Hi guys, my application was rejected, so I wasn’t endorsed. I’m not very confident about appealing, but I’m open to any advice and suggestions regarding my application. If I can appeal, that’s good, and if I can’t, then maybe I can put together better evidence next time.
Here’s a snapshot of the feedback from Tech Nation
These are the documents/evidence I submitted for my application
CV
3 LORs:
1 - Letter from the Managing Editor at a technical publication
2 - Letter from the CTO at a fintech company (valued at $2 billion currently) in Nigeria
3 - Letter from the CTO at a payroll company (processed over $5 billion in wages) in the United States
MC:
1 - Publications I’ve written (I shared screenshots and links to 5 technical articles)
2 - Recommendation letter from the founder of an open-source non-profit organization
3 - High Salary in comparison to average salaries in Lagos, Nigeria
4 - Open Source contributions with about 30 merged pull requests
OC2 (contributions outside of daily occupation)
1 - Open Source Advocacy: YT live sessions, Meet Up talks and article publication
2 - Npm package creation with over 2700 weekly downloads (although related to the open source contribution in the 4th document of MC)
3 - Volunteer at Open Source Community: designed publicity materials and swag items for attendees at the first open source event in Lagos by OSCA and then volunteered in person at the event.
OC3 (work showing impact at product-led company)
1 - The contract shows employment at a product-led company (payroll company mentioned in: this ruined the OC3 review because while the contract labeled me as a contractor, I was hired as a full-time employee and have been here for almost 3 years now. I have the official email and my login dashboard as proof of this.
2 - Letter of recommendation from a Senior Product Manager I work with at the product-led company
3 - Screenshots of PRs, code snippets, conversations with the CTO, Feature tasks, and product interfaces.
Any advice or suggestions for how I can appeal is highly welcomed.
Thanks for your time guys
@narudesigns Thank you for the response. I wish you will get successfully in appeal and don’t lose hope. Take suggestions and help from the people who are already endorsed. I wish you good luck!
Hi @narudesigns, I’m sorry to hear about your rejection.
The decision letter doesn’t seem to allow for much room to appeal. You may be able to explain the employment situation and possibly have OC3 reassessed but MC and OC2 weren’t met too.
If you decide to reapply make sure to emphasize what makes you a leader and stand out from the the rest of the field of other talented individuals.
Also make sure to read the guide since it looks like a few technicalities like using the same evidence twice have hindered your application.
I am sorry about your outcome. I think we had the same accessor, because they sound much alike. I think you should appeal, although I am in that stage but haven’t done mine. You can check to see if I am right about having the same accessor.
Sorry about the outcome @narudesigns. Regarding what everyone else has said, you might need to stay away from the rejection/appeal for a few days since you still have a 28 days window. Come back and look at it with fresh eyes and if you believe you have some points in your application that will answer the concerns of the assessor, you might be able to have a successful appeal. For your OC3, you need to prove within the context of your application how you are a full time employee.
I am also trying to appeal my decision at the moment, so I don’t have so much context yet. Check out some of the posts of people that have been successful in their appeal and draw inspiration. I also know of an individual that got rejected on all criteria, even his mandatory recommendation letters was rejected and he later appealed successfully. So, your appeal now should just be fixated on convincing the new assessor/ review board which you couldn’t explicitly do in your initial application.
@bukola Thank you very much. As you mentioned, I will come back next week to look at my application; the whole process is overwhelming enough. I’m sorry about your rejection as well, and I wish you good luck as you try to appeal.
My understanding is that the core of this Visa is about Leadership, in either early stage or advance stage of the career, here are some issues in the application.
Mandatory Criteria (MC) Issues:
References were too basic and didn’t demonstrate exceptional recognition
Career roles weren’t sufficiently advanced or niche for the experience level
Blog articles were considered “basic” and didn’t show leadership
Support letters weren’t compelling enough
Optional Criteria Issues:
OC2: GitHub activity was good but not exceptional for EP standards ( I am guessing its not frequent enoughg or not on top opensource projects.)
Same project was used multiple times across different criteria
OC3: Contracting positions were automatically disqualified
Evidence Quality Issues:
Multiple uses of the same evidence across different criteria
Basic/typical skill demonstrations instead of exceptional achievements
Lack of impactful recognition
How to Do Better:
For Mandatory Criteria:
Need strong external recognition of leadership potential
Focus on getting high-quality recommendation letters that:
Are detailed (2-3 pages)
Come from recognized industry experts
Specifically explain your exceptional abilities
Demonstrate impact beyond basic job duties
Publications/articles should:
Be in respected industry publications
Show deep technical expertise
Have significant readership/impact
Be consistently produced over time, not just recent
For Optional Criteria:
OC2 (Outside Work):
Need structured volunteer work (e.g., organized mentoring programs)
Show consistent community contributions over time
Demonstrate clear impact metrics
Use different evidence for each criteria
For Work Experience (OC3):
Must be full-time employee positions, not contracting
Focus on product-led technology companies
Show clear metrics of impact
Provide concrete evidence of leadership
Include reference letters specific to each achievement
General Improvements:
Evidence Quality:
Each piece should be unique and substantial
Include quantifiable impact metrics
Provide external validation
Show progression over time
Documentation:
Keep everything within 3-page limits
Include clear metrics and impact data
Get proper signatures on letters
Provide context for achievements
Career Stage Alignment:
If applying for EP, ensure evidence matches early career stage
Show exceptional promise through rapid progression
