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How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

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Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#61

Post by renewiltord »

ahussain wrote: post #8
renewiltord wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Equivalent is Green Card EB-1. But there’s no automatic path.

Most lawyers I've spoken to disagree with this. The O-1 and EB-1 have similar criteria as written, but the EB-1 is adjudicated to a much higher standard than the O-1.

They locked down on this in the last few years, but I had friends come in through the EB-1. One didn't even get picked in the H-1B lottery and so had to work in India and that gave him the foreign manager experience. This is ~2018.

But I agree, I didn't mean it has the same true requirements, just that it is the "corresponding" category. So yes, not "equivalent", "corresponding".

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#62

Post by drtournier »

apapapa wrote: post #60
drtournier wrote: post #48

Glad you made it OP, congrats! As an immigrant in the US I went through the "Extraordinary Ability" path and the process was a journey of pain and anxiety. Many roundabouts with a lawyer that promised me expertise in the process and it ended up with a NOID (Notice of Intention to Deny - something like that) from USCIS. My wife and I had to study the USCIS manual page by page and re-wrote almost all documentation from…

How long did the process take? I became a citizen without an attorney and from start to finish it was about 5 years... Different process used though (got married). Got a pile of paper about 2 inch high from all the forms I had to fill, mail that I sent and received, etc... Painful process.

Our case took around 14 months for the EB-1 from the first call to lawyer to the green card in our mailbox.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#63

Post by ahussain »

Agingcoder wrote: post #35

Unless I’ve misunderstood something, a phd holder who has published papers and worked in tech/banking/etc with a high salary can get that kind of visa ?

The high salary is benchmarked against other people doing the same job, in the same geographic area. So you would have to by at a high-tier tech/banking job.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#64

Post by bitxbitxbitcoin »

paxys wrote: post #52
qingcharles wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are wrong. Only from personal experience. I have an informal waiver from ICE right now, and I'm running a tech business, but I'm deportable and would ordinarily be in immigration jail except I'm in a sanctuary state.

Unless you know of millions of other people in the same situation as you I'm not sure what your anecdote proves?

A single example (what you are calling an anecdote) is all that’s needed to disprove your blanket statement - he provided it.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#65

Post by ahussain »

drtournier wrote: post #48

Glad you made it OP, congrats! As an immigrant in the US I went through the "Extraordinary Ability" path and the process was a journey of pain and anxiety. Many roundabouts with a lawyer that promised me expertise in the process and it ended up with a NOID (Notice of Intention to Deny - something like that) from USCIS. My wife and I had to study the USCIS manual page by page and re-wrote almost all documentation from…

OP here: Sorry that you had a bad experience, but glad that you made it through in the end! I would love to talk more about your experience if you're up for it. My email is in my bio.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#66

Post by wildzzz »

nsajko wrote: post #47
neuralengine wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Either conditions are typically sufficient, not necessarily both. Still, O-1s still have significant limitations. You can only work for the employer who sponsored you, for example. That means no additional freelancing.

> You can only work for the employer who sponsored you, for example. Nice, just like in the good old days with serfs and feudal lords.

This applies to many different visas. The point is to ensure you are actually employed and not just here to subsist off of social services or working for illegal enterprises (i.e. organized crime). You can change jobs but the new employer must agree to sponsor you. Visas are not permanent residencies or citizenship. If you just want to tour the country or take university classes, get a tourist or student visa. If you did all the work to prove your "extraordinary abilities", you should be putting them to use. And yes, perhaps freelance work should be eligible for employment status but I feel that can be accomplished through some creative structuring of a tiny contracting firm.

I can easily compare an O-1 visa to being accepted to a prestigious university. You proved you are smart and talented enough to be there but if you don't actually put in the work (get good grades/stay employed), you get kicked out so that someone else just as smart and talented can take your place.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#67

Post by gumby »

wil421 wrote: post #16
beaeglebeached wrote: post #9

I have a dumb question but how often do tourist visa overstayers get deported while running their own business under an incorporated ITIN? There's not even an I-9 check for non-employee income. There's got to be millions of people doing something like this or as 'independent contractors' considering how trivial it is and the obvious completely broken immigration system that demands these kinds of hacks.

Why would you go through the trouble? Most people I worked with in restaurants would just find someone’s name/ssn to use, put they had 10 children, and never ever file taxes. I think there was a shady underground way to match illegal immigrants with SSNs. Or they just networked heavily in their communities.

It's short-sighted nonsense that undocumented immigrants can't get SSNs. They should be issued SSNs and pay taxes as usual. They are working, and the IRS should be collecting taxes, nothing more, nothing less. If they aren't paying taxes, someone else has to make up the difference.

Likewise I want them to get licenses if they can pass the driving laws test, and should be able to get insurance. I don't want to be hit (or hit and run) by an uninsured driver.

They and their kids should be getting the same vaccines someone with a legal right to live here does, under the same terms. This is basic public health that helps everybody.

This is 100% orthogonal to whether ICE should be pursuing and deporting this or that person. They current system makes the rest of us less safe -- and that's not even getting into the massive impingement on the human rights of law abiding folks due to the misincented immigration (and other) laws and their enforcement).

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#68

Post by notpushkin »

bitxbitxbitcoin wrote: post #64
paxys wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you know of millions of other people in the same situation as you I'm not sure what your anecdote proves?

A single example (what you are calling an anecdote) is all that’s needed to disprove your blanket statement - he provided it.

I don't think it was a blanket statement. He's claiming that the millions of people GP is talking about are doing low-skill work – suggesting that there might be tech workers, too, but that there are less than millions of them.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#69

Post by bearjaws »

drtournier wrote: post #48

Glad you made it OP, congrats! As an immigrant in the US I went through the "Extraordinary Ability" path and the process was a journey of pain and anxiety. Many roundabouts with a lawyer that promised me expertise in the process and it ended up with a NOID (Notice of Intention to Deny - something like that) from USCIS. My wife and I had to study the USCIS manual page by page and re-wrote almost all documentation from…

Unfortunately immigration law is full of quack attorneys who abuse immigrants.

If you feel you were unfairly treated or scammed, you should report your lawyer to their local Bar organization.

Most will take it very seriously - especially in immigration, a repeat offender will often lose their license.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#70

Post by Solvency »

When I worked at a digital agency in 2007-2012 they hired MANY Brazilian art directors all who obtained O-1 visas. Literally just designers/creatives with portfolios online. I remember thinking how great they must be. Flash forward to 2024 I can't think of a single person in my network with one.

Did the criteria change? Is it easier in certain fields? Easier from certain origin countries?

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