O1 visa and can’t get back to the states

[Cadillacgirl1966 0]

Hey there everyone this is my first post! I registered because I have a question about my partner’s o1 visa. Considering the pandemic going on right now has not really happened before, at least to anyone alive today, I am a little worried. 
 

He recently got his o1 in November. He was due to fly back here to Dallas 3 days after the travel ban from the uk hit. Now he’s stuck there.. and we don’t know for how long. Meanwhile his o1 is ticking away. I hear a lot of chatter about this pandemic likely going on for the next 12, 18 months. No mention of how long the travel ban could last, though it’s technically  supposed to be 30 days I doubt they’ll stick to that. I think it’s likely they’ll extend it. And even if they don’t, I’m not sure how safe it would be for him to return and go through all those airports and be inside airplanes for hours on end. 
 

I am really not sure where to turn to with this question. He can’t be the only one in this boat. We were hoping the government would freeze the time on o1’s and other visas but I think that too is very unlikely. Considering this is unprecedented though, I was just wondering if anyone else was in this same situation, or if anyone knew any information they could tell me. 
 

it’s really sad because he worked so hard and spent so much money to get that o1. And now he can’t even use it, he can’t work and he can’t get back here. Anyway thanks in advance for any replies. 

[US-UK 32]

Time can’t ‘stop running’ on visas, including O1s, because most recipients are actively using them. It’s unfortunate your boyfriend didn’t just move up his flight but nothing to be done on that now.

 

As to current solutions, O1s are easily extendable so just have his lawyer submit the paperwork when the time comes. Or after he gets to the US, work for a bit and adjust status as an EB-1. There are a few additional requirements to prove qualifications and he might need to go back to his recommenders to have them revise and reissue their letters, but honestly it was a fairly easy and short timeline as he’ll already have his CV, publications, awards, etc. pulled together. There is no interruption to work eligibility. Our biggest downside was not being able to travel while waiting for AP to come through.

 

[fs2439 46]

He is not able to start working remotely?

[Ameerah 10]

He can fly to Serbia, Mexico or Turkey and stay for two weeks and then fly to US, many have done it. good luck!

[Cadillacgirl1966 0]

Hi thank you for the information everyone. He has not been able to work remotely as he’s a musician, and all of his shows out there till the end of the year have pretty much been canceled. He can’t do shows remotely unfortunately. 
 

he said he’d book another consult with the lawyer soon to talk about the eb1. But if trump is shutting everything down until the end of the year, no idea when that would be able to go through. Also I’m not sure if that will impact him as a current o1 holder, even though he can’t get back to the us right now. 
 

Even if they lifted the ban tomorrow he wouldn’t be able to work. People in the industry are saying live shows probably won’t return until fall of next year. If that’s the case I’m really not sure how they’d grant him an eb1. He’s never won a Grammy or anything like that. Though the lawyer said getting the o1 was a piece of cake and much easier than other musicians he has done before. 
 

as for flying somewhere for 2 weeks and then coming into the states, I really don’t know about that. I thought the southern border was closed? I just want to avoid doing anything that might impact him. We fought so hard to get him this visa. He had it for less than 3 months when the ban hit. I think I got to see him here for about 6 weeks of that. Then poof. It took us 2 years and almost 10 grand to get him this visa after his esta was revoked for no reason. 
 

I’m so fed up with it all to be quite honest. I wish we could catch a break. 
 

 

[SalishSea 16,901]

On 6/22/2020 at 3:49 PM, Cadillacgirl1966 said:

his esta was revoked for no reason. 

There definitely would have been a reason....

[Cadillacgirl1966 0]

He never overstayed, never worked a gig on the esta (he always had a P1) and doesn’t have a criminal record. The lawyer couldn’t figure it out, and homeland security issued a letter basically saying “we don’t know why they did this”. So 🤷🏻‍♀️ No idea. They’re actually doing this to a lot of musicians as we have heard the same story from a lot of people in the industry. 

[Boiler 43,745]

Marriage would seem to be a more logical solution.

[Cadillacgirl1966 0]

6 hours ago, Boiler said:

Marriage would seem to be a more logical solution.

Well we are considering that also and that was our original plan however I may have some issues with the taxes and sponsoring him. As I believe with the cr1 you still have to do that. Also given everything going on I can’t imagine how long that would take to process. It’s 1.5 years under ordinary circumstances isn’t it? 

[fs2439 46]

On 6/24/2020 at 8:23 AM, Cadillacgirl1966 said:

Well we are considering that also and that was our original plan however I may have some issues with the taxes and sponsoring him. As I believe with the cr1 you still have to do that. Also given everything going on I can’t imagine how long that would take to process. It’s 1.5 years under ordinary circumstances isn’t it? 

Yes it is. 

He still hasn't flown in?