Who Can Serve as Your O1 Visa Sponsor Agent

by Emily John Digital Marketing Service Provider

O1 visa commonly referred to as “artist visa” is a visa entitlement for those people who possess Extraordinary Ability in the field of arts, music, films, and television. The expression “extraordinary ability” sounds vague to many, there are certain guidelines and documentation required proving his/her extra skill set. The beneficiary requires to adhere to, to obtain O1 visa USA. The O1 visa is not a freelancer visa and it cannot be self-petitioned, an O1 visa sponsor agent is required for petitioning the same.

Who is O1 Visa Sponsor Agent

A sponsor can be an employer of the beneficiary, an individual or an organization, who is willing to work with the beneficiary and is ready to be associated with the applicant professionally. He can be directly or indirectly involved in the business pursuit of O1 visa beneficiary.

There are two types of O1 visa sponsor agent:

1. Direct Employer is the organization to whom the applicant will report and will provide services directly to them. He cannot en route his services to others and for the whole period of three years, he will only work for his employer.

2. An agent is a person or organization who will manage the beneficiary professional career and all the work will be routed through them. It is beneficial for the beneficiary and maximum try for agent sponsorship to be free to work with different employers instead of being bound with one.

Who is O1 visa USA Agent

Now here we need to understand that O1 visa USA Agent is quite different from the agent of lawyers that we require for easy processing of immigration or non-immigration visa.

In the O1 visa, the agent can be:

1. The employer of the beneficiary, who will act as an agent for the O1 applicant.

2. A representative who will provide services to both the beneficiary and the employer.

3. An entity established by the employer to act on behalf of the employer or the agent.

If your sponsor is your employer for O1 visa then, it is not essential to be from the US but in case of an agent, the entity needs to be from the US only. The O1 visa USA Agent can only petition for foreign personnel.

The agent requires to furnish the contractual agreement with the beneficiary and the employer citing the agreed wages and other provisions.

Before issuing the O1 visa, the details are cross verified and it is better to take help of an attorney to expedite the artist visa.