The Difference Between the H-1B and the O-1 Visas

While most workers are set on obtaining their H1-B visas before numbers run out, the O-1 visa is often overlooked and misunderstood. O-1 visas are awarded to immigrants with extraordinary abilities in the arts, sciences, education, business or athletic fields. The program for what are officially called O-1 visas, began in 1990 as lawmakers sought to separate these applicants from the pool of those seeking H-1B visas, the visa program for skilled immigrants used by many technology companies. While H-1B applicants must hold at least a bachelor’s degree and possess some specialized skill, O-1 visas are allotted to a more elite crowd: those who can prove to U.S. immigration officials that they are the very top in their fields.

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