The O-1 visa is reserved for only the best of the best who have “achieved and sustained national or international acclaim for extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, or individuals who have demonstrated a record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture and television industries.”
Filing an O-1 means you are in lofty company, but even if you have the level of achievement and recognition in your field required by the O-1 criteria, there are several mistakes we see too often that can hamper even the strongest petitions.
Here are five things that can result in USCIS rejecting or denying a strong O-1 petition or issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE):
1. Not following USCIS Instructions
I know this may seem basic, but you’d be surprised how many times simply not reading the directions and making simple mistakes on the USCIS forms has led to the rejection of an O-1 petition, issuance of an RFE or denial of an otherwise strong petition.
Be sure you are using the correct edition or version of the form.
Read the directions and double check basic information. We’ve seen mistakes in the filing address more often than you would think. An error like that can result in the petition being rejected.
This is also true with the filing fees. Make sure you have included the proper filing fee and that the check is payable to the appropriate entity.
2. Inadequate or sloppy documentation
No matter how much critical acclaim, notoriety, and achievements in your field you have accrued, if you can’t present all of it in a comprehensive and organized way to USCIS it won’t matter.
A detailed and well-organized library of articles, reviews of your work, awards, exhibit or concert announcements, contracts and evidence of compensation stretching back over several years is an absolute necessity.
If you haven’t started a Google Drive or Dropbox folder for your O-1 evidence yet, start now! Separate your evidence into clearly named folders. When the time comes to forward your evidence of achievement to your immigration attorney preparing the petition, you will be glad you did.
The purpose of such thoughtful organization is to make it easy for USCIS to approve your O-1 petition.
In addition, many petitions are hampered by failing to get the required advisory opinions, sometimes called consultation letters or peer letters. These are letters written by those in your peer group or labor organization attesting to your excellence in your field.
If there are no peer groups or labor organizations in your particular field, your immigration attorney can advise you on how to find qualified signatories who meet the proper criteria.
3. Watch your language!
The USCIS officers reviewing your case most likely do not speak your language. If your articles, reviews and other documentation are in something other than English, obtain good translations of all the material.
If the officer can’t read it, the evidence is useless.
4. Not having a clearly defined itinerary
If you will be working for multiple employers during your O-1 stay you must include an itinerary with the start and end dates and locations of the various jobs.
The itinerary cannot be vague, there cannot be large gaps in the work schedule, it must include details of all of the engagements, and each job must be accompanied by a signed contract or deal memo from each employer.
USCIS does take into account the standards for each industry and will allow some flexibility for how detailed the itinerary must be. For instance a musician may have gaps of several weeks or months between performances in order to: (1) travel to different locations; (2) promote the album or tour; (3) practice with new musicians or performers; and/or (4) record their album in a studio. However, gaps of several months between jobs for a photographer would most likely be challenged by USCIS.
But generally speaking, it’s best to include a contract or letter for each event on the itinerary. An unclear or incomplete itinerary can risk the failure of a petition.
5. Trying to manage multiple employers without an agent
If you are planning to work for multiple employers in O-1 status, without using an immigration agent, then you will need to prepare and file a separate petition for each employer. Managing the various forms and fees for all of them can get complicated and expensive for both you and the employers.
An immigration agent can make this process as smooth and economical as possible. By representing the O-1 and their multiple employers, an immigration agent can consolidate the paperwork while also reducing the costs and filing fees.
Don’t let these basic mistakes ruin your chances of getting your O-1 petition approved. Contact The Pulcinella Agency today if you have any questions about your particular situation.