How an influencer secured her O-1 visa for the USA

Can a social media influencer and OnlyFans model with a huge online following qualify for the O-1B visa as a person of extraordinary ability in the arts or entertainment?

On this page, we show you how Mount Bonnell Advisors, working with the US visa attorneys on the firm's team, made this happen, even though the USCIS officer handling the case threw several challenges our way. He played down our client's achievements and needlessly put her in the standard "fashion model" category, when she is far more than that.

With a detailed presentation of additional evidence, we made our client's case: while she didn't fit neatly into the traditional "model" category, she did in fact meet at least three of the six O-1B criteria, based on her extraordinary achievements as a social media influencer and model, her recognition and acclaim, and her leading, critical role as founder of her own successful web platform.

Here we show you how we tackle challenges like these and ultimately get our client approved.

1The rise of the social media influencer

Before the social media boom, models were the main way companies marketed and promoted commercial products to a global audience. For anyone wanting to succeed in today's modeling world, platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and OnlyFans became fertile ground for a new kind of "model": the social media influencer and "instafamous" model.

These influencers may not fit the traditional "model" mold, but they took an unconventional route to building their social media presence and used it to reach and sustain an extraordinary level of achievement and recognition in their industries. They have gathered millions of followers and reached exceptional heights by landing lucrative brand deals, partnerships and collaborations with some of the biggest companies in the world.

There is no doubt that the rise of social media influencer marketing has revolutionized the way companies do business. The industry has realized that influencers can engage and connect with their large audiences in a way traditional media figures simply can't replicate.

Influencers, for example, build relationships with their audience by sharing their opinions and personal stories. That creates a sense of credibility and authenticity that sets them apart from most conventional models.

Influencers who, through sustained national or international acclaim, have reached a high level of achievement and a degree of recognition substantially above what is ordinarily seen in their field may qualify for the O-1B visa to live and work in the United States in their area of extraordinary ability.

2What are the O-1B visa requirements?

To understand our client's dilemma, let's first look at the general requirements for the O-1B visa.

The O-1B is a nonimmigrant visa classification for individuals with extraordinary ability in the arts or entertainment.

To qualify for an O-1B visa, you generally have to show extraordinary ability through sustained national or international acclaim or a record of extraordinary achievement in the arts. You must also be coming to the United States temporarily to keep working in your area of extraordinary ability.

In the arts, extraordinary ability means distinction. Distinction means a high level of artistic achievement, shown by a degree of skill and recognition substantially above what is ordinarily encountered, to the point that you are prominent, renowned, leading or well known in your field.

USCIS generally places models with extraordinary ability under the general "fashion model" standard. But that category is not one-size-fits-all, and it is usually the wrong standard for unconventional models who don't fit the "fashion model" mold, as was the case with our client.

3Our client's case

Our client wanted to apply for an O-1B visa as a widely respected, in-demand model and fitness influencer of extraordinary ability. She was one of the few social media influencers to build an enormous online following in the millions. Over her career she earned international recognition, working both as the face of her own fitness and lifestyle brand and as a model and fitness personality, and landing lucrative deals and partnerships with many respected brands. She appeared in widely recognized magazines, publications, ad campaigns and billboards for global companies.

The influencer wanted to grow her career as an internationally recognized model and fitness influencer in the United States through her relationship with an American talent agency, and she broadened her offering to land a range of modeling contracts in the US.

4A negative response. Now what?

Unfortunately, USCIS's first response to the petition was negative, and the agency questioned almost every aspect of it.

First, the officer questioned the applicant's employment agreement with her agency and asked for a detailed itinerary with information on every employer she would work with throughout her three-year stay in O-1B status.

In response, our office provided a detailed 3-year plan covering every engagement our client would take part in, including the date, type of event, location and details of each kind of work. Our client also supplied detailed supporting deal memos for every contract, describing the nature of each event and the pay involved. This was necessary because, although represented by an agent, our client would be working with several different companies.

5Pushing back with expert letters

Next, USCIS asked for an advisory opinion from an appropriate labor organization and was not satisfied with the expert letters from CEOs, prominent industry models, photographers and other professionals submitted as evidence of our client's extraordinary ability and recognition in her field.

Since there is no organization for social media influencers, our client submitted a letter written by an expert in social media influencer marketing and Instagram coaching. This expert was able to show that social media influencers are paid according to their follower count, and that our client in particular was recognized as a world-famous model and fitness influencer who had reached and sustained international acclaim thanks to her huge social media following and her brand deals with respected companies.

6Recognition and millions of views

USCIS also questioned whether our client had achieved real recognition in her field. The attorneys on the firm's team explained that her large online following and the lucrative deals it brought were proof of her international reach and influence. We also pointed to numerous major media publications that had featured our client and run photo spreads of her, including the source of each publication, a detailed description of the media organization, its audience engagement, total website visits and other statistics. We wanted the officer to see that, judged by each publication's reach, audience locations, clicks and other engagement figures, every outlet that had featured our client was in fact a major media source with an excellent reputation.

