Using Brand Sponsorships to Bolster P-1 and O-1 Visas for Athletes

Sherrod Sports Visas routinely works with foreign athletes that are supported by brands that pay them in exchange for marketing their products. In fact, many athletes earn more money from their sponsorships than they do from their actual competitions. This is very common in individual sports such as track and field, mixed martial arts, and motorsports. When presented correctly, this information can be quite useful in proving eligibility for O-1 and P-1 visa categories. 

For P-1 petitions, brand sponsorships are not very helpful since there is no eligibility requirement that readily applies. The closest category is publication in media outlets and trade journals because some brands also have media functions that are widely distributed and respected in their industries. For example, Redbull is the leading media resource in several industries in extreme sports and niche motorsports. 

For O-1 petitions, brand sponsorships can be much more helpful than in P-1 visa applications. The O-1 Visa has several categories where brand sponsorships can help, such as remuneration, membership in prestigious organizations, lesser awards, employment in an essential capacity, and maybe even comparable evidence. 

Below is an example of how we used a brand sponsorship from Tatami to bolster a “membership in prestigious organization” category with UFC fighter Herbert Burns.

Mr. Burns is the brand ambassador for Tatami. 

Herbert “The Blaze” Burns, as Mr. Burns is known in the profession, is an accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and MMA competitor. As the younger brother of UFC lightweight and IBJJF World Champion Gilbert Burns, Mr. Burns has forged his own career, following an impressive jiu-jitsu lineage. He has a string of titles in the Brazilian grappling circuit. He is also making a name for himself as an MMA fighter, competing in prestigious organizations like ONE FC and Titan FC. 

Tatami Fightwear was established in 2009 in the United Kingdom and was founded by Gareth Dummer and Lee Jones to address the need for high-quality BJJ products at affordable prices. Gareth, a brown belt in BJJ, was involved in teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu in low-income areas and found it increasingly difficult to find high-quality products at prices his students could afford.

That’s when Tatami Fightwear was founded. Since then the company has worked to build a strong brand reputation, develop and manufacture high-quality products, and support academies and stores globally. Their products are now available at over 300 academies, 100 online stores and in over 30 countries worldwide. They are also proud to sponsor some of the world’s greatest jiu-jitsu athletes such as JT Torres, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, Alexander Trans, Robson Moura, Dean Lister, Pablo Popovitch, Michelle Nicolini and Mike Fowler. Also, they support talented up-and-coming jiu-jitsu athletes with their sponsorship program.

For more information on how to use your brand sponsorships to help apply for an O-1A visa as an athlete, please contact us at 704-243-8178 or info@sherrodsportsvisas.com.