California Immigration Lawyer Blog

I previously wrote about the qualifications necessary for an 0-1 visa. I am now going to discuss who can be a petitioner/sponsor of an 0-1.

Given the entreprenereurial spirit that exists in Silicon Valley, the question often comes up as to whether an individual may self petition for an 0-1 visa. The answer is, "no." The 0-1 petition is not a self petition. An 0-1 must be sponsored. An O petition may be filed by : 1) a U.S. employer, 2) a U.S. agent, or 3) a foreign employer through a U.S. agent. These are the only recognized employers/sponsors.

United States and Citizenship Services ("USCIS") has addressed the question as to whether a foreign employer may be a corporation owned by the beneficiary. The answer is, "yes, " an employer may be a corporation owned by the beneficiary but the employer must use a U.S. agent to file the petition. You can see a more detailed explanation of this answer on the USCIS website on a page of questions and answers about 0 visas.

I will continue this series on 0-1 visas in another post by discussing the documentation that must be filed with the petition.

When analyzing options for non-immigrants, we tend to think of other visas before thinking of an O-1. Yet, it remains a viable alternative. In fact, in 2009 (the latest year in which statistics are available), 58,566 people entered on O visas. (See page 4, Nonimmigrant Admission to the United States, 2009.) That is a large group of extraordinary people.

An O-1 visa is a visa for an individual who possesses extraordinary ability in the 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.

This post will be the first of many posts on O-1 visas. In this post, I will describe the evidentiary requirements for obtaining an O-1 visa.

Continue reading "O-1 visa - What do I need to qualify" »