Good news! USCIS has clarified how it evaluates O-1 nonimmigrant visas for individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement. This new guidance confirms and expands options for business owners, as well as others who may qualify for this visa.
An O-1 visa is available to people with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, business, education, and athletics, and people with extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry.
USCIS’ updated guidance:
- Confirms that a petitioner for an O-1 beneficiary may be a U.S. employer, a U.S. agent, or a separate U.S. legal entity that the beneficiary owns.
- Clarifies evidence required for O-1A (sciences, education, business, athletics) and O-1B (arts) visas, specifically:
- Clarifies that a beneficiary may receive a nationally or internationally recognized prize or award for excellence in their field of endeavor early in their career, not only in their late career;
- Adds examples of evidence of original contributions of major significance in the beneficiary’s field:
- Patents or licenses derived from their work,
- Evidence of commercial use of their work,
- Evidence of their contributions to technical resources with significant impact in their field,
- A letter from an interested U.S. government agency, explaining the significance of the beneficiary’s original work to the field, especially as related to the funding interests and mission of the agency.
- Adds an example of evidence of the beneficiary’s employment in a critical or essential capacity for organizations with a distinguished reputation:
- A letter from an interested U.S. government agency, showing that the agency either funds the beneficiary or funds work in which the beneficiary has a critical or essential role, and explaining this role in the funded work.
- Provides an example of an occupational change within a technical field, to guide beneficiaries who are changing careers but still continuing to work within the same area of extraordinary ability:
- In the case of “a renowned STEM professor or academic researcher coming to work for a private company” or “an engineer coming to start a technology company,” USCIS should evaluate whether both occupations involve shared skillsets, knowledge, or expertise such that they should be considered within the same area of extraordinary ability.
- Clarifies that USCIS will limit an O-1 extension of stay to 1 year when the beneficiary continues to complete the same event or activity, but may grant up to 3 years for a new event or activity.
USCIS’ guidance addresses Biden’s 2023 Executive Order on AI, which seeks to modernize immigration options for experts in AI and other critical and emerging technologies, including those on O-1A visas.
Meltzer Hellrung welcomes these confirmations and clarifications of policy, but also hopes the Trump administration will not use this clarity as an opportunity to roll back existing policy.
For more individualized advice, please contact your designated Meltzer Hellrung attorney.