A Memo Clarifying Guidance on O Petition Validity Period has been published by USCIS
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently published a memo clarifying guidance on O petition validity period. On the basis of the specific period of time that is needed to perform or take part in a particular event, the validity period of the O-1 visa classification is asserted.
While assessing an O-1 petition, the “gap”, the period of time between the scheduled events, is used as a standard to verify whether the schedule corresponds to a single continuous event or separate events. The verification is to determine if the separate events require separate petitions.
There were certain cases where there was a considerable “gap” in between events. This “gap” made adjudicators arrive at the conclusion that a single petition was filed for separate events. The validity period of petitions in such cases will be same as the period of time that is required to complete the initial specific event. The continuous event that has been mentioned in the O-1 petition will not affect the validity period of the petition. A gap of a certain number of days in a schedule does not indicate a new event. According to the regulations, the term, “event”, refers to the tours and multiple appearances.
Owing to the statutory and regulatory background, the length of validity period may be flexible to the requirements of the petitioner. As per the statute and regulations, the validity period of an O-1 petition is not supposed to exceed 3 years. It is the duty of adjudicators to assess the completeness of the evidence. The evidence that has been submitted should be verified if they can be regarded as an “event.” Service Centers ought to approve a petition for the requested period of time once the validity period that has been requested for is confirmed through the submission of evidence.