Since January 2020, our office has had 86 O-1 cases approved with almost no Requests for Evidence. We continue to receive approvals in very quick timeframes. In fact, just these past few months, we had several O-1 approvals for years, including one for a Mexican Knitwear Fashion Designer, a South African Music Composer for Film, and Japanese video editor, approved in less than 10 days, even without using premium processing.
These all were agent cases, which are frequently subject to much higher level of scrutiny than cases with a full-time employer as a sponsor. All three of them used an agent provided by our office. The agent clause in the O-1 regulations allows artists and others who are traditionally self-employed to work under the auspices of a US agent. This allows highly accomplished designers and artists to utilize their skills and talents to the full. The recent agent cases which were approved in record time are:
- Carolina Ocejo: Carolina is a Knitwear fashion designer working for the famed Phillip Lim. As noted above, Carolina had an agent case and fewer contracts than usually advisable for her type of case. Still, we worked alongside her in every step of her application to build a strong case for her O-1 3-year visa renewal; we received her approval in 07 days on 09/17/2020.
- Markus Wormstorm: Markus Wormstorm is an accomplished music composer from South Africa with 20 years of experience in the music industry, creating songs and jingles for some of the world’s largest companies, including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Ford, Lexus, and Amazon. We were able to organize Markus’ extensive list of projects and accomplishments in a well-structured case that earned him his first O-1 in 10 days. Markus’ projects can be seen at www.honeymoonstudios.co.za/
- Japanese Videographer/Video Editor whose clients include Clarins, Vogue, Jeep, and Audemars Piguet, had his O-1 approved in 6 days.
Additionally, two O-1 cases for change of status for Master’s degree students were approved in record time also without using Premium Processing:
Na Ren’s design
- Na Ren:Chinese fashion designer, Na Ren, had her case approved in 9 days. Na Ren holds a Master’s degree in Fashion Design from Fashion Institute of Technology (“FIT”), and has worked with brands such as Victoria’s Secret, DVF, and Tommy.
- Kai Ming Yang: Taiwanese furniture and industrial designer, Kai Ming Yang, recently graduated with a master’s degree in Design from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He successfully obtained his O-1 visa using one of our agents. (Please see our agent website, www.artistsandentrepreneurs.com for more information).
Kai Ming Yang
For one year extensions, our track record is similarly outstanding. For instance, Moroccan architect, Meriem Sakrouhi had her extension approved in 22 days.
Despite the effects of Covid-19 and current changes recently underway at the USCIS, our approval rate continues to be stellar, the fruit of our dedication, attention to detail, and expertise we put toward all our cases. We work together with our clients to build complete and strong cases that not only help enhance their chances of getting approved but can also speed up the receipt of a response. Our multi-lingual staff can competently assist clients in Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Portuguese.
See our approvals chart for 2020 below:
| Country | Profession | Date Filed | Date Case Approved | RFE? * | PP? ** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Graphic Designer | 12/30/19 | 1/8/20 | No | Yes |
| Japan | Interior Designer | 4/15/19 | 1/10/20 | Yes | No |
| Norway | Graphic Designer | 11/26/19 | 1/14/20 | No | No |
| Japan | Hair Stylist | 12/16/19 | 1/16/20 | No | No |
| Korea | Landscape Architectural Designer | 12/20/19 | 1/27/20 | No | Yes |
| Italy | Fashion PR Specialist | 1/17/20 | 1/27/20 | no | yes |
| Japan | Graphic Designer/Illustrator | 1/11/19 | 1/30/20 | Yes | yes |
| India | Poet/Writer | 11/14/19 | 1/31/20 | no | no |
| Canada | Brow/Lash Artist | 7/22/19 | 2/6/20 | yes | yes |
| New Zealand | Fashion Stylist/ Consultant | 8/27/19 | 2/7/20 | no | no |
| Japan | Video Media Server Manager / Specialist | 10/18/19 | 2/11/20 | no | yes |
| Japan | Photographer | 2/10/20 | 2/24/20 | no | yes |
| Lebanon | Entrepreneur | 2/18/20 | 2/28/20 | no | yes |
| China | Art Critic/ Gallerist | 3/3/20 | 3/6/20 | no | yes |
