Comment by shagie

2 days ago

It's the difference in difficulty for the criteria.

https://www.pathlawgroup.com/o1b-visa-requirements/

    For all other candidates, at least three of the following criteria must be met in order to qualify for the O1B visa:
    Having been or will be performing a lead or starring role in productions or events which have a distinguished national or international reputation (as evidenced by critical reviews, advertisements, press releases, publications contracts, or endorsements)
    Critical reviews or other published material in professional or major trade publications or in the major media by or about the applicant which show that the applicant has achieved national or international recognition or achievements
    Evidence of performance in a lead, starring or critical role for organizations or establishments with distinguished reputations
    Evidence of a record of major commercial or critically acclaimed successes in the performing arts, as shown by box office receipts or record, cassette, compact disk, or video sales
    Evidence of significant recognition for achievements from organizations, government agencies, or other recognized experts in the field
    Evidence of having commanded a high salary or other significantly high remuneration for services in relation to others
    Other comparable evidence (This category is not available for those in the motion picture industry)

For traditional arts, you've gotta be good.

For an influencer... some number of anonymous followers?

There are certainly some that would qualify... but it they should be held to the same standards as others.

22 comments

shagie

Reply
randycupertino  2 days ago

There's a boy band, Boy Throb who specifically leveraged visa application in their recent content, and their immigration attorney advised the visa would be approved when they got 1,000,000 followers. They filmed themselves singing and dancing outside the US Immigration office to help one of their members applications.

Their visa application content is rather silly/absurd:

https://www.tiktok.com/@boy.throb/video/7572273147743980831

https://www.tiktok.com/@boy.throb/video/7567806911580622110

https://www.tiktok.com/@boy.throb/video/7584876341267270943

barbazoo  2 days ago

For a Youtube influencer I can see them meet 3 of the criteria by showing their influence on others, money earned, Youtube awards for viewership (by Google!). Maybe some platforms lend themselves more to being used for this sort of evidence than others.

- Evidence of a record of major commercial or critically acclaimed successes in the performing arts, as shown by box office receipts or record, cassette, compact disk, or video sales

- Evidence of significant recognition for achievements from organizations, government agencies, or other recognized experts in the field

- Evidence of having commanded a high salary or other significantly high remuneration for services in relation to others

  • aiauthoritydev  2 days ago

    - Youtube awards do not count towards the awards criteria. The award has to be for being highly selective not linked to mere subscribers.

cm2187  2 days ago

Well if your audience is larger than an average CNN show, and you earn north of a million a year, don't you qualify?

jama211  2 days ago

A lot of youtube influencers are damn good at entertainment though, and a lot of “traditional media” entertainers are truely horrid. Ever seen a reality tv show? lol

  • apparent  2 days ago

    ...or anything with a laugh track? I tried some show a couple years back and was shocked to find that those still exist. I discovered it's a great signal of a show that I would not want to watch.

    • jama211  15 hours ago

      Yeah I mean, if people are into it that’s cool, good for them, but it’s weird to single out traditional media as somehow inherently better.

erichocean  2 days ago

Seeing as how it's is trivial to buy followers, that metric should be completely abandoned, it's not legitimate.

  • smithoc  2 days ago

    It's maybe slightly less trivial to do, but still incredibly common to buy awards, recognition, press releases, positive reviews and commentary in publications.

    You might be shocked to find out how much the performers being written about in magazines or discussed on TV shows is a direct line to the production company promoting them. Similar for awards.

    • FireBeyond  1 day ago

      > You might be shocked to find out how much the performers being written about in magazines or discussed on TV shows is a direct line to the production company promoting them. Similar for awards.

      I mean Payola as a term literally came from bribing DJs on radio stations to play your / your artist's music.

  • yencabulator  2 days ago

    Money is an option, regardless. EB-5 is about $1M invested into your own business, 10 people hired.

gowld  2 days ago

> For traditional arts, you've gotta be good.

> > advertisements, press releases, publications contracts, or endorsements

> > box office receipts or record, cassette, compact disk, or video sales

> > Evidence of having commanded a high salary or other significantly high remuneration for services in relation to others

I fail to see the distinction you are trying to draw. Commercial value and celebrity has always been one of the metrics of "achievement".

The overall gist is that the visa application should be someone who is not easily replaced by an existing local worker that can generate similar value.

  • shagie  2 days ago

    The specifics of the law are:

    8 CFR 214.2(o)(3) ( https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/part-214/section-214.2#... )

        Extraordinary ability in the field of arts   means distinction. Distinction means a high level of achievement in the field of arts evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition substantially above that ordinarily encountered to the extent that a person described as prominent is renowned, leading, or well-known in the field of arts.

    Extraordinary ability in the field of science, education, business, or athletics   means a level of expertise indicating that the person is one of the small percentage who have arisen to the very top of the field of endeavor.

    Extraordinary achievement   with respect to motion picture and television productions, as commonly defined in the industry, means a very high level of accomplishment in the motion picture or television industry evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition significantly above that ordinarily encountered to the extent that the person is recognized as outstanding, notable, or leading in the motion picture or television field.

    The key is that this is extraordinary. About 20,000 O1B visas across all fields ( https://www.passright.com/how-many-o-1-visas-are-issued-each... )

    This isn't a local worker thing (the H visas) but rather bringing the best and brightest from across the world to the United States.

    https://www.hio.harvard.edu/o-1-visa-individuals-extraordina...

    > The O-1 visa is a temporary work visa designated for individuals 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.

    > O-1 Extraordinary Ability visa status is reserved for those who are among the small percentage of experts who have risen to the top of their field. The approval of an O-1 petition by the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) decides whether an individual qualifies for O-1 classification. This classification requires a substantial amount of evidence. The O-1 is a very complicated visa category subject to high levels of scrutiny by the U.S. government. Due to the complexity, the O-1 visa is used very infrequently.