O1 Visa

It all started when…

O: The O visa is a non-immigrant visa specifically to provide for admission to the United States of persons with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, and athletics, or extraordinary achievement in motion picture and television production, and their essential support personnel.  “Extraordinary Ability” means an individual whose extraordinary ability has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim (i.e. evidence that the individual possesses “a level of expertise indicating that the individual is one of the small percentage who have risen to the top of the field of endeavor.” 

This can be demonstrated by either (1) Receipt of an internationally recognized award, such as a Nobel Prize, or (2) evidence that the individual has at least three of the following:

·         Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes for excellence in the field of endeavor;

·         Membership in associations in the field which require outstanding achievements as judged by recognized international experts;

·         Published material in professional or major trade publications or newspapers about the individual and his work in the field;

·         Participation on a panel or individually as a judge of the work of others in the field or an allied field;

·         Original scientific or scholarly research contributions of major significance in the field;

·         Authorship of scholarly articles in the field in professional journals or other major media; or

·         Evidence the individual commands a high salary or other high remuneration for services.