Hi, the new technation guidance says recommendation letter from a manager is not applicable. However, the founder of the company I am working at, who is also my manager, is my strongest candidate for a reco since he has been globally acknowledged in the media. He is not only a manager, he is the owner of the company so I thought maybe a letter from him would be acceptable. What do you think…? I am new to this visa and would appreciate your comments.
What they meant is that a direct manager is not enough, it must be from “leading industry experts”.
You should use a C-level/VP-level/founder as a recommendor.
oh I see. Thank you for your reply. The founder of the startup I’m working at was the CEO, he is now the chairman. But my startup is only operating in my own country, not globally acknowledged. Do you think it is a weak LOR?
I think it’s more about the impact of the recommendor than his current company. If he’s globally known or has achieved global recognition for his work. Can he be considered as a “leading industry expert”?
The easier it is to answer with “Yes” the better a recommendor is 
Great point!! Does the designation of the recommender should be related to some C level or can be program manager of some dev related community programs at FAANG?