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O-VISAS
Business Immigration Quarterly
Summer 2001, Christopher T. Musillo
Among the less frequently used visas, the O-visa can often be a useful
alternative to the H-1B visa. The O-visa classification is used for
“extraordinary ability aliens” and is available to qualified workers in one
of four disciplines: business, the sciences, education and the arts. This
article will focus on O-visa for those in business, the sciences and
education.
The O-visa classification is especially helpful (1) to persons who lack
professional degrees; (2) where the H-1B visa is an impractical visa
classification because of difficulties meeting prevailing wage requirements
and; and (3) when the H-1B visa cap has been reached.
In order to obtain an O-visa, a beneficiary must demonstrate sustained
national or international acclaim. “Extraordinary” is a standard much higher
than the H-1B standard of “professional.” In order for a beneficiary to be
approved in O-visa classification, it is necessary that the individual’s
extraordinary ability be documented extensively.
The documentation can take many forms. Documentation of one
highly-acclaimed, well-recognized international award, such as a Nobel
Prize, can in and of itself qualify one for O-visa approval. More commonly,
the beneficiary must be able to document at least three distinct types of
achievement:
1. Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes/awards for
excellence in the field;
2. Membership in associations in the field that require outstanding
achievement of their members, as chosen by recognized national or
international experts;
3. Published material in a professional or major trade publication or major
media about the alien;
4. Participation on a panel or as a judge of the work of others in the same
or allied field of specialization;
5. Original scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions of
major significance;
6. Authorship of scholarly articles in professional journals or other major
medias;
7. Current or previous employment in a critical or essential capacity for
organizations that have a distinguished reputation; and
8. Past or proffered high salary or other remuneration for services, as
evidenced by contracts or other reliable evidence.
This list is very similar to the list of qualifications for persons wishing
to obtain an EB-1 immigrant visa classification for “extraordinary ability.”
Accordingly, persons who are granted O-visa classification often have a
quicker, less difficult path to permanent residency. Generally, persons with
O-visa classification do not need to obtain labor certification and can move
directly to the I-140, Petition for Alien Worker.
While not every individual will qualify for an O-visa, the O-visa can, in
the right circumstances, provide a viable alternative to an H-1B visa.
Christopher T. Musillo, Esq.
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