NIW (National Interest Waiver) Recommendation Letter 3

Dear USCIS Officer:

I am a professor in the Department of Agriculture at 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, and to provide evidence that his research and development work is in the national interest of the United States.

I have not worked directly with [the petitioner]; I became aware of him through his meta-analysis paper published in Crop Science in early 2006. His method is very useful, and our program began applying it to our research later in 2006. Discovering resistance genes in wheat accessions is crucial to developing resistant cultivars for the United States. Quantitative trait loci mapping is a major tool for finding 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 on resistance to this disease, but results were inconsistent because of the limitations of QTL mapping techniques. That inconsistency significantly hinders the use of the identified QTLs in wheat breeding. Our research group therefore applies [the petitioner's] method to resolve this problem, and we have obtained interesting results. Meta-analyses can help breeders identify consistent and unique resistance genes, which they can combine in new varieties to breed durable resistance. I believe [the petitioner] has made significant contributions to plant breeding and genetics.

Our research group is not alone: researchers around the world cite [the petitioner's] work. A book entitled "Molecular Plant Breeding" was recently published. It covers 16 chapters, and in one sub-section of Chapter 7 (Molecular Dissection of Complex Traits: Theory), the author introduces and discusses [the petitioner's] method, called pooled analysis, published in 2006. After a comprehensive investigation, the author found that [the petitioner's] method is the first to discover the genetic basis of quantitative traits using multiple mapping population data in plant species.

[The petitioner] is also a highly productive researcher; given the volume of his work, his productivity is very unusual. Judging from [the petitioner's] research record and exceptional performance, I firmly believe he will be a successful researcher in the future. I strongly believe [the petitioner] will be an important asset to the United States, and I recommend that he be granted permanent residency.

I hope this letter fully supports [the petitioner's] petition to change his visa status so that he can continue his current research and development projects. His research is certainly in the national interest of the United States, given its role in improving the U.S. economy, addressing starvation, and improving the overall health of people living in the United States. If I can be of further assistance with his application, please contact me.

Sincerely yours,
XXXX
Chairman of the XXXX Committee
University of XXXX