4 ms·

Ok looks like people are not getting my comment. Being a judge in a hackathon is one of the criterion for O-1 visa. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/getting-o-1

Ok looks like people are not getting my comment. Being a judge in a hackathon is one of the criterion for O-1 visa. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/getting-o-1-visa-easier-than-you-think-how-obtain-judging-rswae/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/getting-o-1-visa-easier-than-...

jrmg 2y ago
It might work in practice, but it really does not seem to meet the spirit to me. It’s definitely not true to just say “being a judge in a hackathon is one of the criterion” directly. Actual regulation is: Evidence of the alien's participation on a panel, or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or in an allied field of specialization to that for which classification is sought;[1] is one of eight criterion (of which meeting three is required). Examples given by USCIS[2] are: Examples of relevant evidence may include, but are not limited to: Reviewer of abstracts or papers submitted for presentation at scholarly conferences in the respective field; Peer reviewer for scholarly publications; Member of doctoral dissertation committees; and Peer reviewer for government research funding programs. Which seems to indicate rather more prestige than “judging a hackathon” is the intent of the regulation. [1]: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/subpart-A/section-214.2 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/... [2]: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-2-part-m-chapter-4 https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-2-part-m-chapter-...
- paradite 2y ago
  Yes. This is my point I'm trying to make. Thank you for explaining it.
- uoaei 2y ago
  "phenomenon" is singular, "criteria" is plural
- appleaday1 2y ago
  do you know if there is one for Japan?
accurrent 2y ago
Ah now it makes sense why some of my colleagues were judging hackathons like crazy. TBH the number of O-1s being handed out is a joke. People 2 years out of college are getting O-1s for being able to call chatgpt APIs. I mean given the number of reviews I do on a regular basis for academic journals I guess I would qualify.
- appleaday1 2y ago
  rofl I didnt know this was a thing, why are people so intent on gaming the system? I was judging thing in person and even during covid I did it via Discord for some events (Discord hackathons were a different culture of their own and were great) even the physical ones I did had certain traditions depending on which universities you were judging at, I do peer reviews for the research lab that I help out with sometimes so maybe that counts, but the thing is I am just doing all this because I think its fun to do. Knowing that other people have potential nefarious reasons or trying to game things or even "cheat" the system was like one of the reasons why I quit Pokemon Go initially or certain games that put everyone on the same leaderboard.
appleaday1 2y ago
wait what I didnt know this I mentored and judged at various hackathons in the USA, do people really care about what type of visa they get? Is this a thing in 2025?

jrmg 2y ago

It might work in practice, but it really does not seem to meet the spirit to me. It’s definitely not true to just say “being a judge in a hackathon is one of the criterion” directly. Actual regulation is: Evidence of the alien's participation on a panel, or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or in an allied field of specialization to that for which classification is sought;[1] is one of eight criterion (of which meeting three is required). Examples given by USCIS[2] are: Examples of relevant evidence may include, but are not limited to: Reviewer of abstracts or papers submitted for presentation at scholarly conferences in the respective field; Peer reviewer for scholarly publications; Member of doctoral dissertation committees; and Peer reviewer for government research funding programs. Which seems to indicate rather more prestige than “judging a hackathon” is the intent of the regulation. [1]: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/subpart-A/section-214.2 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/... [2]: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-2-part-m-chapter-4 https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-2-part-m-chapter-...

paradite 2y ago
Yes. This is my point I'm trying to make. Thank you for explaining it.
uoaei 2y ago
"phenomenon" is singular, "criteria" is plural
appleaday1 2y ago
do you know if there is one for Japan?

accurrent 2y ago

Ah now it makes sense why some of my colleagues were judging hackathons like crazy. TBH the number of O-1s being handed out is a joke. People 2 years out of college are getting O-1s for being able to call chatgpt APIs. I mean given the number of reviews I do on a regular basis for academic journals I guess I would qualify.

appleaday1 2y ago
rofl I didnt know this was a thing, why are people so intent on gaming the system? I was judging thing in person and even during covid I did it via Discord for some events (Discord hackathons were a different culture of their own and were great) even the physical ones I did had certain traditions depending on which universities you were judging at, I do peer reviews for the research lab that I help out with sometimes so maybe that counts, but the thing is I am just doing all this because I think its fun to do. Knowing that other people have potential nefarious reasons or trying to game things or even "cheat" the system was like one of the reasons why I quit Pokemon Go initially or certain games that put everyone on the same leaderboard.

appleaday1 2y ago

wait what I didnt know this I mentored and judged at various hackathons in the USA, do people really care about what type of visa they get? Is this a thing in 2025?