Articles Posted in O1 Visas

We are very happy to announce that our office has successfully assisted another client in obtaining her O-1 visa status. The petition was approved less than 30 days after its submission and without any request for additional evidence. This article will address our experience in handling this case.

The O-1 visa is a non-immigrant employment-based visa classification for foreign nationals who can demonstrate the sustained national or international acclaim and recognition for extraordinary abilities and achievements in the field of sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.

Our client, Ms. L, a citizen of Taiwan, is a talented young artist with exceptional abilities and numerous achievements in the field of theatrical lighting design. She recently graduated from a highly selective university in the U.S. where she received a Master’s degree of Fine Arts in Lighting Design. With her F-1 visa expiring soon, she came to our office inquiring about her options of employment-based visas.

Our Blog readers and Facebook fans often inquire about other temporary work visa options other than the H-1B Visa. This article was prepared by Attorney Yingfei Zhou from our office.

For individuals who possesses extraordinary ability in the field of sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements, we will recommend the O-1 visa.

A job offer from a U.S. employer is a basic requirement for the O-1 visa. The O-1 visa is filed by the employer, along with the evidence of the individual’s extraordinary ability. Different from the H-1B visa, there is no annual limit on the number of people, who can receive O-1 visas, there is no limit on the time we can file the application, and you can work for multiple employers at the same time.

The O-1 is a good visa option for individuals with extraordinary abilities in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or with a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry who want to come to the U.S. to continue working in the areas of extraordinary abilities. Our office handles a lot of extraordinary ability petitions for scientists in a variety of fields. This article was prepared by attorney Ekaterina Powell from our office.

Dr. Y, a citizen of Ethiopia, came to the U.S. on a J-1 visa as a Research Scholar. For years, she has been engaged in extensive scientific research and has acquired recognition for her achievements in the field of probiotics. With her J-1 status expiring in the coming weeks, Dr. Y received a job offer from an established biotech company specializing in the development and commercialization of probiotic dietary supplements. In the proposed research position within the organization, Dr. Y could continue her innovative research for the development of probiotic supplements as an alternative treatment for kidney failure, as immune system optimization, and for prevention of many diseases.

Dr. Y came to our office inquiring about her options to stay in the U.S. and work for the biotech company. With no more H-1B visas available, the best option for Dr. Y was applying for an O-1 visa. With only a few weeks left to prepare the O-1 petition, Dr. Y was very worried at first that there was not enough time to get everything ready. We assured Dr. Y that with her cooperation in gathering the documents, we would do whatever it takes to prepare a strong case and file it within the deadline, and we were successful in doing so.

This is a great information article provided by AILA and we wanted to share this with our Blog Readers.

One of the challenges in preparing an O-1 petition is obtaining three years of status for the beneficiary. This is particularly true for artists whose cases require an itinerary that projects three years into the future. Often the artist might have only a few confirmed gigs covering just a short period of time. In such a case, how can you obtain a full three-year period? This practice pointer will focus on proving future engagements and activities to qualify for the three-year maximum duration of an O-1 petition.

Petitioner