I was recently quoted in an article about O-1B’s for Influencers and their impact on O-1 adjudications in general. After reading the piece, I don’t think my quote accurately reflects my opinion on the topic and so, I wanted to take this opportunity to clarify my thoughts.

I don’t believe influencers applying for O-1B visas displace musicians, artists, designers, architects, or models within the O-1 category. The classification is not zero sum, and multiple professional profiles can qualify at the same time if they independently meet the legal standard. In practice, I continue to see strong cases approved across traditional arts disciplines alongside newer creator driven fields.

The first time I tried ChatGPT in action, I was impressed. While I would never use it to write a legal brief we have found lots of uses in our practice that save time and increase efficiencies. Of course, we all use AI technologies on a daily basis from opening our phones with our faces to getting directions and traffic updates to asking digital voice assistants what song is playing. The potential impact of AI technologies is huge, and not just for procrastinating students trying to get that essay written for school.

As with all technological advancements, innovators and entrepreneurs are leading the way, whether as highly skilled researchers involved in the creation or refinement of the AI technology, or as entrepreneurs adapting the technology in a new way to an old industry. In this post, we discuss one of the best visa options—the O-1 visa—for those AI innovators and entrepreneurs who want to live and work in the US.