O-1 Visa Requirements (2026): Eligibility & Application Support

The O-1 visa — sometimes called the “genius visa” — is one of the most powerful US work visas for individuals with extraordinary ability. It’s also one of the most misunderstood.

While many assume the O-1 is reserved for celebrities and elite athletes, a large number of approved applicants are startup founders, researchers, engineers, scientists, and business leaders who demonstrate exceptional achievement in their field.

This guide explains the O-1A visa requirements in clear terms and outlines the best ways to build a strong application — including when to use an immigration service provider to improve approval outcomes.

Perks of the O-1A visa

• Unlimited status extensions — extend your O-1 as long as your work continues
• No annual cap — apply at any time without a lottery
• No degree requirement — academic background is not determinative
• No minimum salary requirement — compensation can be flexible
• Premium processing available — 15-day adjudication for an additional fee
• Ability to work for multiple employers on concurrent O-1s
• O-3 status for dependents (spouse and unmarried children under 21)

O-1 visa requirements overview

There are two ways to qualify for an O-1A visa:

1. Win a major, internationally recognized award (e.g., Nobel Prize), or
2. Meet at least three of eight USCIS extraordinary ability criteria

Most applicants qualify through the second route.

The eight criteria include:

1. Awards
2. Critical or essential employment
3. Published press
4. Judging the work of others
5. Membership in distinguished organizations
6. High remuneration
7. Scholarly authorship
8. Original contributions of major significance

Each case is evaluated holistically. Meeting three criteria is necessary, but strong evidence and narrative coherence are what ultimately drive approval.

See also: How to Prepare for Your Move to the US for an Accelerator Program (+ Checklist)

Who typically qualifies in practice

In our experience, venture-backed founders often satisfy the awards, critical employment, and high remuneration criteria.

Participation in selective accelerator programs can also support eligibility when combined with other evidence.

Awards

Nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in your field.

With this first criterion, USCIS is looking for an award that:

• Is nationally or internationally recognized; and
• Was awarded to you for your excellence in your field

For instance, you may satisfy this criterion if you were selected to be a part of Forbes 30 under 30, were offered an industry award, or succeeded in an entrepreneurial or technological competition, such as the TED AI Hackathon.

Not there yet? Take these steps:

Remember that your awards don’t need to be recent. They could be awards you received prior to another organization.

If you obtained any awards that stand out from previous jobs, they might fit this criterion.

You can also apply for awards in your field. Identify awards by looking at professional organizations within your field of expertise. It may feel awkward initially, but contact them to learn about the qualifications for being nominated.

If someone in your network has received an award, consider reaching out to them. A letter of recommendation from a previous winner can go a long way.

Pro tip: If you’ve been accepted into an accelerator program, you can use your acceptance as evidence for other sub-requirements, such as Critical Employment (Distinguished Reputation) or Original Contributions (Major Significance).

Critical employment

Employed in a critical or essential capacity for organizations or establishments with a distinguished reputation.

For this criterion, the USCIS wants you to prove that you have a critical or essential role at an organization with a distinguished reputation. The first part is easy to meet if you are a founder, C-suite, executive, or other essential employee at a company. But even if your role doesn’t obviously point to your critical contributions to the company, you can still satisfy this criterion.

Think about the impact you’ve left on your current (or past) company. How can you argue that you’ve had a high level of impact on the organization’s direction? To show your company has a distinguished reputation, you’ll have to clearly demonstrate its prestige. For instance, what awards has your company won? How many users/customers do you have? What about press? Depending on the stage and level of your organization, this might be easy. For smaller startups, you may need to get creative.

Press (or published materials)

Published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media.

A strong published materials criterion would include numerous press articles about you in highly circulated news outlets, such as the New York Times, CNN, Forbes, Times of India, Nasdaq, or TechCrunch. Features in lesser-known news outlets can also satisfy this criterion, but of course, the larger the outlet, the more significant.

Not there yet? Take these steps:

If you have yet to be featured, there are several ways to get your name out there. Lean into your network or pitch their products to publications. While the readership and esteem of the publication are important, articles in smaller industry-specific journals can also satisfy this criterion.

Focus on publications that are relevant to your business. Are you an electrical engineer? Think IEEE Spectrum. Working on infotech or biotech? MIT’s Technology Review might be the right option for you.

Or, if you’re looking for something more generic, consider publications like Science Daily, Seed Magazine, or WIRED. There is no shortage of publications. Just make sure you’re putting your efforts in the right place!

Also, keep in mind that your press can be from publications outside the US and can be written in other languages; you’ll just need to get a certified translation.

Judging

Judging the work of peers in your field, either individually or on a panel.

There are a few ways to satisfy this requirement. For example:

• Sitting on a panel at a business competition
• Peer reviewing articles
• Judging a hackathon or other tech event
• Reviewing a VC fund’s prospective investments
• Reviewing accelerator applications

You need to judge the work of peers in your field, so keep that in mind as you look into judging opportunities.

