O-2 Visa to Accompany an O-1
Are you staff supporting an O-1 individual by assisting in an artistic or athletic event or performance? If so, you might qualify for an O-2 visa to temporarily visit the United States.
Types of Assistance
To receive an O-2 visa, if your O-1A principal works in athletics, your assistance must be an “integral part” of the O-1A principal’s activity. For an O-2 based on an O-1B principal who works in the arts, motion pictures, or television, your assistance must be “essential” to the completion of the O-1B’s production. If the O-1A principal intends to work in the fields of science, business, or education, O-2 visas are not available.
Consultation Letter
If you will be supporting an O-1A principal in athletics or an O-1B principal in the arts, you will need to get a consultation letter from an appropriate labor organization. If you will be supporting an O-1B principal in movies or TV, you must get a consultation letter from a labor organization and a management organization with expertise the relevant skill area. If you can demonstrate that the appropriate organization does not exist then a consultation letter is not required.
Evidence
You will need to demonstrate that you have critical skills and experience that can’t be readily performed by a US worker, and that these are essential to the O-1 principal’s successful performance. You will need to establish that you have substantial experience. If there is a specific movie or TV show that you are helping to produce, you must show that significant production has occurred outside the US and that your continuing participation is essential inside the US.
O-2 Petition
If you want to seek an O-2 visa, you will need a petitioner, which can either be an employer or an agent. You will need your own petition, separate from that of the O-1 individual. You must not plan to work separate and apart from the O-1 individual. Unlike the O-1 individual, you are not permitted to have “dual intent,” and you must show that you have no intention of abandoning your foreign residence. If you are the beneficiary of a labor certification for a green card, your O-2 will be denied or could be revoked. Your spouse and dependent children might qualify for O-3 visas.
More Information
- Possible USCIS Fees
- Base fee: $325
- Premium processing service fee: $2,500*
- *Fee increased October 2020
- Related Forms
- Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative
- Form I-907 Premium Processing Service
- Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
- O and P Classifications Supplement to Form I-129
- Steps
- Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
- I-797 Fee Receipt Notice
- I-797 Approval Notice
- Notify Consulate/Change Status/Extension of Stay
- Visa – Foreign worker must obtain a visa (except Canadians)
- Immigrant Intent
- No
- Do not simultaneously seek permanent residence (green card).
- You must demonstrate that you have no intent of abandoning your residence in a foreign country.
- Approx. USCIS Processing Time
- 2 Weeks
- Who Qualifies
- Businesses
- Employers and Employees
- Talented Individuals
- Period of Stay
- Initial petition: up to 3 years
- Unlimited Extensions
