| This is dangerously reckless. VISA fraud will get you banned and deported. Possibly jailed. I wouldn't recommend any of that as an American who was once not a citizen and had multiple VISAs and renewals before becoming one. O1 is the wrong VISA for business people and especially someone young. It's easy to get if you have press - i.e. you are a celebrity, actor or singer. It's much easier to get an H1 if you have business contacts and sufficient education. I got mine at 24 off the back of a hard science degree from the UK. This writer also doesn't seem to understand the process. The bar isn't fixed. If they managed to get an O1 because the person looking at their application was wowed by a few mundane listed connections and achievements, the next time they likely won't be. It's incredibly personal and the person reviewing each case has essentially final say. It's not like the DMV where they are just checking boxes. They have enormous leeway. Two examples. I overstayed a VISA once before leaving the US. I went into an embassy in a foreign country where I was living and explained that it was a mistake and why I needed to re-enter. The agent took my passport (not US obviously) and told me to come back in a few hours. They gave me a 10 year VISA based on a single conversation despite the fact I had broken a rule. Secondly when I went for an interview with my American fiancee, the agent asked me if I liked a painting. I said yes and he said he'd painted it. We then all talked about art for 30 mins. Nothing else. No other questions. This was the interview when they are supposed to be working out if you are a real couple or just people trying to swing residency based on a fake marriage. We left and he rubber stamped it. So this person got lucky and possibly committed fraud. Don't do it. Be smart, be serious. I did it all without a lawyer (after my first VISA and renewal). It cost almost nothing except flights and things like medical charges. The only thing I had going for me is that I'm reasonably nice, my English is native (I'm British) and I had no criminal record of any kind whatsoever. With that it's plain sailing. |
I had to explain that to my wife one time when we drove across the land border from Canada. She was asleep, so I had to wake her up and get her to speak (briefly) to the agent. “Why the questions?” she asked me after we were through. “Because your passport says you’re an American citizen born in Texas; you have to sound like an American. For all he knows, I’m trying human traffic someone.”