[alsodumb]

Hey Peter! Thanks for doing this!

I’m trying to understand the dual intent nature of O1A. I’m a PhD student with EB2-NIW and EB1A approved. Unfortunately, I am not expecting a green card in the next 6-12 years due to my country of birth.

I am eligible for O1A, but it seems like the dual-intent of O1A seems to be in grey area unlike H1B. Would I have any issues with O1A stamping in foreign embassies or during reentry given that I filed I-140 and showed immigration intent? Or is it safe to assume that O1A is also dual intent? Thanks!

[proberts]

It is grayish but during the past 20 years I've only had one instance where the Consulate pushed back on the issuance of an O-1 visa because the applicant had an approved I-140. That was over 10 years ago and even in that case, the O-1 was eventually issued. So, for all intents and purposes, the Consulates view the O-1 as a dual intent visa. Also, there's some preparation that you can do before applying for your O-1 visa and attending your O-1 visa appointment to minimize the risk if this issue is raised by the Consulate.

[alsodumb]

Thank you so much for the response! Could you share a bit more on what the preparation looks like? It’s something I’ve seen vaguely mentioned in forums but no one shared the specifics of the prep. Thanks!

[bhasi]

If EB1A is approved, my understanding is that the applicant becomes "current" and eligible for the green card at once without any waiting in the queue regardless of country of birth. Is that not correct?

[alsodumb]

There’s a cap on how many EB1 green cards they give out per year, and there’s also a per country cap within that cap (no country cannot cross 7% of total cap)

Unfortunately, there are a lot of EB1C greencard applicants from my country (India) as the bar for L1 and EB1C is pretty low. Since all EB1 visas (EB1A, EB1B, and EB1C) are counted together towards the cap, that means that even though I required a muncher higher bar to qualify for EB1A, I have to wait in queue with all the EB1C applicants who applied before me.

Based on my estimate, it’ll be more than 6 years (or even more) for EB1A priority date to come to late 2024.