Not there yet? Take these steps:

Landing a judging opportunity may be more achievable than you think. Look for competitions within your field and reach out to them. Do your research on the competition and its past winners. Showing your passion for the competition can go a long way!

Again, as a reminder, student competitions don’t typically meet the judging requirements for the O-1 visa. Still, they can be a great way to parlay your way into judging an industry competition. If you’ve been involved in competitions at your university, it’s a great step towards getting involved in larger events. Are you still in touch with your advisor or researcher you worked with in the past? Use those connections to find the right competition for you.

Memberships

Membership in associations that require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by international experts.

You can satisfy this criterion if you are a member of a professional organization that requires outstanding achievement. Put simply, you need to join at least one organization that fits within the following requirements:

• Is in your field or discipline
• Requires outstanding achievements; and
• Your outstanding achievements are judged by national or international experts in your field

The most common type of O-1 membership is a traditional organization like IEEE or Forbes Business Council.

See also: How to Satisfy the Membership Criterion for the O-1 Visa

Not there yet? Take these steps:

There are plenty of associations. IEEE (electrical engineers), ASME (mechanical engineers), ACM (computing), and Chi Epsilon (civil engineers) are just some of the fields you can contact.

Find the professional society relevant to your industry or field. Highlight your company’s work in the field and include as much detail as possible. You can also apply to organizations like the Young Entrepreneurs Council (YEC) or On Deck.

See also: How to Satisfy the Membership Criterion for the O-1 Visa

High remuneration

You have commanded a high salary or other significantly high remuneration.

With this criterion, USCIS is looking for individuals who have been paid well above others in the same role within the same city. This could include your past salary or current salary. You can also include bonuses and even equity as evidence of your high remuneration.

To see whether you qualify, compare your remuneration with national data (for the US: FLC Data Center) or on sites like Indeed, Payscale, Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, and Salary.com.

Your salary should be within the top 5% of reported salaries for your role and city.

Scholarly articles

Authorship of scholarly articles in professional publications, major trade publications, or other major media.

Scholarly articles are typically research published in a peer-reviewed journal (for example, Science, Nature). If you have a master’s degree in the physical sciences, you may have been co-authored in your lab or maybe even through your own research.

If you have a Ph. D, you’ve probably been authored multiple times and can meet this criterion. You could also qualify if you’ve written an opinion piece as a subject expert in a business or science publication like Popular Science, WIRED, or Forbes.

Deel Immigration has even helped applicants meet this criterion by publishing pieces on Medium, given the article has gotten some traction.

Again, you can reach out to publications with an idea for an article. In the age of online journalism, many publications are more responsive than you would think. The important thing is that your piece is relevant to their audience and you share a clear idea of what you’d like to write about.

Original contributions

Original contributions of major significance to your field.

The “original contributions” criterion is easily the most misunderstood O-1 criterion. It may seem out of reach, but many immigrants meet this criterion. You need to have invented something of "major significance.” In other words, something you created has significantly impacted your field.

If you’re a startup founder, your startup can help you meet this criterion. What about your startup or your startup’s product is both unique and significant? If you’re unsure how to answer this question, consulting with an experienced business immigration attorney can go a long way.

Common O-1 application mistakes

Many otherwise qualified applicants face delays or denials due to:

• Weak evidence narratives
• Over-reliance on a single criterion
• Inconsistent documentation
• Insufficient expert letters
• Submitting evidence without contextual explanation

This is why O-1 success depends not just on eligibility, but on how the case is assembled and presented.

Best application services for O-1 visas

Because the O-1 standard is subjective, most applicants see better outcomes when working with an experienced immigration service provider rather than filing independently.

The best O-1 application services help by:

• Evaluating eligibility across all eight criteria
• Identifying the strongest evidence combinations
• Structuring persuasive legal narratives
• Preparing and reviewing expert recommendation letters
• Anticipating RFEs before they happen

How Deel helps applicants meet O-1 visa requirements

Deel is a leading immigration provider for O-1 visa applications, offering in-house immigration experts who manage the full process end-to-end.

With Deel, applicants receive:

• Strategic eligibility assessments across O-1A criteria
• Evidence planning and documentation review
• Expert letter guidance and narrative structuring
• Petition filing and USCIS communication
• Support for both Employer of Record (EOR) arrangements and company-owned US entities

This centralized, expert-led approach helps applicants reduce risk, avoid delays, and submit stronger O-1 petitions.

Fast-track your O-1A visa with Deel Immigration

Whether you already meet multiple O-1A criteria or are actively strengthening your credentials, Deel Immigration can help you build a compelling application.

Schedule a free consultation to review your eligibility, identify gaps, and map the fastest path forward.