O1 visa: Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement (Merged)

[Agata_2402 0]

Hi, 

I am on F1 visa currently working on OPT. My OPT expires in June this year and I am desperately looking for a way to stay here (I have been in the United States for 7 years and it would be hard for me to leave after so such a long time). I graduated from college last year and I have Associate degree in Applied Science in Professional Photography. I contacted few immigration attorneys and one of them told me I may be eligible for O1 visa for Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievements. My pictures have been a part of few school exhibitions and one pretty big exhibition that was curated by New York photographer.I have been working as a free lance photographer for over 9 years and currently I am working as a manager/photographer at the photography studio. I have never heard of this type of visa so I was wondering if some of you know some more details or is familiar with the process and requirements. I have read something about it and it sounds like you need to be an Einstein to get it. The price that attorney told me is pretty high so I wanto to do some research before I move forward with that process. My employer is very interested in keeping me. Sadly, they cannot sponsor me for a green card (they are small company and their lawyer told them it will be hard for them). Anyway, if someone knows some more details about O1 or know someone who has applied for that visa I would appreciate any Information. 

[igoyougoduke 1,663]

its all here ... https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/o-1-visa-individuals-with-extraordinary-ability-or-achievement. you need a good lawyer for your situation but i wont get hopes based on your experience and background. do you have a job offer ? ?

[Boiler 45,767]

How have you been working as a freelance photographer?

[SalishSea 17,980]

2 hours ago, Agata_2402 said:

Hi, 

I am on F1 visa currently working on OPT. My OPT expires in June this year and I am desperately looking for a way to stay here (I have been in the United States for 7 years and it would be hard for me to leave after so such a long time). I graduated from college last year and I have Associate degree in Applied Science in Professional Photography. I contacted few immigration attorneys and one of them told me I may be eligible for O1 visa for Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievements. My pictures have been a part of few school exhibitions and one pretty big exhibition that was curated by New York photographer.I have been working as a free lance photographer for over 9 years and currently I am working as a manager/photographer at the photography studio. I have never heard of this type of visa so I was wondering if some of you know some more details or is familiar with the process and requirements. I have read something about it and it sounds like you need to be an Einstein to get it. The price that attorney told me is pretty high so I wanto to do some research before I move forward with that process. My employer is very interested in keeping me. Sadly, they cannot sponsor me for a green card (they are small company and their lawyer told them it will be hard for them). Anyway, if someone knows some more details about O1 or know someone who has applied for that visa I would appreciate any Information. 

How have you been able to be in the US for 7 years on a student visa for a two year degree?

 

Also, O-1 visa would be a huge long shot.  

Edited April 6, 2022 by Jorgedig

[Agata_2402 0]

11 hours ago, igoyougoduke said:

its all here ... https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/o-1-visa-individuals-with-extraordinary-ability-or-achievement. you need a good lawyer for your situation but i wont get hopes based on your experience and background. do you have a job offer ? ?

I am currently working at the Photography studio - not a big one. They really want to keep me so I bet I could keep working there. I have read the gov website and it sounds like you need to be a "genius" to get this visa that is why I was hoping to find someone who went through the process and could share some opinion. 

[Agata_2402 0]

9 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

How have you been able to be in the US for 7 years on a student visa for a two year degree?

 

Also, O-1 visa would be a huge long shot.  

F1 visa was not the only visa I was here on. School took me a little longer than 2 years so I had to extended the I20 to finish all eh required classes. 

[Boiler 45,767]

You spent 7 years getting an Associate Degree?

[Agata_2402 0]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

You spent 7 years getting an Associate Degree?

No, I did not spend 7 years getting Associate Degree. I have been in the United States for 7 years 

[Boiler 45,767]

So what has been your status, you said you have been working as a photographer for 9 years. 

 

Hopefully your Lawyer is aware of your immigration history.

[S9471 60]

@Agata_2402 you need to provide some clarity on your status history if you want to get reasonable advice... on the surface, you likely wouldn't qualify for O1 because it really is reserved for folks who have international/large-scale recognition. a couple of exhibits are not likely to help with that. if you had photos published in mass-media magazines, were credited by big news organizations, won major awards - that would add a lot of weight to the application. without it, it would seem moot to put money into that.

