USCIS seeks your input on the draft memoranda listed below. These memoranda are drafts of proposed or revised guidance to USCIS Field Offices and Service Centers. They are not intended as guidance for the general public, nor are they intended to create binding legal requirements on the public. Until issued in final form, the draft memoranda do not constitute agency policy in any way or for any purpose.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued guidance on October 7, 2009 to clarify for performing arts associations and their members the regulatory requirements for agents who file as petitioners for the O and P visa classification.
O and P visas apply to non-immigrants with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, or in the motion picture and television field. O and P petitions may only be filed by a U.S. employer, a U.S. agent, or a foreign employer through a U.S. agent.
We won an O1 Visa for the applicant who is known world wide for his expertise is in the area of solid organ transplant pathology. He was working as a surgeon at a prestigious institute. We offered evidence to show that he is part of the small percentage in his field that have achieved the highest level of success and thus is known throughout the world as one of the best surgeons in his specialty. We submitted opinion letters from various world-renowned experts describing the innovative and pioneering results of this applicant's work.
We obtained an O1 for an applicant who achieved a Master in Bonsai technique. He had apprenticed under one of the premier experts in Japan. We offered letters from field experts praising the applicant's work and noting his extraordinary artistic abilities. We also provided documentation of the applicant's participation as a trade show "featured artist" which is an honor only bestowed on the very best in the field.
We first obtained an O1 for this applicant by identifying his talents and expertise to be a cut-above his colleagues with similar educational and work experience. This applicant received a prestigious international award which set him apart from other research scientists in his field. He was noted for ground-breaking work in drug addiction research. We obtained recommendation letters from world experts and they noted that this applicant was one of the few researchers in the field who had achieved the highest level of success and had become