Team support – O-2 visa
O-1 visa holders are allowed to travel to the United States with a working team. Examples are the trainers and other support staff of a professional athlete or the production team of a director of a movie or television show. Additionally, these people are eligible for an O-2 visa, which allows them to temporarily work in the United States.
Despite the fact that the O-1 and O-2 applications are related, the USCIS requires O-2 applicants to submit a unique and separate petition (I-129) from the O-1 application.
The petition must provide proof that the O-2 applicant possesses crucial abilities and expertise that are crucial to the O-1 beneficiary’s job. Additionally, it must detail the O-2 applicant’s extensive background working with the O-1 recipient. Additionally, the petition must state that the O-2’s expertise and experience with the O-1 holder cannot be substituted by any American employee, necessitating the entry of a second foreign national.
The many categories of O-2 beneficiaries each have distinct eligibility requirements:
O-2 applicants who provide help to those with O-1A or O-1B visas must ensure that their aid is a “integral” component of the artwork or performance.
Film or television producers who are O-2 applicants must state in their petition that the film or production they will shoot in the United States has already begun in their home country and that their continuous participation is still required for the production to properly conclude.
Similar to O-1 visa applicants, O-2 applicants must provide a peer consultation document with their petition. It must originate from a legitimate labor union. If the petitioner can show that there is no labor group that is currently in existence that can draft the consultation, the USCIS will rely on the rest of the documents.
An O-2 visa can be extended using the same procedure as an O-1 visa.
O-3 for immediate relatives
Applicants for an O-3 visa may be family members of O-1 or O-2 visa holders. Only the O-1 holder’s spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 are eligible to apply under this category, according to the USCIS. O-3 visa holders may study part- or full-time but are not permitted to look for employment or perform paid job in the United States.