The O-1A nonimmigrant visa classification is reserved for foreigners with extraordinary abilities in education, sciences, athletics, and business. Your extraordinary ability in your field is demonstrated by sustained international or national acclaim and recognition.
To qualify for an O-1A, you must intend to come to the United States to work in your area of expertise, which may include working for an entity you own. According to USCIS, extraordinary ability means having expertise only possessed by a small percentage of people who have risen to the very top of your field.
According to USCIS regulations, the petitioner may be either a U.S. agent or employer (who may be the representative of both the beneficiary and employer, the actual employer of the beneficiary, or an entity or person authorized by the employer to act for the employer as its agent).
Although an O-1A beneficiary cannot self-petition, a separate legal entity owned by the beneficiary may file the petition.
To qualify for this visa classification, you must prove that you are part of a small percentage of people at the very top of your field of expertise, whether in the sciences, athletics, business, or education.
Closely related to this requirement, you must show that you are coming to the U.S. to continue working in that field of expertise.
To establish your eligibility, you must submit compelling evidence that you either hold a major, internationally recognized award or submit evidence that satisfies at least three of the eight evidentiary criteria discussed below:
Although most scholastic awards don’t have the requisite level of recognition, there are dissertation awards and PhD scholarships, for instance, that are internationally or nationally recognized as awards for excellence. Such dissertation awards and PhD scholarships may satisfy the requirements for this criterion.
Other relevant considerations include, but are not limited to:
For instance, an award only available to persons within one locality, school, or employer may have little national or international recognition. However, an award open to members of a well-recognized professional association or national institution may be nationally recognized.
The petitioner must demonstrate that membership in the professional association requires outstanding achievements in the field for which an O-1A is sought, as judged by recognized international or national experts.
Some professional associations have multiple levels of membership. Therefore, the petitioners must illustrate that to obtain your membership level, you were judged by recognized international or national experts as having achieved outstanding achievements in your field of expertise.
For example, membership in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) at the IEEE fellow level requires that a nominee have accomplishments that have contributed significantly to the advancement or application of engineering, science & technology, bringing the realization of significant value to society. Nominations are normally judged by a committee of current IEEE fellows and an IEEE council of experts.
Factors that can lead to a conclusion that your membership in an association is not based on outstanding achievements in the relevant field include, but are not limited to, instances where your membership was based:
This evidence must include a title, author, date, and translation where necessary.
Published material that only includes a passing reference to your work or a brief citation does not qualify as “about” you or relating to your work in the field as required under this criterion.
However, that does not mean that “about your work” has to be the only subject of the material; published material that covers a broader topic but still includes a substantial discussion about your work in the field and mentions your connection to the work may still qualify as sufficient “about” you (the beneficiary).
The USCIS officers may also opt to consider material that primarily focuses on work or research conducted by a team of which you are a member. However, the material must mention you in connection with the work or other evidence in record documents showing your significant role in the work or research.
In evaluating whether the submitted publication is a major trade publication, professional publication, or major media, the relevant factors include:
The petitioner must prove that you (the beneficiary) have not only been invited to judge the work of others but also that you actually participated in judging the works of others in your field or allied fields of specialization.
For instance, the petitioner may document your peer review work by submitting a copy of a request from a journal to conduct the review, accompanied by evidence confirming your participation in the review.
Relevant Examples:
Relevant Considerations:
Eligibility analysis under this criterion primarily focuses on whether your original work significantly contributes to your field of expertise.
Evidence that your work was published, funded, or patented, while potentially demonstrating the work’s originality, will not necessarily, on its own, establish that it is of major significance to the relevant field.
However, published research that has provoked considerably widespread commentary on its importance or significance from others working in your field, and documentation that it has been highly cited relative to other works, may be probative of the significance of your contribution to your field of expertise.
