Chapter 1: The O1 Advantage

Not legal advice. Educational information only. Consult a qualified immigration attorney.

Chapter 1 - The O1 Advantage

The O1 visa is a temporary work visa for individuals who have achieved national or international recognition for their exceptional abilities in fields such as sciences, arts, education, business, athletics, or in the motion picture and television industries.

Contrary to the implication of the "extraordinary ability" language used on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, the O1 visa is actually accessible to "regular" individuals who seek the flexibility it provides. It is not necessary to have founded a multi-billion dollar company, won a Nobel Prize, or be an Olympic athlete. Even entrepreneurs with bootstrapped businesses, consulting practices, or side hustles can utilize their own businesses to sponsor their own O1 visa.

What is an O1 visa?

There is O1-A and O1-B. The O1-A visa is for individuals in the fields of sciences, education, business, and athletics, while the O1-B visa is for those in the arts and entertainment industry. The focus of this entire book is to provide guidance on obtaining the O1-A visa, and that is what we will be discussing.

O1-A: Individuals with an extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics (not including the arts, motion pictures or television industry);

O1-B: Individuals with an extraordinary ability in the arts or extraordinary achievement in motion picture or television industry;

It then goes further to say

To qualify for an O1 visa, you must demonstrate extraordinary ability by sustained national or international acclaim,

Extraordinary ability in the fields of science, education, business or athletics means a level of expertise indicating that you are one of the small percentage who have arisen to the very top of the field

So in this case, "extraordinary ability" refers to being in the top few percentage of your field. It is crucial to keep this in mind throughout your application process. When obtaining letters of recommendation and outlining evidence, it is important to present it in a way that the USCIS immigration officer can clearly understand that you are among the top 1-3% of individuals in your field.

For example, if you have been accepted into a startup accelerator like Y Combinator and are using it to satisfy the membership criteria, you would provide examples from the Y Combinator website to demonstrate their acceptance rate is approximately 2%. The same rule applies to all other types of evidence; you should be thinking, "How can I show evidence for this criteria that will make the USCIS officer think I'm in the top 1% in my field?"

Or if you have published an open-source project on GitHub, you should demonstrate that the number of stars and forks it has received is extraordinary compared to other existing projects. You could show that individuals from companies like "Adobe" and "Boeing" have starred or forked your repository, indicating that your open-source tool is being used by very reputable organizations.

The USCIS officer who is reviewing your case may not have knowledge in your field of endeavor. Therefore, it is important to assist them in understanding the significance of you and your work. The easiest way to achieve this is by name-dropping important individuals or organizations that are connected to you or your work. Please note that the term "extraordinary ability" is subjective and subject to the discretion of the USCIS officer. This emphasizes the importance of constructing a compelling narrative and argument in your O1 application that demonstrates why YOU are an extraordinary individual, backed by evidence.

Sponsorship

In order to obtain an O1 visa, it is necessary to have a sponsor. Without a sponsor, it is impossible to acquire an O1 visa.

The sponsor can be a company that has offered you a job, a U.S. citizen who is an agent, or even your own company. For details on self-sponsorship through your own company, refer to Appendix C: Self-Sponsoring through your own company.

How to Demonstrate Extraordinary Ability

The word "extraordinary ability" might seem frightening, yet it’s more accessible than it looks. The goal is to illustrate how your contributions are unique in your sector. Think about how to place your work, utilizing measures like:

Acceptance Rates: For example, if you've been accepted into prestigious programs like Y Combinator, you can cite your low acceptance rates (often around 2%) to support your application.
Reliable Organizations: Showing that your work has been employed by prominent organizations like Adobe or Boeing (if relevant) can give solid evidence that you’re impacting key players in your sector.

Always remember the USCIS officer examining your petition may not be an expert in your profession, so it’s crucial to use accessible, reliable facts to make your position obvious.

Field of Expertise

One of the crucial steps in the O1 process is selecting the field of expertise in which you possess extraordinary ability.

If you are reading this, you are likely in the sciences or business field. If you are in athletics or education, chances are you already have a team of individuals assisting you with obtaining an O1 visa, and this guide may not be necessary for you.

If you’re going for an O1-A in the field of business, the subsections of business that you could specify are things like:

Entrepreneurship: Demonstrating an ability in founding and growing a successful business.

Management: Showing exceptional skills in managing teams, projects, or entire companies.

Marketing: Proven expertise in innovative marketing strategies that have significantly impacted the industry.

Finance: Specializing in financial analysis, investment strategies, or financial management.

Sales: Demonstrating extraordinary ability in achieving outstanding sales results or leading high-performing sales teams.

Consulting: Recognized for providing exceptional business advice and strategies to other companies.

Each of these requirements, of course, necessitates providing evidence of your extraordinary ability. This evidence can include awards, publications, a high salary relative to others in the field, and other forms of recognition.

For individuals pursuing an O1-A in the field of sciences, it is important to focus on the subsections of sciences that align with your field of study and where you have extensive publications.

Choosing a specific field of expertise is the first step in constructing a compelling petition. It is crucial to select only one area of expertise. You cannot be a programmer, a growth hacker, and an expert at copywriting simultaneously. You must choose one, and all the components of your petition should be written from that specific perspective. Your resume and letters of recommendation should be tailored to highlight your exceptionalism in that particular category.

H1-B vs O1

You might be deciding between an O1 and an H1-B visa. The obvious choice is to go with the visa you qualify for, if there is only one that you qualify for.

Both of these visas are dual-intent, meaning you can have the intention to work and the intention to attain permanent residency while you're on the visa. This is different from other visas like the TN, which are single-intent and do not allow for the intention to become a permanent resident.

If you qualify for both, here are the advantages and disadvantages of each.

H1-B Visa

Advantages

Spousal Work Authorization: Your spouse will be able to work for any U.S employer on an H-4 visa.

Easy employer change: To change employers on the O1 visa, you would need to re-submit an I-129 petition and wait for it to be approved before starting work for a new employer. However, an H1-B worker can start working immediately upon filing and will only need to leave the employer if the petition is denied.

Disadvantages

Annual cap and lottery: Only a limited number of H1-B petitions are allowed in any given year. Therefore, most years a lottery is conducted to select the limited number of people.

Start Dates: Regardless of when an H-1B application is filed, the start date is always in October.

Limit to Status: An H1-B visa is valid for 3 years and may only be extended once for an additional 3 years.

O1 Visa

Advantages

You can continue to apply for and be approved for an O1 visa every 3 years without any limitations.

Work for multiple employers: You can hold multiple corporate-sponsored O1 visas simultaneously and work for multiple employers. You can also have your O1 visa sponsored by an agent, which would allow you to work for multiple workplaces under the same visa.

Apply anytime: There is no limit to the number of O1 visas issued per year, so you can apply at any time.

College dropouts accepted: A degree is not required for the O1 visa. I am proof that you don't need to be a PhD in order to successfully obtain the O1 visa.

No limit to the number of applications: Technically, there is no limit to the number of O1 petitions you can submit. Each time USCIS receives a petition, they are supposed to independently analyze it without taking into account previously failed submissions.

No salary or job title requirements: There is no requirement for specific job titles or minimum salaries for the O1 visa. As long as you can prove that you are an exceptional person in your field, you can get approved.

Disadvantages

No spousal work permit: If you receive an O1 visa, your spouse will receive an O3 visa, but they will not be permitted to work in the U.S.