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Comment by snihalani | Hacker News Reader

Does anyone know non hacking ways of getting an O1? like, what is the spirit of the law? Is it an invention or a company where you have 10 employees? Or is everything just gray legality?

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Do not use "hack" because DHS chooses to take these words literally or figuratively as they see fit and have full discretion to do so. It's also administrative so you aren't entitled to free counsel. O-1 can be used for extraordinarily talented scientists and engineers who HAVE ALREADY innovated. Having a Github doesn't count. We're talking Shohei Ohtani level broadly speaking. If you built Github from scratch, you MIGHT have a case. It is dual intent, but whether you are able to actually obtain a green card entirely depends on your nation of origin. It's easy for everyone unless you're from China, India, the Phillipines, and Mexico, in which case, you may die of old age before it's your turn.

O1 is 'aliens of extraordinary ability'. There's a special category for arts, which helps movie/tv stars come and film in the US. Major league sports talent can qualify.

My understanding is it's intended for people who are top talent in their fields to come here and work for an indefinite time (up to 3 years initially, with 1 year extensions). It's not a visa intended for immigration, although the article says you may be able to change status to eb-1 with similar qualifications.

Personally, some of the things people suggest to do to check the boxes sounds iffy... but if USCIS is happy, I guess it's fine? As long as the evidence provided is truthful; even if I wouldn't find it compelling.

USCIS is more than happy to gloss over your application if you're coming from Europe. Or Canada. Or places like Singapore. Otherwise, well, they once asked to provide proof that the Archdiocese of San Antonio actually exists, even though it has existed for longer than America had immigration laws and can be found on Google. And no, I couldn't reply with a lmgtfy link, even though I really desperately wanted to. Since they have so much discretion and an institutional culture of suspicion that is so obviously racist that they literally kept some of the very outdated wording from the 1880s-1920s in the statutes and regs today, if they pick on you, a tax audit can feel like a walk in the park. Working in a public interest firm I was passed a file containing a 28 year old case that has yet to be resolved, leaving the client, who has been living in Queens all this time, without legal status even though he had entered the country legally as an infant and child of a US citizen, because a fire destroyed one set of his entry records and USPS sent the other copy to the wrong address, with no backup. And at the time of his birth his mother was legally speaking a US citizen but have yet to receive paperwork as she was serving in the army in Berlin, the only official record of his birth plus his current status plus the uncertainty of his entry into the country and all the shenanigans resulted in him getting removed, and having smuggle himself back in. Removed to Mexico that is, even though his mother is from Belize. I worked the case for 3 years and had to pass it off to the next guy. This is not unique, and entirely neither the fault of his mom or himself, but thems the breaks.

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