Similarly, evidence that you have developed a patentable technology that has attracted significant commercialization or attention may also establish the significance of your original contribution to the field. If your patent remains pending, USCIS will likely request additional supporting evidence to demonstrate the originality of your contribution.
Detailed letters from field experts explaining the nature and significance of your contribution may also provide valuable context for evaluating your claimed original contribution of major significance. This is particularly true when the record includes documentation corroborating your claimed significance.
All submitted letters must specifically describe your contribution and its significance to the field. They must also set the basis for the writer’s knowledge and expertise.
To qualify under this criterion, you must be a listed author of the submitted works but need not be the first or sole author. Additionally, the petitioner need not adduce evidence that your published work has been cited to meet this criterion.
The articles must be scholarly. In the academic field, a scholarly article reports on experimentation, original research, or philosophical discourse. It must also be written by an expert or researcher in the field. In addition, the article must be peer-reviewed.
Other requirements are that it must have footnotes, endnotes, or a bibliography and may contain charts, graphs, pictures, or videos as illustrations of the concepts expressed in the paper.
In non-academic fields, scholarly articles must be written addressing learned persons in that field.
In evaluating whether a submitted article is a major trade publication, professional publication, or major media, relevant factors include:
To demonstrate that you played a critical role in the organization, the submitted evidence must establish that you have contributed in a manner that is significant to the organization or its activities. To demonstrate an essential role, the evidence must show that your role is/was integral to the organization. A leadership role in an organization often qualifies as essential or critical.
For supporting roles to qualify as essential or critical, USCIS considers additional factors such as whether your performance in the role is/was integral or important to the entity or its goals or activities, especially in relation to others in parallel positions within the organization.
It is also worth noting that it is not your role but rather your duties and performance in the role that determine whether the role is/was essential or critical. Detailed letters from individuals with personal knowledge of the significance of your role can be helpful in analyzing this criterion. Additionally, the organization need not have employed you directly.
The organization must also be one with a distinguished reputation. The relevant factors for evaluating the organization’s reputation can include the scale of its customer base, relevant media coverage, or longevity.
For academic institutions, departments, and programs, USCIS officers may also consider national rankings and receipt of government research grants as positive factors when analyzing this criterion.
For start-up entities, USCIS officers may consider evidence that the entity has received significant funding from venture capital funds, government entities, angel investors, or such funders commensurate with funding rounds generally achieved for the start-up’s stage and industry as a positive factor concerning its distinguished reputation.
If the petitioner avers meeting this criterion, the burden of proof is with the petitioner. They must adduce appropriate evidence demonstrating that your compensation is high relative to other persons working in parallel positions in the field.
USCIS officers evaluate persons working outside the U.S. on the wage statistic or comparable evidence for that geographical locality rather than by simply converting the salary to USD and then considering whether it would be considered high in the U.S.
For founders or entrepreneurs of start-up businesses, USCIS officers consider evidence that the start-up has received significant funding from venture capital funds, government entities, angel investors, or other such funders in evaluating the credibility of submitted job offers, contracts, or other relevant evidence of prospective salary or remuneration for services.
If any of the abovementioned criteria do not readily apply to your occupation, the petitioner may submit comparable evidence to establish your eligibility. When the required evidence has been adduced, USCIS will evaluate the evidence in totality to determine eligibility. Visit the USCIS Policy Manual for more guidance on the use of comparable evidence to establish eligibility and how USCIS evaluate the totality of the evidence for an O-1A petition.
To qualify for an O-1A visa, you must submit copies of written contracts or agreements between you and your petitioner/entity. Where there are no written contracts, you may submit a summary of the terms of the oral contract under which you will be employed.
Additionally, you must submit an explanation of the nature of the activities or events, which may include your employment in the U.S.
A person or group with experience in your field must write an advisory opinion regarding the nature of your work and qualifications. The opinion must describe your ability and achievements in the field.
For more information about how O-1A eligibility is evaluated, visit the USCIS Policy Manual.