Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-1324
December 21, 2006

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

Dear Sirs:

I am writing this letter on behalf of FLOR PEREZ MARTINEZ, who is applying for an extension of her current J-1 visa through July 31, 2008. Ms. Perez lost her passport, and applied and got a new passport. Her J-1 visa is current; however, a new visa laser is required on the new passport.

Ms. Perez has been employed as a research assistant in my civil engineering computer lab (the Visualab) since August 25, 2003.

Ms. Perez's primary responsibility is assisting lab users in the performance of research in hydraulic and hydrologic engineering. In this regard, it is worthy to mention that our past and present funding has been heavily focused on the San Diego-Tijuana border region. Thus, her dual skills in computer engineering and bilingual English-Spanish language are a definite asset to our program.

In addition to actively participating in cutting-edge research, Ms. Perez is in charge of running specialized software such as ERMapper, 3D-Max and Photoshop, which our typical students are not familiar with. She also assists in the development of PHP dynamic web-based applications. These advanced research and web skills will significantly enhance her competitiveness and job choices when she completes her visit to the U.S. for academic training and returns to her native country.

I view Ms. Perez's visa extension as essential for us to continue the work planned for the next two years. Having worked in the lab for more than two-and-a-half years, she is thoroughly familiar with our practices.

If you have additional questions regarding Ms. Perez's qualifications, please do not hesitate to contact me at 619.594.4029 or ponce@ponce.sdsu.edu.

Sincerely yours,

Victor M. Ponce
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

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