| Japan | PR Specialist | 11/29/19 | 3/17/20 | no | yes |
| Japan | DJ | 2/24/20 | 3/16/20 | no | No |
| Japan | DJ | 11/25/19 | 3/20/20 | no | no |
| France | Pastry chef and manager | 3/16/20 | 3/24/20 | no | yes |
| Japan | Hair Stylist | 1/10/20 | 3/31/20 | no | no |
| Japan | Hair Stylist | 1/8/20 | 3/31/20 | no | no |
| Taiwan | Visual Designer | 9/25/19 | 3/26/20 | no | no |
| China | Architectural Designer | 10/3/19 | 4/13/20 | no | no |
| Lebanon | Engineering Manager | 3/23/20 | 4/23/20 | no | no |
| Italy | Dancer | 2/20/20 | 5/4/20 | no | no |
| Taiwan | Photographer | 1/17/20 | 4/30/20 | no | no |
| Japan | creative director | 4/6/20 | 4/28/20 | no | no |
| Korea | Architect | 4/16/20 | 5/5/20 | no | no |
| Thailand | Set Designer | 3/5/20 | 5/6/20 | no | no |
| Spain | Photo Director/Videographer | 4/22/20 | 5/6/20 | no | no |
| Japan | Dancer, choreographer | 4/2/20 | 5/12/20 | no | no |
| Costa Rica | Wedding photographer and studio manager | 4/14/20 | 5/13/20 | no | no |
| China | Chinese Arts Researcher/Translator | 3/23/20 | 5/7/20 | no | no |
| China | Illustrator | 8/26/19 | 5/12/20 | no | no |
| Japan | Music Manager | 5/7/20 | 6/3/20 | no | no |
| Japan | Ballet Dancer | 2/13/20 | 5/18/20 | Yes | Yes |
| Armenia | Professor | 4/30/20 | 5/12/20 | no | no |
| Japan | DJ | 9/25/19 | 6/1/20 | Yes | Yes |
| Taiwan | photographer | 1/28/20 | 5/28/20 | Yes | no |
| Japan | interior designer | 4/30/20 | 6/1/20 | no | no |
| Japan | Art Director | 5/14/20 | 6/3/20 | No | No |
| China | Photographer | 11/15/19 | 6/8/20 | Yes | No |
| China | Painter | 10/7/19 | 6/8/20 | No | No |
| Japan | Ballet Dancer | 5/15/20 | 6/15/20 | No | No |
| Australia | Dancer | 5/6/20 | 6/16/20 | No | No |
| Japan | Fashion Designer | 6/12/20 | 6/24/20 | No | No |
| Korea | Graphic Designer | 6/10/20 | 6/29/20 | Yes | No |
| UK | Dancer | 6/5/20 | 7/8/20 | No | No |
| Japan | Graphic Designer | 6/11/20 | 7/8/20 | No | No |
| Japan | DJ | 6/24/20 | 7/13/20 | No | No |
| Mexico | Costume Designer | 6/5/20 | 6/24/20 | No | No |
| Italy | Writer/Journalist | 6/18/20 | 6/21/20 | No | No |
| Canada | Lash/Cosmetic Tattoo Artist | 7/13/20 | 24/07/2020 | No | Yes |
| Korea | Videographer/photographer | 6/9/20 | 6/24/20 | No | No |
| Singapore | Curator | 4/2/20 | 7/27/20 | No | No |
| Belgium | Drag Queen | 7/22/20 | 8/5/20 | No | Yes |
| Japan | Dancer | 7/16/20 | 8/5/20 | No | No |
| Japan | Hair Stylist | 8/3/20 | 8/6/20 | no | no |
| Japan | Videographer/ Video Editor | 06/18/2020 | 08/20/2020 | No | No |
| Singapore | Curator | 07/01/2020 | 08/10/2020 | No | No |
| Japan | Fashion/Graphic Designer | 08/18/2020 | 08/24/2020 | No | No |
| Japan | Interior Designer | 03/16/2020 | 08/24/2020 | No | No |
| Greece | Hip-Hop Dancer | 03/24/2020 | 09/01/2020 | Yes | No |
| Japan | Creative Director | 05/29/2020 | 09/02/2020 | Yes | Yes |
| India | Journalist | 07/15/2020 | 08/31/2020 | No | No |
| Indonesia | Photographer | 08/04/2020 | 08/27/2020 | No | No |
| India | Dancer | 06/18/2020 | 09/04/2020 | No | No |
| Japan | Art Director/Graphic Desingner | 08/07/2020 | 09/03/2020 | No | Yes |
| Armenia | Professor | 08/18/2020 | 09/08/2020 | No | No |
| China | Landscape Architectural Designer | 08/28/2020 | 08/31/2020 | No | No |
| Mexico | Knitwear Designer | 09/11/2020 | 09/21/2020 | No | No |
| UK | Coach | 09/16/2020 | 09/23/2020 | No | Yes |
| Cyprus | Architecture/Urban Designer | 08/25/2020 | 09/25/2020 | No | No |
| Japan | Videographer/Video Editor | 09/10/2020 | 09/16/2020 | No | No |
| Taiwan | Fashion Designer | 09/16/2020 | 09/25/2020 | No | Yes |
| Japan | Graphic Designer/Illustrator | 09/08/2020 | 09/15/2020 | No | No |
| South Africa | Music Composer | 09/29/2020 | 10/08/2020 | No | No |
| Japan | Hair Stylist/Hair & Makeup Artist | 09/23/2020 | 10/20/2020 | No | No |
| Japan | Photographer | 07/23/2020 | 10/14/2020 | No | No |
| China | Fashion Designer | 10/13/2020 | 10/21/2020 | No | No |
| Taiwan | Industrial Product Designer | 09/10/2020 | 10/21/2020 | No | No |
| China | Industrial Product Designer | 10/22/2020 | 11/02/2020 | No | No |
| Morocco | Project Designer | 10/06/2020 | 10/28/2020 | No | No |
| * Request for Evidence where the Immigration Services requests additional information and there is a 60 day timeline to respond | |||||
| ** Expedited service where the Immigration Service will provide a response within 15 days of issuing the Receipt Notice for the case |