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Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of influencers who have obtained the O-1B visa, reserved for exceptional creative personalities. According to immigration officials, this work permit is increasingly being granted based on the number of followers or potential earnings. It was pointed out by the Financial Times server.
For some immigration lawyers, social media influencers and OnlyFans models now make up more than half of their visa clients. One of them is lawyer Michael Wildes. He previously represented some of the most famous actors and singers of his generation.
“I knew the days of representing iconic names like Boy George and Sinéad O’Connor were over,” Wildes said. Now, according to him, the kings and queens of scrolling are getting artistic visas.
The Financial Times reported that between 2014 and 2024, the number of artist visas and visas for people with exceptional ability in science, education, business or sport increased by more than 50 percent. The total number of non-immigrant visas then increased by 10 percent.
Despite the increase in the number of artist visas, they constitute only a fraction of the issued work visas. In 2024, less than 20,000 of them were issued, for comparison, H-1B work visas intended for qualified foreign workers, such as scientists, were granted to ten times as many people.
The impetus for an artist visa came when the Nixon administration tried to deport Beatles singer John Lennon. No such visa existed at the time, so Lennon’s immigration lawyer applied for a visa for an eminent person in the arts and sciences. The legal anchoring of the O-1B artist visa occurred in 1990 when Congress passed an amendment to the Immigration Act.
High number of followers or likes
For example, during the assessment of an application for an artist visa, it is assessed whether the applicant has a major role in a major production, commercial success or significant professional recognition. However, according to lawyers, the criteria have been modified to suit influencers. The server describes that success can be more easily measured for judgment through the number of likes or subscribers than by demonstrating undefined exceptional abilities.
“A high following and big earnings can be used to demonstrate commercial success, getting a deal to promote a particular brand can be seen as an endorsement of talent and attending a store opening can be seen as starring in a major production,” commented lawyer Fiona McEntee.
However, other lawyers argue that changing the metric to take into account the number of social media followers will affect how traditional artists are judged. According to attorney Shervin Abachi, artists whose work is not based on Internet success will be disadvantaged during O-1B visa adjudication.
“Officials receive applications whose value is almost entirely determined by algorithmic metrics,” Abachi said. “Once that becomes the norm, the system will begin to approach artistic value as a scoring system.” Another lawyer described receiving cases of people who should never have been approved for an artist visa but now have.
Judging whether a person qualifies for an artist visa is now a structural change in the system, according to Abachi. “What appears to be an increase in influencer requests may signal a broader change in how opportunities are distributed,” he added.
