How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
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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
#2Appreciate sharing this specific immigration journey so far. The biggest positive factor seems to be that the poster was already in the US on an L-1B which also counted towards one out of four of the O-1 eligibility criteria (specialized knowledge).
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#3Thank you for sharing. It's useful to know that an O-1 is a theoretically viable route.
Some serious creativity in using fundraising under the category of "Nationally or internationally recognized awards"
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#4Does O-1 bypass the country by birth quota for green cards? Or is this just a visa not permanent residency?
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#5Does O-1 bypass the country by birth quota for green cards? Or is this just a visa not permanent residency?
The O-1 is a nonimmigrant visa[1], but my understanding is that it's also one of the few nonimmigrant visas that USCIS allows for dual-intent consideration.
Eventually, you have to go through additional steps to convert to an immigrant visa (e.g. be sponsored by your (own) company, or marrying an American, etc.).
[1] https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary...
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#6Does O-1 bypass the country by birth quota for green cards? Or is this just a visa not permanent residency?
Equivalent is Green Card EB-1. But there’s no automatic path.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#7Does O-1 bypass the country by birth quota for green cards? Or is this just a visa not permanent residency?
The O-1 is a nonimmigrant visa[1], but my understanding is that it's also one of the few nonimmigrant visas that USCIS allows for dual-intent consideration. Eventually, you have to go through additional steps to convert to an immigrant visa (e.g. be sponsored by your (own) company, or marrying an American, etc.). [1] https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary...
Right. The O-1, the "extraordinary ability" visa, is easily confused with the EB-1, sometimes called the "Einstein visa." The latter is for those seeking permanent residency, and the former is not. The EB-1 became notorious a few years back in some circles when it was pointed out that the first lady had gotten one for modeling, but like this article points out, the criteria to get one is not as insurmountable as it might seem from the official examples, which will suggest things like Olympic medals, Pulitzer prizes, etc. Being on magazine covers and making a lot of money makes for a pretty solid case to acquire one.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#8Does O-1 bypass the country by birth quota for green cards? Or is this just a visa not permanent residency?
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.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#9I 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.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#10Does O-1 bypass the country by birth quota for green cards? Or is this just a visa not permanent residency?
Makes no difference. It's a temporary status, not permanent residency.
It potentially helps you slightly for EB-1 (permanent residency for "extraordinary people") since it has similar requirements, and EB-1 has slightly better quotas than EB-2 (because fewer folks qualify ; EB-2 is for skilled workers like your typical tech employee).
If you're from India it's still a very long way out.