Character Reference for Immigration Recommendation Letter

Character Reference for Immigration Recommendation Letter

The process of immigrating to another country requires a thorough process. From going through several interviews and submitting various documents, proving the eligibility of the applicant can be a stringent process. One of the most important documents is a character reference for the applicants. The letter serves as proof that the applicant is a worthy candidate for immigration. If you are tasked to vouch and write a character reference for a close friend, colleague, or family member, continue reading this article to know more about the document. Read More

What Is a Character Reference for Immigration Recommendation Letter?

What sets a character reference apart from standard recommendation letters is that the former focuses on attesting and proving the applicant’s attitude and abilities that are not commonly exposed in professional set-ups. A character reference is essentially a personal recommendation on how the applicant can be a great citizen for the country they will be transferring to. Also, the recommendation letter serves as proof to sway the immigration team’s decision to allow the applicant’s petition. Close family members can write this recommendation, but it is often associated with bias. The best choices on who to write for your recommendation are close friends, colleagues, and people you have worked with outside the office.

How Do You Create a Character Reference for Immigration Recommendation Letter?

An excellent character reference for immigration must convince the immigration team to favor the application. As much as it should be convincing, it must maintain a professional tone required in writing formal and business letters. If you are having a hard time on how to keep the tone or what to write, here are some tips and helpful insights on how to write a compelling character reference for an immigration application.

1. Establish Your Relationship

An excellent character reference recommendation letter starts with the statement establishing your relationship with the applicant. This detail alone can develop the credibility of the letter and can build the strength of the applicant’s petition, as well. Establishing the relationship can be as easy as mentioning your name, your relationship with the applicant, and the years that you know or worked with the petitioner.

2. Present the Supporting Statements

The next part of the letter dives into the reasons why you recommend the applicant for their immigration petition. For this section of the document, enumerate the applicant’s favorable traits that will help their request. You can state the advantageous characteristics of the petitioner as a family person, as a worker, and as a citizen. It is noteworthy to mention that they have never committed law breaches. You can also choose to point out that they did not cause trouble in their workplace or community. When writing these details down, always keep in mind that the purpose of the recommendation letter is to prove that the applicant can be an excellent addition to the nation’s population as an immigrant.

3. Include Personal Experiences

Sometimes, a long list of the applicant’s positive traits is not enough to compel the immigration team. For these cases, the presence of narratives can strengthen the appeal of the recommendation letter. Tales from personal experiences can also support the earlier statements and claims regarding the applicant’s character. For these statements, make sure to still be direct to the point. If the applicant came up with solutions for a problem at work, make sure to describe the problem and what the applicant did to solve it. These situations will highlight that the applicant is capable of using their traits and capabilities in real-life situations.

4. Provide Accurate Contact Information

Character references are straightforward documents. As much as possible, the document does not include unnecessary details other than your personal information and your supporting statements. Thus, after laying out the said statements, the closing section of the letter must present your complete and accurate contact information. These pieces of information are essential if the immigration team wants to conduct an interview with you regarding your claim. Similar to the character check process done by recruiters, interviews after the submission aim to verify the information that is included in the document. Make sure to keep your lines open. But if your schedule is a little tight, you can also indicate the hours on when you can accommodate their calls.

5. Sound Confident

Before submitting the document, read and go through the letter again to check for mistakes. Simple mistakes in the document can leave a negative impression on the reader. Aside from mistakes, the review can also help you check if your tone in writing the letter is confident enough. A confident tone in writing can help strengthen the applicant’s appeal for immigration. Sounding confident in these letters means that you are sure of your claims. This tone will leave little or no room for doubt from the team processing the petitioner’s immigration request.

FAQs

How is a recommendation letter different from a good moral letter?

The contents of a good moral letter vouch for an individual’s morals—a person’s values and beliefs that are considered to be most beneficial to society.

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How to appropriately end the recommendation letter?

As much as possible, end the character reference letter on a high note. Ending positively can help sway the decision of the immigration team to approve the petition.

Is a support letter for immigration different?

A support letter is different from a recommendation letter. The use of the latter is for the application of immigration. On the other hand, a support letter is an appeal to plead for the immigrant’s naturalization.

Do I need to prove my relationship with the applicant?

Yes, there is a need to prove your relationship with the applicant by presenting supporting documents. Sample documents that can be valid proof are copies of marriage certificate, passports, or certificate of employment if written for a colleague.

How can a character reference help a case?

Presenting a character reference for immigration can sway the immigration judge to make a favorable decision to approve the appeal.

The application for immigration is a complicated process. Processing the appeal can take several years depending on the policies of the country. A character reference recommendation letter from people who know you best can vouch for your character to shorten the processing time of the petition. Thus, if you are asked to write this document, always keep in mind the goal of one. If you are in doubt that you can write a letter, ready-made character reference for immigration documents are available for your convenience.