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Original Date Announced
September 17, 2020USCIS issues PA-2020-24, updating Policy Manual guidance on the O visa classification. The update adds guidance on O -1 status eligibility, especially evidentiary requirements. Under the revision to the Policy Manual, a petitioner using comparable evidence must still present three categories of evidence and show why each category is comparable to the regulatory criterion it is intended to replace. [ID #1062]
USCIS policy alert updating guidance on O visas Go to article on uscis.govEffective Date
September 17, 2020Biden Administration Action: Modified
March 3, 20232023.03.03 Evaluating Eligibility for O-1B Visa Classification
On March 3, 2023, USCIS updated its Policy Manual with guidance clarifying how USCIS evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for O-1B nonimmigrants of extraordinary ability in the arts and nonimmigrants of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry. The guidance is designed to improve predictability and transparency in adjudication of O-1B applications.
The policy update includes an appendix describing examples of evidence that may satisfy the O-1B evidentiary criteria. It also addresses considerations relevant to such evidence, such as noting that “comparable evidence” that is not specifically described in the O-1B criteria may be favorably considered “if the petitioner shows that a criterion is not easily applicable to the beneficiary’s job or profession,” and that a “detailed, specific, and credible” statement alone may suffice to show that a particular criterion applies.
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Modified
October 2, 20242024.10.02 Extraordinary Ability Criteria Clarification
On October 2, 2024, USCIS issued new guidance in its Policy Manual to clarify how it evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for classification as a person of extraordinary ability. The changes (1) confirm that USCIS considers a person's receipt of team awards under the criteria for "lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor"; (2) clarifies that USCIS considers past memberships under the membership criterion; (3) removes language suggesting published material must demonstrate the value of the applicant's work to meet the publications criterion; and (4) explains that the exhibition criterion expressly relates to artistic exhibitions, such that USCIS will only consider non-artistic exhibitions "as part of a properly supported claim of comparable evidence."
View DocumentCurrent Status
Partially in effectMost Recent Action
October 2, 2024 Action: Modified 2024.10.02 Extraordinary Ability Criteria ClarificationMarch 3, 2023Acted on by Biden Administration
October 2, 2024Acted on by Biden Administration
Original Trump Policy Status
Status: Final/ActualTrump Administration Action: Agency DirectiveSubject Matter: Non-Immigrant Visas: Employment-BasedAgencies Affected: USCIS