 

you could consult with the attorney and see what information they would require from you, but from hearsay I've heard of people that had to submit 300 page applications with recommendations from vice presidents at a major Fortune 500 company to be able to qualify.

[Coco8 1,042]

I don't think participating in one big exhibition is enough for an O1. Like if your photographs were in magazines, you had several exhibitions, won some competitions, then it would be more likely. 

 

You are looking at spending over 5,000 for a small shot. I would recommend you did something else with the money.

[Agata_2402 0]

11 hours ago, S9471 said:

@Agata_2402 you need to provide some clarity on your status history if you want to get reasonable advice... on the surface, you likely wouldn't qualify for O1 because it really is reserved for folks who have international/large-scale recognition. a couple of exhibits are not likely to help with that. if you had photos published in mass-media magazines, were credited by big news organizations, won major awards - that would add a lot of weight to the application. without it, it would seem moot to put money into that.

 

you could consult with the attorney and see what information they would require from you, but from hearsay I've heard of people that had to submit 300 page applications with recommendations from vice presidents at a major Fortune 500 company to be able to qualify.

Thank you for that. My attorney made it sounds like it is an easy process and he told me he would help me get through it. I am very skeptical about this and I wanted to get some more opinions. I have done the research and it does sound like you need to have some major award to be legible for an O1.  

I have come her in 2015 on a J1 visa. I extended my J1 after one year and then I applied for F1 while being in here. My DSO at my school told me I can start classes while I wait for the decision (which turned out it was a lie and violation) and my F1 visa got denied after I have already completed 2 semesters. My school issued my new I20 and I came back to my country and I applied for a new F1 visa and it was approved. I graduated in 2021 and I started my OPT in June 2021. My OPT ends in June this year. I work as a studio manager/photographer for a small company that is really interested in keeping me. They told me they are not legible to sponsor me for a green card. They told me they do not fit any of the qualifications to hire an EB employee. I am trying to find a way to stay here and desperately looking for some solution in my case. 

[Agata_2402 0]

10 hours ago, Coco8 said:

I don't think participating in one big exhibition is enough for an O1. Like if your photographs were in magazines, you had several exhibitions, won some competitions, then it would be more likely. 

 

You are looking at spending over 5,000 for a small shot. I would recommend you did something else with the money.

Thank you for your opinion. I have the same feeling - I do not think that school exhibitions would be enough for O1. I am trying to get some opinion because my attorney made it sounds like it is an easy process and he told me that would be the best solution in my case (to be honest for this amount of money I would make anything sounds possible). 

[Agata_2402 0]

12 hours ago, Boiler said:

So what has been your status, you said you have been working as a photographer for 9 years. 

 

Hopefully your Lawyer is aware of your immigration history.

Yes, my lawyer is aware of my immigration history. 

I came here in 2015 on a J1 visa. I extended my J1 after one year and then I applied for F1 while being in here. My DSO at my school told me I can start classes while I wait for the decision (which turned out it was a lie and violation) and my F1 visa got denied after I have already completed 2 semesters. My school issued my new I20 and I went back to my country and I applied for a new F1 visa and it was approved. I graduated in 2021 and I started my OPT in June 2021. My OPT ends in June this year. I work as a studio manager/photographer for a small company that is really interested in keeping me. They told me they are not legible to sponsor me for a green card. They told me they do not fit any of the qualifications to hire an EB employee. I am trying to find a way to stay here and desperately looking for some solution in my case. 

For the last few years I have worked as a volunteer/freelance photographer for small events and some nonprofit organizations. It was nothing big just to get me some more experience and get my foot in photography business. But since I was at school I could not do any "real work". 

Edited April 7, 2022 by Agata_2402

[Coco8 1,042]

23 minutes ago, Agata_2402 said:

Thank you for your opinion. I have the same feeling - I do not think that school exhibitions would be enough for O1. I am trying to get some opinion because my attorney made it sounds like it is an easy process and he told me that would be the best solution in my case (to be honest for this amount of money I would make anything sounds possible). 

Most lawyers just want to take your money. I suggest you make more inquiries with bigger places that only do immigration and focus on O1. Get more than one opinion.