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Getting the O-1 visa for a third year

Key answer

For Russian citizens the O-1 visa is stamped for two years because of reciprocity, although the petition is approved for three; the visa shows a PED (Petition End Date) at the bottom right, and on entry the I-94 should run to that date - though one member's I-94 came out a year shorter. When the visa expires you request a new one up to the same PED without rebuilding the case, which is needed only for a new petition. If you will not leave the US, you can skip the stamp. One member renewed in the Dominican Republic.

Community answers

The answers below are translated from the original Russian - the language of the community chats.

  • The petition is for three years, but the visa is issued for two, and then you can apply for another one for a year. If you don't need to fly out of the U.S., you can skip doing that. For a visa extension after two years, you don't need to gather anything anew from the case, but for a new petition after three years - you do need to. Apparently, the logic is: I'm working here, I continue working, when I finish - I'll go home.

  • Maybe this will be useful for someone: I extended my O-1 in the Dominican Republic. It's good that you can schedule an appointment relatively soon. It's bad that I had to wait three weeks for completed passports with visas.

  • This is not an error, it's the peculiarity of reciprocity agreements: Russians receive O-1 for two years. But on the visa bottom right, there is a different date - PED, Petition End Date. When you enter, they will stamp it in the I-94 exactly until then. After the visa's expiration, you can request a new visa until that same date.

  • The duration of stay on the I-94 should ideally match the approval of the petition. On the bottom right of the visa, there is PED - a different date, one year later, that's the issue. However, my I-94 ended up being one year less.

The answers are anonymized community experience from the public chats, not legal advice. Officers may decide similar cases differently.

Sources

All questions on: Consulate and interviewAll questions on: O-1 visaAll questions on: Process and timelines

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A reference page built from community experience, not legal advice. Requirements and practice change - verify on uscis.gov.

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