| Written by Amanda Rose ’23 and Joy Li ’23 |
On the evening of Wednesday, February 1st, the MCAD MFA program hosted a presentation focused on Visas for Artists as part of our Professional Practices series. Attendees watched a very informative presentation from a guest speaker, Attorney Shervin Abachi. Artist panelists included Peng Wu ’13, Zoe Cinel ’18, and Xiaohan Ma ’17. The panelists spoke about their own experiences with applying for visas, offered their support to current students, and gave a lot of helpful advice!
So, what is an O-1 Visa?
“A nonimmigrant visa for the individual who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.” Source
Advice from the Panelists
Find a lawyer that empowers you in your conversations and makes you feel confident. Your lawyer should be supportive, but without just telling you what you want to hear. Make sure they are responding to your communications and emails in a timely manner. Trust your gut, and try to talk to other people who have been through this process.
For testimonial letters, it is helpful to talk to as many people as possible. You might feel vulnerable when doing this, but it is best to just get over your fears and ask for the letters. It is always okay to ask for support from people during this process, even people that you do not know well.
Advice for the H-1B Visa
Give yourself enough time! If you are graduating in Summer 2023, you should ideally have found a job offer by December 2023 so that you can apply for the H-1B visa. Apply for jobs everywhere you can, and tell people that you are specifically looking for jobs that can give you a sponsorship. Do not waste time applying for jobs that do not promise sponsorship. You will need to find a permanent position so do not look at contract positions. It can be part-time or full-time, but there cannot be an expiration date on your work contract. For speciality occupations, you will have to prove that your job requires your degree and that it is in your field of study.
Criteria can change every year, so always talk to a lawyer and do not trust word of mouth!
Providing Evidence for the O-1 Visa
If you have performed or have been booked to perform in a leading or starring role in a production, you may be able to use a leading or starring role as evidence in your application. Be sure to include information about the venue, gallery, or exhibition, especially if the venue was prestigious. Include information about any media coverage received so that you can prove the significance of your role or the venue. When participating in any group shows, ensure that your presence is felt! You will need to show evidence of what your role was, and to what extent it was important. Participate as much as possible, maybe even more than others in your group. Preserve the evidence and document everything.
National or international recognition for achievements must be evidenced by critical reviews or other published materials by or about the individual in major newspapers, trade journals, magazines, or other publications. If you have been nominated for an award or if you were a spokesperson for an event, you may be able to use this as evidence. If you have had any important roles in an organization or an establishment, try to prove your reputation by including any press coverage from newspapers and other publications.
You may use information about recognition for your achievements from organizations, critics, government agencies, or other recognized experts as evidence in your application. Testimonials must be in a form that clearly identifies the author’s authority, expertise, and knowledge of your achievements. This criteria can be satisfied through letters from experts, such as professors and scholars.
Include information about money you have received for services in relation to others in your field. Keep all the receipts from selling your art!
Overall, be sure to discuss all of your notable achievements with your lawyer in order to see if they can be included as evidence. You will also need to create and submit an itinerary that covers up to the next three years of your life and include this in your application.
H-1B Visa
The H-1B Visa is an employment based visa. “This nonimmigrant classification applies to people who wish to perform services in a specialty occupation, services of exceptional merit and ability relating to a Department of Defense (DOD) cooperative research and development project, or services as a fashion model of distinguished merit or ability.” Source
Thoughts and Reflections from an International Student
“As an international artist, a visa for artistic talent (O-1 Visa) is a great option after receiving a degree. The artist visa has more freedom than a work visa (H-1B), which may give the artist more opportunities. Through this lecture, I gained a clearer understanding of the artist visa, the documents I need to prepare and its main functions. I learned a lot through the personal experiences shared by other artists.”
Contact Information for Shervin Abachi
https://sethimaz.com/
abachi@sethimaz.com
https://sethimaz.com/assessment-request-form/
For Further Reading
Article by Panelist Peng Wu ’13
https://mnartists.walkerart.org/letter-to-my-father-in-the-other-world-explaining-four-types-of-u-s-visas
