Is it bad to have recommendation letters from unknown people?

Not necessarily. In the EB-2 NIW, a recommendation letter is valued for its substance: how well the writer knows your work and how concretely they can explain why your contributions matter. The recommender’s fame helps, but it is not what decides the outcome.

Letters from professionals with established reputations tend to add credibility, because they show that respected names take your work seriously. Even so, a letter from a lesser-known person can be very strong when it demonstrates deep knowledge and offers a well-grounded evaluation.

• Prioritize people who genuinely know your background and can speak to it in detail.
• Explain why that person is qualified to assess your field.
• Seek specific, concrete analysis rather than generic praise.

In short, what weakens a letter is not the author’s obscurity but the lack of substantiation. Build a balanced set of letters and, since each case is assessed individually, check the latest guidance from USCIS and seek expert support when preparing your petition.

About the author

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

As a journalist and lead editor at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps ensure that immigration topics are covered in a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand way. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.