USA Green Card Immigration Blog

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a guidance to performing arts associations and their members clarifying the regulatory requirements for agents applying as petitioners under O and P visa classification.

USCIS has taken this action because the inquiries received from the public and the service centers indicated a great deal of confusion about the circumstances under which an agent can file the petition on behalf of multiple employers.

The O-1 visa is applicable to foreign nationals who have an extraordinary ability in arts, athletics, business, education, or sciences. On the other hand the P-1 visa is applicable to internationally recognized athletes, entertainers, or circus artists for taking part in international events.

In its clarification, USCIS states that only a U.S. employer, a U.S. agent, or a foreign employer through a U.S. agent are eligible to file O and P petition. According to the O and P regulations, if the beneficiary employee works simultaneously for different employers during the same period, then each employer should file a petition separately. This petition should be filed with the Service Center that has jurisdiction on the area where the employee will work.

There are several conditions on the O and P petition filed by an agent. If it involves multiple employers, only a person or a company in business as an agent working as a representative for both the employers and the beneficiary can file the O and P petition. But there are some conditions, such as the supporting documentation should include the complete itinerary of the event, including the dates of each service, and names and addresses of the establishments as well the employers.

Though the regulations allow the employer to file a petition on behalf of multiple employers, the main requirement is that the agent be “in business” as an agent.