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Currently, the O-1 is popular among entrepreneurs. It is difficult, not because the requirements are too high or they are limited, but because it is very subjec

Currently, the O-1 is popular among entrepreneurs. It is difficult, not because the requirements are too high or they are limited, but because it is very subjective -- depending on the personnel going through the application you can get accepted or rejected for the same package. Especially with the crippled H-1B system (which has over 150k applicants for a pool of 60k visas), 12.5k O-1s going out is actually pretty promising. Because it was originally designed for performers/athletes/artists, it has the best-in-field requirements. However entrepreneurship doesn't really have such rigid rules. Get a more official understanding for samples of what could be useful here: http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/o-1a-extraordinary-ability-and-achievement/understanding-o-1a-requirements http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/o-1a-extraordinary-abili... Of course national level awards, etc are useful, but also academic work is highly valued (research papers, talks, judging panel, etc). Disclosure: I am working on filling out as many requirements of the O-1 as I possibly can right now so I can reunite with my team in the US.

nnd 12y ago
Exactly the angle I'm coming from. Would you mind to share which requirements you are trying to fulfil in particular?
- keerthiko 12y ago
  Disclaimer: I haven't applied yet, so only talking from the perspective of another would-be applicant having done an amount of research. Every professional opinion about the O-1 I have been given was "the more the merrier", so basically I'm trying to gather everything I have done in the last 6-7 years that could be relevant. Depend on the lawyer to help filter it. Everyone says the success of the O-1 app is heavily dependent on the skill of your lawyer. And they will cost a bit too. An unfortunate thing is I'm told articles about or awards won by my startup or projects do not count for much, unless I worked on them alone and it is clear in the article/award that it is to me rather than the project =/ Things I'm working on/looking at: - I have put efforts to have articles written about me in the local newspapers back home. - Reach out into my network to find people in the highest places (CEOs/cofounders/VCs of successful companies) who might be willing to endorse me for the "recommendation letters from experts in the field" - Dig out data about the academic papers I co-authored in undergrad, to determine how much they're referenced/cited to measure "impactful academic publications". Google Scholar has been helpful here. - Try to give talks about my field (health+technology, mobile development, entrepreneurship), although it's vague how applicable this is. So I'm only doing the ones where I don't have to pay to be given a speaker position (so no commercial expo type deals). - As far as awards, so far can only mention my full tuition scholarship for college, everything else is fairly small-time or won by our company's projects and not me individually. Hoping that claiming I had a critical role to play in that works. - Some easy checkboxes: letter from my employer (a cofounder) that I'm critical to the team. Articles published about our company to show that we're reputable, hence making me critical in a reputable company. - Our company is still picking up, but if we can raise funding, and get some additional traction on our product, those numbers will contribute to showing that I "have made a significant business-related contribution" by stating I had a critical role in building the product responsible for our revenue. The amount of money involved in moving a risky thing like the O-1 is the main thing keeping me from applying till we're a little more stable. I estimate it's approx 3-4 months of my runway (while I'm working from Asia) to go through this process, with no guarantee or even estimate of success :/

nnd 12y ago

Exactly the angle I'm coming from. Would you mind to share which requirements you are trying to fulfil in particular?

keerthiko 12y ago
Disclaimer: I haven't applied yet, so only talking from the perspective of another would-be applicant having done an amount of research. Every professional opinion about the O-1 I have been given was "the more the merrier", so basically I'm trying to gather everything I have done in the last 6-7 years that could be relevant. Depend on the lawyer to help filter it. Everyone says the success of the O-1 app is heavily dependent on the skill of your lawyer. And they will cost a bit too. An unfortunate thing is I'm told articles about or awards won by my startup or projects do not count for much, unless I worked on them alone and it is clear in the article/award that it is to me rather than the project =/ Things I'm working on/looking at: - I have put efforts to have articles written about me in the local newspapers back home. - Reach out into my network to find people in the highest places (CEOs/cofounders/VCs of successful companies) who might be willing to endorse me for the "recommendation letters from experts in the field" - Dig out data about the academic papers I co-authored in undergrad, to determine how much they're referenced/cited to measure "impactful academic publications". Google Scholar has been helpful here. - Try to give talks about my field (health+technology, mobile development, entrepreneurship), although it's vague how applicable this is. So I'm only doing the ones where I don't have to pay to be given a speaker position (so no commercial expo type deals). - As far as awards, so far can only mention my full tuition scholarship for college, everything else is fairly small-time or won by our company's projects and not me individually. Hoping that claiming I had a critical role to play in that works. - Some easy checkboxes: letter from my employer (a cofounder) that I'm critical to the team. Articles published about our company to show that we're reputable, hence making me critical in a reputable company. - Our company is still picking up, but if we can raise funding, and get some additional traction on our product, those numbers will contribute to showing that I "have made a significant business-related contribution" by stating I had a critical role in building the product responsible for our revenue. The amount of money involved in moving a risky thing like the O-1 is the main thing keeping me from applying till we're a little more stable. I estimate it's approx 3-4 months of my runway (while I'm working from Asia) to go through this process, with no guarantee or even estimate of success :/