O-1B Approval for Fashion Designer from India

We recently received an O-1B extraordinary ability visa approval for a fashion designer from India. Congratulations to our client!

This individual was approaching the end of her OPT and was initially going to return to her home country and apply for an O-1B visa later down the line since she had a runway show of her own work lined up at an international fashion week in the future. She thought it would make a stronger case if she applied after this runway show had already occurred. We discussed the criteria of “lead on distinguished productions” and how it has both a past and future component; therefore, even though this runway show had not yet happened, it could still be included as evidence in the future component of this category. We also discussed the remainder of her achievements and how they could fit into an O-1 framework. Ultimately she decided to go forward with less than 6 weeks left on her OPT; although we had to work very quickly to get the submission completed, the case was approved without an RFE and she did not have any gap in employment authorization.

I have represented numerous fashion designers during their OPT change status from F-1 to O-1B. Don’t hesitate to reach out for a comprehensive consultation at amir@rasoulpourlaw.com.