Indians continue to head to US on specialised visas

The increasing regulations on H-1B work visas notwithstanding, Indians continue to enter the US on specialised visas. For instance, a fashion designer from Mumbai got an O-IB visa, which is a non-immigration visa, a few months ago. This category of visas (O-1B) hitherto unknown is gaining traction among Indians these days. Unlike H-1B visas, it does not have a cap on the numbers that can be issued each year and is not subject to strict regulations either. Meanwhile, musicians wanting to relocate to America permanently are making use of EB-1A visas. Both the aforementioned visas are, however, given only to people who have ‘extraordinary abilities’ or are ‘distinguished’ in their fields according to the US immigration authorities. Since these visas are tougher to obtain, immigration lawyers aid their clients to shore up their cases to apply for them. The Times of India quotes statistics revealed by the USDHS (Department of Homeland Security) to say that number of O-1 visas issued, including O1-A and O1-B, have jumped in the last one decade. While 31,969 of these visas were granted in 2006, 93,086 were given in 2016. There are still many Indians who are unaware of this visa category, according to the newspaper. The number of visas issued in this category to Indians is 1,137 in 2015. The number for EB-1A category has not been calculated yet. David H Nachman, NPZ law group’s managing attorney, said that to obtain an O-1 visa, one has to showcase 'extraordinary ability' their fields. They need to have received awards, published papers, been recognised in the media, awarded patents, etc. to obtain these visas. According to Nachman, O-IB is also mentioned to as the artists' visa. And arts does not mean just performing arts, covered under this nomenclature are also graphic designers, fashion designers and others. If you are looking to migrate to the US on O-1B visa or any other such specialised visa, get in touch with Y-Axis, a leading immigration consultancy company, to apply for a visa.