Cracking the O-1 Visa
The Full O-1A Guide for Founders
Expanded edition with chapter-level coverage, practical evidence checklists, and founder-specific workflows.
Not legal advice. This site is educational only. Immigration outcomes depend on your facts, current law, and adjudicator discretion. Use this as preparation material with qualified counsel.
Chapter Index
What Is New in This Expanded Version
- Full chapter coverage beyond only basics and criteria.
- Long-form criteria guidance including evidence checklists for each of all 8 categories.
- Detailed filing sequence from lawyer selection through post-approval travel and SSN steps.
- Founder-specific guidance for employer changes and self-sponsored company structure.
- Permanent residency overview (EB-1/EB-2 concepts and NIW three-prong framing).
Reader Orientation
If you are early-stage and assessing viability, start with O-1 Basics and 8 Criteria. If you are actively filing, go directly to Choosing a Lawyer and Application Process. If you are already on O-1 status, review Changing Employers and Permanent Residency.
My O-1 Journey (2024)
I was approved for my O-1 visa in 2024 after two attempts and about $20,000 in legal and filing costs.
My key learning: treat O-1 as a full evidence project, not a form-filing exercise. The strongest outcomes came when the field narrative was consistent, the evidence was objective, and every claim was easy for a non-expert officer to verify quickly.
- Choose one field of expertise and keep every exhibit aligned to it.
- Build more than the minimum 3 criteria to reduce single-point failure risk.
- Prioritize hard evidence before generic recommendation letters.
- Pressure-test the petition draft end-to-end before filing.