We challenged the officer's claim that the media sources provided were not "major media." In the officer's view, they couldn't count as major media because they were not major "fashion" magazines in the traditional sense.

In response, we argued that it was inappropriate for USCIS to apply such a narrow standard and accept only major fashion magazines as major media, especially given the unconventional nature of our client's work as a social media influencer and fitness model.

For every major media feature, we provided evidence that our client had generated millions of views. That approach proved highly effective in the end, as USCIS then dropped its restrictive criteria.

7No leading role? We beg to differ…

On top of that, the officer refused to recognize our client's leading and critical role in her own organization as founder, owner and face of a fitness and lifestyle brand that sells fitness plans and nutrition guidance to customers through its website, because according to USCIS "a website established by a beneficiary is not an establishment or organization that employs the beneficiary."

The attorneys on the firm's team argued skillfully that the officer had applied an unnecessarily narrow reading of the regulatory criteria on this factor too. We stressed that the criteria do not require the beneficiary to be employed by the establishment or organization. What's more, the fact that our client was the founder, owner and sole personal trainer of her own business was strong evidence of her critical, leading role in the company's existence and the organization's success. We submitted further evidence of the fitness services our client sold: printouts of her web platform, sample training programs and diet plans, the 30-day fitness challenge program she developed, and her daily activity on her website, including maintaining her blog, motivational videos and Instagram Live workouts, all used to grow her brand. This evidence backed up her leading and critical role in her own organization.

8More expert letters, more doubts

On the evidence submitted to support her significant recognition in the industry, USCIS rejected the client's expert opinion letters on the grounds that the writers were not recognized experts in "modeling" but rather photographers, nutritionists, personal trainers and executives of social media platforms.

The attorneys on the firm's team challenged this reading, making clear that the letters were sufficient to prove her achievements in modeling and fitness and her influence on the industry as a whole, because these people are "experts" in their fields. We also stressed that the letter writers were leading experts who knew our client personally through professional collaboration and her features in major media. We argued that USCIS should review and accept the letters in their entirety, since only experts in the beneficiary's own fields of modeling, fitness and social media influencing are required. Our client was not a "fashion model" in the traditional sense and should not be measured against the same standard as if she were.

To strengthen these expert letters even further, we put together a detailed profile of each expert's background, covering their industry experience, notable client base, excellent reputation, the kinds of publications they had contributed to, notable collaborations and projects, their level of recognition and the type of audience they reach. We also included excerpts from each expert letter highlighting our client's leading and critical work in international advertising campaigns, prominent features in high-traffic publications, major media, social media platforms, magazines and similar outlets.

9Traditional models are a thing of the past

We made it clear that the days of the "traditional model" are long gone, and that influencers demonstrate their extraordinary ability and high achievement through large online followings and lucrative brand partnerships, appearances in international ad campaigns and similar work.

The attorneys on the firm's team overcame these obstacles by arguing that as the modeling industry changes, so do the people regarded as experts in it. We stressed that the experts writing about our client's achievements were photographers, nutritionists, personal trainers and social media platform executives, that they are regarded as experts in this field, and that they carry the most influence in today's social media influencer industry.

We also submitted each expert's social media pages to show that they really did have large online followings of their own and held leading or critical roles in the industry.

Finally, USCIS went after the evidence of our client's high salary, claiming that a letter from her accountant stating her income for the past year was not enough. In response, we submitted our client's OnlyFans earnings statements for the last three years to prove that this amount is a high salary in the industry, her notable earnings from billboard campaigns over the last two years, a copy of her employment contract showing a high salary, supporting deal memos documenting high future payments, projected earnings from photo shoots, and supporting documents from independent, authoritative sources showing that her pay was substantially higher than that of the average model in her industry.

10Success at last

We're delighted to tell you that our client's O-1B petition was ultimately approved. With persistence and creative solutions to immigration challenges, we showed that prominent social media influencers can successfully qualify for the O-1B visa. Our client is now ready to enter the United States and continue her work with these respected brands.

If you're a social media influencer with a large online following and have been featured in major media publications and/or advertising campaigns, we'd love to discuss your visa options. For an overview of the category, see our pages on the O visa and The O-1 visa at a glance; for other routes, read our article on US visa options for freelancers, the self-employed and influencers.

In short

• Social media influencers with sustained national or international acclaim can qualify for the O-1B in the arts and entertainment.
• USCIS initially held the client to the fashion model standard and questioned almost every aspect of the petition.
• A detailed three-year itinerary, deal memos, expert letters and media reach figures answered the objections.
• Her leading role in her own business and her high income were also documented, and the petition was approved.

How we help you

• Visa RoadmapIn writing: which visa fits you and your family, prepared with the immigration attorney on the firm's team.
• Visa and Green Card ConsultationWhich route to the USA fits you, settled in one conversation.
• Moving to the USAVisa, bank account, taxes and where to live: your move with Mount Bonnell Advisors.