O-1 Extraordinary Ability

The O-1 nonimmigrant category is for the employment of individual aliens who have achieved and sustained national or international acclaim for extraordinary abilities in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics or aliens who have demonstrated a record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture and television industries. The category permits an employer to petition USCIS for a foreign national to come to the U.S. on a temporary basis to work within his or her area of extraordinary ability or achievement.

Extraordinary abilities mean the foreign national has a level of expertise found in a small percentage of who have arisen to the very top of the field of endeavor.

The initial period is a maximum of three years, with one year extensions available thereafter. There is no maximum cumulative duration. The employer is responsible for providing reasonable costs of return the foreign national to his or her last place of residence if the alien’s employment is terminated prior to the sponsored end date.

Cal State L.A. is required to file a Labor Condition Application (LCA) which attests that the alien will be paid the prevailing wage, provide working conditions that will not adversely affect the working conditions of U.S. workers, and there is no strike or lockout at the time of filing. The appropriate bargaining representative for the position must be notified. If there is no bargaining unit for the position, then the LCA must be posted at two conspicuous locations for 10 working days.

The O-1 visa holder may work for the employer sponsor and in the activities described in the petition. A change in job description may require an amended petition to be filed with USCIS.

Sponsor Package:

After a foreign national has been offered a position at the University, the Hiring Authority should prepare and submit the Sponsor Package to the International Office.

The Sponsor Package includes:

From the Department/College:

• University Sponsor of a Non-Immigrant Employee
• Department Agreement for Non-Immigrant Sponsor
• Resume/C.V. of non-immigrant employee
• Copy of job description
• Copy of offer letter

  From the Employee:

• Non-Immigrant Employee Bio-Data Form
• CSULA Sponsored Employee Statement
• Copy of passport(biographical page)
• Copy of visa stamp and I-94 card(if presently in the U.S.)

Upon receipt of this package, the International Office will work with the non-immigrant employee’s attorney to process the O-1 petition.

Processing Timeline

This is an estimated timeline of how long the process will take for each step. It will change from case to case.

1.	Sponsor Package	- 1 week to 1 month
2.	Labor Condition Application	- 1 to 2 weeks
3.	I-129 Application Package	- 1 to 2 months
4.	USCIS Processing	- 2 months to 4 months*

Non-immigrant employee is not eligible to start work until the petition is approved, unless he/she has a valid employment authorization. If the employee is already in O-1 status and is changing employers in a similar job, the employee must await for the new petition to be approved prior to starting at CSULA.

Fees*:

Below is a list of fees involved in the O-1 petition. All fees associated with this petition are responsible for by the non-immigrant employee.

I-129 filing fee:	$325.00
Attorney Fees:	Varies

* Fees are subject to change without notice. For updated fees, please consult with USCIS website: www.uscis.gov.

Dependents

Dependents are spouse and children under 21 years of age. They will be issued a O-3 visa for their stay in the U.S.

They are not permitted to work. They are eligible to study part-time or full-time as long as the educational program does not include employment (ie: research assistantship).