How Canadians in Film and Television Can Legally Work in the U.S.A.
By: Attorney Hendrik Pretorius, 2008
Whatever your reasons may be for considering a move to the U.S.A., your extraordinary achievement in the film and/or
television industry may prove to be your ticket to make that idea a reality.
This opportunity comes to you in the form of an O-1 visa of which there are two
types. The first type, the O-1A visa is
applicable to those persons who have “extraordinary ability” in the fields of
science, art, education, business, or athletics. The second category is the O-1B visa which specifically applies to
those persons who have a record of extraordinary achievement in the motion
picture or television industry. For this article we will focus on a few of the
major O-1B visa requirements. Although we will not directly be discussing the
O-1A visa, many of the O-1B visa requirements are similar in nature.
So how does one prove that you have reached a demonstrated level of
prominence in your field enough to qualify for an O-1B visa? Well, the
regulations are structured in a manner that provides an
applicant two opportunities to qualify. The first, an extremely limited
opportunity, requires an applicant to have received recognition for his/her
work via a major nationally or internationally recognized award such as an
Academy award or an Emmy or its equivalent. The other, much more accessible
opportunity to qualify for this visa, requires an
applicant to satisfy at least three of six suggested criteria. Note that
although the regulations state that only three of these six need be proven, a well prepared petition will touch on as many of these six as
possible. So let’s briefly consider these six in turn:
The beneficiary of an O-1B visa petition must evidence, through a variety
of possible evidentiary forms that he/she has:
1.
Performed and will perform services
as a lead or starring participant in a production or event that has a
distinguished reputation;
2.
Received national or international
recognition for achievements (note that this does not have to rise to the level
of an Academy award to be persuasive);
3.
Performed or starred in a lead role
for an organization that has a distinguished reputation;
4.
A record of commercial or critically
acclaimed success as evidenced via standing in the field, ratings, reviews, or
through others forms of evidence;
5.
Received recognition for
achievements from organizations, critics, or other experts in the field via
testimonials; and
6.
Commanded or will command a high
salary for services in relation to others in the field.
Accordingly, it is clear that one of the keys to a successful O-1B visa
petition is to show that your degree of skill and recognition is above that
level ordinarily encountered in the field.
Hopefully this article was informative and served its intended purpose
of providing some basic background information relating to one of the
immigration options available to those in the film and television industry who wish to enter the U.S. to live and work. Please keep in
mind that the above mentioned requirements are only a
portion of what is required in the submission of a properly prepared O-1 visa
petition.
Attorney Hendrik
Pretorius is an immigration attorney with the Immigration Law Firm of Muston
& Jack, P.C., with offices in Los Angeles and San
Jose, California, U.S.A. Attorney Pretorius focuses on serving a broad range of
immigration needs, including the preparation of employment-based immigrant and
non-immigrant visa petitions for those involved in the art, film, and
television industries. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Hendrik
via e-mail at hp@mj-law.com or visit www.mj-law.com.