Sherrod Sports Visas is a Los Angeles based esports immigration immigration law firm with offices in Washington, DC and Charlotte, NC that focuses on the strategic needs of the international esports gaming industry for major events, leagues, tournaments, and global brands from all over the world who compete in esports. Our law firm specializes in purposeful, intelligent and thorough representation in P-1 and O-1 visa categories for esports professionals. We also advocate for permanent legal residence (“green card”) options for esports athletes.
Our goal is the please the foreign gaming community looking to take advantage of the American esports industry by competing in future events and coming to train at world class facilities.
Non-Immigration Visa Options
P-1A classification for esports athletes who are internationally known or recognized.
P-1S Classification for essential support personnel, business and training staff of P-1 internationally recognized esports athletes with valid status.
O-1 classification for aliens of extraordinary ability as an esports athlete, esports influencer, or industry professionals
OUR SERVICES
1. Visa support for single esports competitions
2. Visa support for esports promotional contracts and management agreements
3. Visa support for esports training facilities in need of coaching or competition talent
4. Immigration solutions for esports business professionals
P-1: Individual or Team of Esports Athletes – Immigration for Competition and Training
Esports athletes seeking to compete and/or train in the U.S. can obtain a visa for up to five years and the visa is renewable for another five years. Support staff to a team of esports athletes can stay in the U.S. for up to one year. The P-1 visa process takes approximately one month or more to process but can be expedited for extra fees. There are also visas available for the immediate family of the esports beneficiary as well.
B-1/B-2: Visitor Visas for Amateur Esports Athletes
Esports athletes who are training and/or competing without receiving payments for competing may quality for a B-1/B-2 visitor visa. If the esports athlete is from a country in the visa waiver program, they might not even need to obtain the visa. The B-1/B-2 visa is very inexpensive and typically takes less than a month to obtain. While athletes cannot be compensated for competition, the esports athlete may receive benefits of free living expenses or reimbursement for living expenses. This visa may be granted for up to six months and is appropriate for short-term training, summer courses, and unpaid tours.
EB-1, EB-2, EB-3: Employment-Based Visas for Esports Athletes Seeking to Obtain “Green Cards”
EB visas are appropriate for esports athletes who are looking to make a permanent move to the United States as opposed to staying for a temporary time to train or compete. These visas either usually require a high standard of achievement or for a sponsor to obtain a labor certification. In addition, depending on the category, there can be extended priority dates for visas, which means the petitioner could have to wait for the visa to become available.
EB-1 visa: Appropriate for an esports athlete with extraordinary ability. The standard for approval is similar to an O-1 but is a self-petition visa for which no employer is required.
EB-2 visa: Also appropriate for esports athletes with exceptional abilities but the standard for approval is lower than the EB-1. The EB-2 requires either an employer sponsor to obtain a labor petition or for the petitioner to obtain a national interest waiver.
EB-3 visa: Appropriate for skilled or professional workers, which can characterize a professional athlete or coach.
A Labor Certification requires an employer/sponsor to go through PERM Labor Certification. In the last three options, the athlete and employer must complete a process called PERM Labor Certification, which can take six to nine months.