manner.

Treaty NAFTA (TN)

A professor letter in support of a TN professional will typically be used to help qualify that a proposed position is a professional position or that the beneficiary is qualified for the position.  Additionally, a professor letter supporting a TN position will sometimes be used to show the close relationship between academic degree fields, which would demonstrate that the beneficiary is qualified. 

Specialty Occupation (H-1)

The specialty occupation letter will address the proposed position according to the USCIS requirements at 8CFR §214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)  that the job must meet one of the following criteria to qualify as a specialty occupation:

• Bachelor’s or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum entry requirement for the position

• The degree requirement for the job is common to the industry or the job is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree

• The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position

• The nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that the knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree.

Executive/MAnager positions (L-1A)

The L-1A intra-company transferee classification applies to qualified executives and managers within multinational companies. The professor letter supporting this type of petition will address how this visa classification is  appropriate (1) for employees (Executives) who are primarily responsible for directing overall management or managing an organization, department, subdivision, or component of the company or (2) by demonstrating that the employee (Manager) has supervisory responsibilities over professional or managerial employees or manages an essential function within the organization. 

Other Types of LEtters (Investor, Religious, etc.)

Other types of expert opinion letters may be authored by experienced professors in the specialty field to address requirements or USCIS RFEs for Investor (E visa), Religious (R visa) and cultural visas when a suitable professor has been identified.  Contact us to see if we can provide the supporting letters for your particular petition need.

Extraordinary Ability (O-1, EB-1)

The expert opinion letter for O-1 will address that the (non-immigrant) beneficiary demonstrates extraordinary ability by sustained national or international acclaim and is coming temporarily to the United States to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability. Extraordinary ability in the fields of science, education, business or athletics means a level of expertise indicating that the person is one of the small percentage who has risen to the very top of the field of endeavor.

The professor letters supporting an EB-1 extraordinary ability petitions will address a minimum of 3 of the criteria required.

Specialized Knowledge (L-1B)

The L-1B nonimmigrant classification permits a U.S. employer to transfer a professional employee with "specialized knowledge" relating to the organization’s interests from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States.  The professor expert letter addresses the special knowledge possessed by an individual of the petitioning organization’s product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and its application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization’s processes and procedures pursuant to 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(D)).