Can my own company petition for my O-1?

Key answer

The scheme works, with a catch: you must not fully control the petitioner. Community practice - a minority stake (under 50%), a board or partners who can formally fire you, plus company contracts with other clients showing real activity. Structure details are worked out with a professional.

Community answers

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

When I registered the company from which we applied for the O-1, they advised keeping the share no more than 50%: if there are partners, decisions are made by the board, which in theory can terminate the employee, - this demonstrates the employer-employee relationship.
According to my attorney's instructions for O-1: a 49% share and three contracts attached to the case to show that the company is already operating, even if it was created recently.
The O-1 visa is tied to a specific employer - they will be named in the petition and on the visa. When changing employers, I reapplied while already in the country.

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

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All questions on: O-1 visa All questions on: Self-petition All questions on: Founders and business

Can my own company petition for my O-1?

Community answers

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