OOOOO LALA, THE REALITY OF THE O-1 VISA PROGRAM FOR EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE
The crux of an O-1 visa (sometimes also called a talent visa) is extraordinary, a word of art. The issue is that what makes a person unique is very subjective. In the eye’s applicant, a personal talent might seem very extraordinary, like the ability to play the piano, guitar, sing or the ability to paint, or maybe because the person is a “YouTuber” or the so-called “influencer” on Instagram or “TikTok” with a few hundred thousand followers. The reality is that there are many extraordinary people in today’s world, but only the ones who comply with the law will get granted an O-1 visa.
The Objective conditions for the O-1 applicant is written in the US immigration law with very defined criteria. Let’s look at the general eligibility and then specific eligibility in turn.
In general, the applicant must show:
- an extraordinary ability AND
- show continuous national OR preferable international acclaim, AND
- must be coming temporarily to the United States to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability.
Now specifically, in the fields of science, education, business, or athletics, extraordinary means:
“a level of expertise indicating that you are one of the small percentages who have arisen to the very top of the field.”
a high level of achievement and distinction as shown by a degree of skill and recognition
“substantially above that ordinarily encountered, to the extent that you are prominent,
renowned, leading, or well-known in the field of arts.”
a record of achievement evidenced by “a degree of skill and recognition significantly
above that ordinarily encountered, to the extent that you are recognized as outstanding, notable, or leading in the motion picture and/or television field.”
