[shas3]

Applying for an O1 as a researcher is an onerous process with a poor success rate. Some companies that require PhDs with highly specialized skills are resorting to this to bypass the H1B quota, with mixed success (based on 3 anecdotes).

[throwaway29]

Also, it doesn't help that the O1 visa mentions Nobel Prize and Oscars in its description. Only a handful of non-Americans in the world would qualify in any given year going by these qualifications.

[kwisatzh]

Well, if you believe you are qualified and have graduated from a top non-US univ with a PhD and have done research, O1 isn't as hard as it sounds. I'm from India and spent a few years in Europe at a lab post-PhD and came back on an O1. Many of my colleagues form the EU lab have made their way to Silicon Valley via O1. It is difficult, but you don't need a Nobel/Fields/Turing to get that visa.

[kwisatzh]

Well, pretty much most people I know have had successes with O1 -- myself included. I work at a SV startup and while the process is onerous, if one is qualified, O1 is quicker to get and has fewer constraints attached to it. OP of this post was bemoaning that while he/she, a PhD couldn't get in the country, others less qualified than him/her could get in via H1B gaming. I merely suggested an alternative. If the OP indeed thinks he/she is more qualified, than the OP could apply via the O1 route.