| O-1 Aliens With Extraordinary Ability
in Sciences, Arts, Education, Business, Athletics
The regulations list the following types of evidence needed
to show extraordinary ability in the sciences, business, education,
and athletics: receipt of a major, internationally-recognized
award, such as the Nobel Prize, or at least three of the following
forms of documentation:
- Documentation of the alien's receipt of nationally or
internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence
in the field of endeavor;
- Documentation of the alien's membership in associations
in the field for which classification is sought, which require
outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by
recognized national or international experts in their disciplines
or fields;
- Published material in professional or major trade publications
or major media about the alien, relating to the alien's
work in the field for which classification is sought, which
shall include the title, date, and author of such published
material, and any necessary translation;
- Evidence of the alien's participation on a panel, or individually,
as a judge of the work of others in the same or in an allied
field of specialization to that for which classification
is sought;
- Evidence of the alien's original scientific, scholarly
or business-related contributions of major significance
in the field;
- Evidence of the alien's authorship of scholarly articles
in the field, in professional journals or other major media;
- Evidence that the alien has been employed in a critical
or essential capacity for organizations and establishments
that have a distinguished reputation;
- Evidence that the alien has commanded and now commands
a high salary or other remuneration for services, evidenced
by contracts or other reliable evidence.
O-2 visas are reserved for aliens who accompany and assist an
O-1 alien in a specific athletic or artistic event; aliens may
not qualify for O-2 in the fields of education, science, or
business. O-2 aliens must be an integral part of the performance
and must have critical skills and experience, not of a general
nature, which cannot be performed by other individuals. O-2
aliens may not work separate and apart from the principal O-1
alien. The statute sets forth separate requirements for O-2
aliens in the motion picture and television industries. These
assistants must have skills or experience with the O-1 alien,
not of a general nature, that are critical, either because of
a previous, longstanding working relationship, or, with respect
to the specific production, because much of the main parts of
the production work will be done both inside and outside the
United States and the continuing participation of the alien
is essential to the completion of the production.
In order to obtain the O visa, the employer or agent files
a petition with the INS service center having jurisdiction
in the area where the alien will be employed. Approval of
an O visa petition generally requires an appropriate consultation
with an individual or peer group in the alien's field. (The
consultation is actually a written opinion from the individual
or peer group.) Both O-1 and O-2 petitions in the motion picture
or television industries require both management and labor
organization consultations. The evident purpose of the consultation
is to support the claim of extraordinary ability or achievement
with an outside opinion. However, the procedure is required
even where the alien is famous or the claim is clearly established
by other documentary evidence.
Although submitted well in advance of the proposed starting
date, the petition will be approved only for the actual dates
requested by the petitioner. The maximum period of validity
of an approved O-1 or O-2 petition is three years. An O alien
may be admitted to the United States for the validity period
of the petition, plus up to ten days before the services begin
and ten days after they end, but may not work during either
ten-day period.
To obtain an extension for the purpose of completing or
continuing the activity or event specified in the original
petition, the petitioner must file both a request to extend
the validity of the original petition, and a request to extend
the alien's period of stay. The dates of extension for the
petition and the stay are the same.
A petitioner may seek to extend an O-1 (or O-2) visa petition
in one year increments to complete or continue the same activity
or event specified in the original petition. The O classification
does not have an overall time limit on length of stay. The
nature of the activity or event will itself control the length
of the stay.
Dependent spouses and children of O-1 and O-2 aliens are
admitted in O-3 status. They may not accept employment unless
they have an independent basis for employment authorization.
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