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Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating U.S. O-1 visa requests

theguardian.com

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Re: Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating U.S. O-1 visa requests

#191

Post by t-3 »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #180
Jare wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the reason for this to be a visa is because their fields' activities were in-person (acting in movies/plays/shows, academic life & research, sports training & leagues, etc). A streamer / OF worker is not like that as far as I know (but e-sports is). So this is purely to bring people with money and/or influence, nothing exceptional except the number of 0's.

> I thought the reason for this to be a visa is because their fields' activities were in-person (acting in movies/plays/shows, academic life & research, sports training & leagues, etc). A streamer / OF worker is not like that as far as I know An OnlyFans worker may make the bulk of her money by meeting fans in person for dates. That can't be done over the internet.

She's not really an "OnlyFans worker" in that case. OnlyFans is merely an advertising venue for an escort or prostitution service.

Re: Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating U.S. O-1 visa requests

#192

Post by gjm11 »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #179
XorNot wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's wrong with an OnlyFans contributor? It's a self-employed job that services a demand within the economy and pays taxes. It's pretty close to the ideal job an immigrant can have since the product is already globalized but the revenue is not - i.e. an OnlyFans influencer with an American audience who moves to America is now bringing that income back into the economy via taxes and spending, or if they have an inte…

Sex work (OF or otherwise) is unsavory, that's what. You can't stop it but there's zero reason we should be going out of our way to grant visas to sex workers.

> there's zero reason

The comment you are replying to articulated, I think rather clearly, one reason why maybe we should.

I think what you actually mean is that the reasons not to ("sex work is unsavory") outweigh the reasons to ("sex work is going to happen anyway and if some of the people doing it move to the US then they will spend their money and pay their taxes in the US and contribute to the economy there").

Maybe you're right, maybe you're not, but I don't think you should say "there's zero reason" when in fact there obviously are reasons and you just think other countervailing reasons matter more.

Re: Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating U.S. O-1 visa requests

#194

Post by lazide »

t-3 wrote: post #191
thaumasiotes wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I thought the reason for this to be a visa is because their fields' activities were in-person (acting in movies/plays/shows, academic life & research, sports training & leagues, etc). A streamer / OF worker is not like that as far as I know An OnlyFans worker may make the bulk of her money by meeting fans in person for dates. That can't be done over the internet.

She's not really an "OnlyFans worker" in that case. OnlyFans is merely an advertising venue for an escort or prostitution service.

Wait until you hear about porn stars!

Re: Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating U.S. O-1 visa requests

#195

Post by bigwheels »

jitbit wrote: post #176

The title is misleading. It says “dominating” however no sources or percentages are provided. And later in the article it only says “increasingly applying”, with just two examples. I do have a friend (very popular drummer-YouTuber who makes covers, has millions of subs) who did get an O visa because he actually is a, kinda, celebrity, so I guess this is indeed happening occasionally. But nothing is being “dominated”…

To be clear: TFA is a thinly veiled legal services advertisement ("submarine" in HN parlance), so "dominated" is being used as a hype-generation / reality distortion term.

That said, the reality of today is so-called influencers and OF sex workers are now becoming a relevant fraction of applicants compared to the past where they represented 0%. Is it possible fixating on the word "dominating" a bit overly pedantic?

There is already a lot going on here without pedantry.

Re: Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating U.S. O-1 visa requests

#196

Post by t-3 »

volkk wrote: post #116
hnlmorg wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If what you’re just concerned about people “baring themselves on camera” then they can continue to do that without emigrating to America and it would still affect your culture. The internet is global after all. Also, it’s going to take more than a few thousand immigrants a year to affect the culture of a country as populous as America.

i mean you said it yourself, the internet is global. those few thousand can have impressions of hundreds of millions. whether they do their cam shows abroad or local matters little. it's the inherent incentivization approved by a government that leads to deeper cultural erosion. if you're in a poor country with no access to education, and your only way into the US is porn, then that's what will ultimately win, rather…

Sex sells and everybody knows that. Why should the government use antiquated-at-best moral codes to discriminate against people who will increase the global influence of the country? Cultural exportation and exploitation have been key to US soft power for nearly a century.

Re: Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating U.S. O-1 visa requests

#197

Post by bluescrn »

XorNot wrote: post #164
volkk wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At what point do we ever ask ourselves -- "what kind of culture do we want to create for the future of our country?" I don't think a pro soccer player is comparable to an onlyfans contributor. I would much prefer my future kids to be inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo than someone baring themselves on camera.

What's wrong with an OnlyFans contributor? It's a self-employed job that services a demand within the economy and pays taxes. It's pretty close to the ideal job an immigrant can have since the product is already globalized but the revenue is not - i.e. an OnlyFans influencer with an American audience who moves to America is now bringing that income back into the economy via taxes and spending, or if they have an inte…

Extracting money from horny young men with an illusion of intimacy/friendship just doesn't seem ethical. Or good for society as a whole.

Especially when you've got streamers using sites like Twitch, aimed at younger gamers, promoting their OnlyFans porn.

The regular porn industry is bad enough (https://traffickinghub.com/), but at least the content is non-interactive, there's no pretence of friendship/connection.

Re: Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating U.S. O-1 visa requests

#198

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

smithoc wrote: post #89
erichocean wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

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.

Shouldn't be shocked, really. This is exactly what people pay PR companies for.

Re: Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating U.S. O-1 visa requests

#199

Post by majani »

volkk wrote: post #53
superfrank wrote: post #10

It's funny, early on it says > The O-1 category includes the O-1A, which is designated for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business or athletics and the O-1B, reserved for those with “extraordinary ability or achievement”. Then later it says > The O-1B visa, once reserved for Hollywood titans and superstar musicians, has evolved over the years. I understand those two aren't necessar…

At what point do we ever ask ourselves -- "what kind of culture do we want to create for the future of our country?" I don't think a pro soccer player is comparable to an onlyfans contributor. I would much prefer my future kids to be inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo than someone baring themselves on camera.

The more I hear about culture, the more I think it seems like the new age mysticism of the right

Re: Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating U.S. O-1 visa requests

#200

Post by NickC25 »

lo_zamoyski wrote: post #73
areoform wrote: post #9

Such articles are interesting because they're tacit disapproval, but I would argue that this use of the O-1 is the most American way to use it. There's a reason why Hollywood became the Earth's center of cultural gravity post-WW2, https://goldenglobes.com/articles/exiles-and-emigres-hollywo... You may argue that these people aren't of such import, but I would beg to differ. This is the future of culture. These people…

The argument from cinema is flaky and a moral critique of Hollywood's influence is unavoidable. But we're talking about porn here, not cinema. This is decadence and depravity. How can you confuse cinema with the construction of an international whoredom? The numbers are also incommensurate. And TikTok is the antithesis of culture. It's consumerist rubbish that encourages a vapid, thoughtless, and illiterate consumpti…

>And TikTok is the antithesis of culture. It's consumerist rubbish that encourages a vapid, thoughtless, and illiterate consumption of shallow material. The article even mentions the monetary motivations of those posting. Any gimmick will do just to make a buck.

My brother, you've just described modern American culture perfectly.

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