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Articles Posted in O1 Visas

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The O-1 visa is quickly becoming a popular immigration solution for talented entrepreneurs who have already started or are about to start a new business in the United States. Many of Silicon Valley’s top companies owe their creation and success to foreign-born entrepreneurs, including Google, Intel, and Yahoo. In fact, more than 40 percent of American Fortune 500 companies were founded by an immigrant or child of an immigrant.

In order to obtain an O-1 visa, one must show that he or she is an alien of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. This visa allows individuals to come to the United States for up to three years, with extensions available after that period has elapsed if the applicant is able to prove that he or she is still outstanding in the field. This is a great option for those in technology-related fields.

The O-1 visa has proven to be a better option for many entrepreneurs than the more popular H-1B visa. This is especially true for those entrepreneurs who do not qualify for the H-1B visa or when the H-1B visa cap has already been met, as there is no cap to the number of O-1 visas granted each year. In addition, unlike most H-1B visas, the O-1 visa does not require a college education. This is an important difference, since there are many young and innovative entrepreneurs who bypassed formal education in order to begin their careers. Another benefit of the O-1 visa over the H-1B visa is that it does not tie the immigrant to any employer or sponsor or have any of the other strict requirements, such as a prevailing wage. An O-1 visa applicant can be sponsored by his or her own U.S. company. This gives the entrepreneur more freedom to conduct their business as they choose, including investing any profits early on back into the business instead of paying themselves the prevailing wage salary. The O-1 visa is also a better option than the E and EB “investor visas” for many entrepreneurs, as the O-1 visa does not require any particular amount of capital to be invested into the business.

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Bill was a world renowned and very accomplished sculptor and 3d artist in his country. In 2009, Bill decided to make his first visit to the United States. It was here, in the land of opportunity, that he was able to develop his craft further and had the unique opportunity to study animation, the marketing of sculptural art, and technologies in film production. Having already been working for a famous television station in his country, it was only fitting for him to expand his studies in these fields. As a professional artist with extraordinary skills, our client was eligible to file an O-1 visa and could very well obtain his permanent residency through this avenue. After seeking legal advice, Bill decided to go forward with the process of applying for an I-129 Petition for an alien with extraordinary abilities in the arts. While his application was pending, Bill decided to visit his aunt and cousins in Los Angeles. It was through his cousin that Bill would meet his future wife, Elizabeth. After various phone calls and emails, the two decided to meet, and it was indeed love at first sight for the pair. The couple found that they shared similar interests, had a similar background, traditions, and customs.

During the following months, the couple went on frequent outings together as well as with their family members. All seemed perfect. Bill was ready to pop the question and did so in a magical way in Laguna Beach, California. Elizabeth’s parents were not only supportive of Bill’s professional work; they welcomed him into their family as a son, and allowed him to live with Elizabeth in their home during their marriage. A few months after marrying, Elizabeth and Bill decided to file for Bill’s Adjustment of Status. Elizabeth was very enthusiastic about petitioning for Bill because she felt the process would be much quicker than that of the I-129 petition that was pending. Bill completely put his trust in Elizabeth and allowed her to take the reins on his adjustment of status application.

During their marriage, Bill began to see that his wife was not the person he believed her to be. She refused to work and would spend her days chatting with friends and playing computer games until the morning hours. He also began to realize that she had no regard for his financial situation and would spend the money he earned from his family and from freelancing, on luxurious items that were unnecessary expenses. A few months later, Bill heard that his father had been diagnosed with cancer and was fighting for his life. About this time, Bill was fortunate enough to have received his permanent resident card, so he was able to travel internationally without preoccupation. Devastated, Bill traveled to his country alone to support his inconsolable mother and help his family financially. Elizabeth had chosen to stay behind with her family. While he was back in his country dealing with the stress surrounding the terminal nature of his father’s condition, Bill began to receive unrealistic and threatening demands from Elizabeth.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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