When Good Petitions Go Bad: Five Common O-1 Visa Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

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.

Why hire an immigration agent for your O-1 Visa?

The process artists, entertainers, and athletes must undergo to obtain an O-1 visa can seem daunting.

And I won’t lie to you, it can be difficult. You do have to prove that you have achieved a high degree of stature in your field. It’s not for everyone.

But if you think an O-1 is within your reach, and you intend to work for several employers or engage in multiple events while in the United States, having an agent petitioner can be an essential way to overcome the challenges of filing multiple O-1 petitions for multiple jobs for the same validity period.

Here's a good example…

If you are a music photographer and plan to shoot live concert images for various bands, editorial day-in-the-life images of the musicians for online or print magazines, and studio portraits for a recording company during the course of three years, you will be working for several different employers and different events.

Each of these employers usually would need to file a separate O-1 petition. You can imagine how complex and expensive that can get.

By using an agent as the petitioner, the artist and their employers agree that the agent is authorized to act for the limited purpose of filing a single petition for all of these jobs (events/employers). The process becomes simplified.

Moreover, by using the agent as a petitioner, there is only one filing fee paid to USCIS and one consultation/advisory opinion required for all of these events and employers.

That’s a HUGE savings of time and money!

Agents for immigration perform a valuable service for artists, scientists, athletes and educators who are facing the prospect of working for multiple employers during their authorized stay in the USA.

Reach out to me if you have any questions about filing O and P nonimmigrant visas for you.

Top 5 Tips for Artists Considering O-1 Status

The three-year renewable O-1 visa is a great option for many accomplished artists to consider if they want to work in the United States.

However, gathering the information necessary to file the petition can be tedious. Especially if you wait till the last minute.

That’s why we recommend that O-1 artists start as soon as possible to compile a library of evidence which can be easily referenced when it comes time to file the petition.

If you have not yet achieved the status in your field to qualify for an O-1 petition, it’s still a great time to begin working toward that goal.

So here are the top 5 tips for any artist to follow when it comes to preparing for an O-1.

1. Don’t Burn Bridges

To apply for an O-1 visa you will need testimonial letters from people you worked for and worked with.

Needless to say, maintaining networks is important for any artist, but especially when applying for an O-1. You are going to need to call in favors. Staying on good terms with those you have worked with is essential.

I know sometimes things can get contentious when working on creative projects, but always strive to remain professional and keep in touch with co-workers and supervisors as well as the employer after the project is done.

2. Document Your Work As You Go Along

Save the work and as much information about each project as you can in Google Drive or Dropbox folders. Do it while you are working on the job or immediately after it is complete.

Who was the job for?

What were the specific things you did on the project?

What was the purpose and the outcome of the project?

Who worked with you on the project?

Time passes and memories fade. All of this information will be extremely valuable when it comes time to provide information for your visa.

Start doing this today.

My bodybuilding documentary was rediscovered and added many more views in the past few years.

3. Follow Up

Track what happens with your work over time.

How is the project received by the media, by peers, by critics and by the public?

What is the initial reaction to the project and what is the reaction over time? I’ve had documentary videos I’ve made do well for a while, lie dormant and then suddenly spring back to life with views as it gets rediscovered and shared. Check back into old projects, see how the public is responding to your past work as well as your current work.

You are looking for documentation of awards, good reviews, articles and other publicity that shows that your work is getting noticed, and ideally, having a positive influence on the industry as a whole.

Save it all in your Dropbox folders.

4. Be Innovative

Find alternate ways to showcase your art. Don’t do what everyone else is doing.

Have your work exhibited in group exhibitions and at special events. This can include physical exhibitions in museums and at galleries, and also at online exhibitions/galleries.

License your work.

Collaborate with other artists.

Write scholarly or artistic criticisms of art that is published in industry media and online.

5. Be Proactive – Onscreen and Off

Find as many ways as you can to get your art and your name out there. There is a lot of competition for eyeballs on social media so posting to the various platforms may not be enough.

Join artist-community websites and upload your work there.

Create tutorials for aspiring artists.

But also find IRL (in real life) ways to make connections. Teach classes, give lectures and talks, judge competitions.

Don’t underestimate good, old-fashioned, hand shaking, eye contact ways of exposing people to your work and your talent.

These are just some of the ways in which you can begin TODAY to prepare for your O-1 visa. Remember, the better you are prepared, the better your O-1 petition will go, either now or in the future.

Contact us if you have any questions.