6 Questions on the Immigration P1 Visa for Athletes or Entertainers Temporary Work Visa

Transcription:

If you are an athlete or an entertainer, you may know that you may come into the US by immigration visa called the P1 visa. Now, in this video we are going to talk about the 6 most common questions regarding the P-1 visa.

Hello from Freedom group, we are a group of 4 companies where we do tax accounting, immigration, real estate, insurance, and financial planning services. As I mentioned before, in this video we are going to discuss the 6 most common questions relating to the P1 visa; and for that we are going to bring our immigration attorney Mr. Robert.

Carlos H: Robert, how are you?

Robert M: I’m good Carlos, how are you?

Carlos H: Robert is our immigration attorney here at Freedom Immigration. So, Robert, we know there are many skilled individuals, especially athletes and entertainers, that the US immigration system provides a way that due to their talent they can come into the US. What is the P-1 visa?

Robert M: The P-1 visa is a special visa for athletes and entertainers that allows them to compete in athletic events and come perform here in the US.

Carlos H: All right. What are the benefits of the P-1 visa?

Robert M: The main benefit is the ability to come to the US and compete and work, because a lot of them are professionals. Athletes get a five-year visa with a single extension of five years; others can get a one year visa, but for long-term events they can get special extensions. Your dependents can come into the US, your children can study but they can’t work. It also does not require an exceptional ability, being part of the group would cover that part. There’s also no limit to annual visa issues, so you don’t have to worry about all the visas being issued and there being no space.

Carlos H: Okay. You mentioned that it doesn’t have to be like individual talent, if they come as a group, as a team, the P-1 will cover it.

Robert M: Correct, because the specific group will have enough recognition to be covered; the individual members don’t need to have the recognition to be able to come in with the visa. Also, support personnel can also come in; when we talk about athletes, they could be such as coaches or bandmates in case of performers.

Carlos H: And what are the requirements of the P-1 visa?

Robert M: The main requirement is non-immigrant intent, you have to have the intention to return to your home country. For the P-2 and P-3 those are cultural exchange and reciprocal exchange programs, those have high standards; but basically, you can’t adversely affect American workers, for athletes specifically you must be coming solely to participate in a competition, performance, tour or event, you must be professional and you must have international recognition. Like I said, if you are part of a group, the group can have the international recognition; for example, a basketball team, the 12 men in the basketball team does not have to be internationally recognized, just being part of the team is enough. For an entertainment group they have to be involved in the arts, they have to be part of the performance, the group itself must be considered a group, and the group must be internationally recognized. 

For P-2 and P-3, that it’s an exchange program, they just require to be part of the program, and the culturally unique part would be for P-3.

Carlos H: Okay. And who’s the petitioner? What are the responsibilities of the petitioner?

Robert M: The petitioner can be either the employer, let’s say basically the owner of the team, or it can be a third-party organization that is hiring this group, these performers, or athletes, to be part of the event. Multiple beneficiaries can be included in the same petition, like you can make one petition for a team or for a group; but if you are working for multiple employers each one must file a petition for the group or the individual. The petitioner is also responsible for paying the beneficiaries return home at the end.

Carlos H: And lastly, what are the P-1 fees visa? How much does it cost?

Robert M: Well, to follow the actual petition it’s $460, and then to do the visa, which is the national visa, is $160.

Carlos H: Okay. The $460 is for the group or per individual?

Robert M: It’s for petition; and like I said, multiple individuals can be included in the same petition. 

Carlos H: And how long is the processing time, how long does it take to get a P-1 visa process in the US immigration system?

Robert M: It all depends. It’s about 3-6 months just through USCIS just to get the visa. Then the visa filing depends on the embassy’s appointments.

Carlos H: In conclusion, Robert, you as an immigration attorney, do you recommend the P-1 visa, is it a good option?

Robert M: Well, yeah, if you are an athlete or an entertainer and you want to come and work in the US and perform, then it’s a great option because it allows you to do so.

Carlos H: Perfect. If someone wants more information and wants to start any process of the P-1 visa; what do they have to do?

Robert M: Call Freedom Immigration at 407-910-4770

Carlos H: Okay. I’m also going to put the link to the Freedom Immigration website in the description of this video. 

Now you know. If you are an entertainer and athlete, or someone who wants to do a sporting event and you want to bring teams over the US, you’d get the P-1 visa to help you get in the US. 

Thank you for watching this video, we hope it has been of value to you, if it has, please like and share it with another individual that can take advantage of this information.

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Thank you for watching and God bless you.