How Can Canadians Obtain O-1 And P-1 Visas During COVID-19 Pandemic Issues.

This is very confusing right now. I am going to try and explain the options a bit better. It is true that publicly posted appointments are hard to get in Canada, but there are ways to still get in the United States with the P-1. Which path you want to do depends on your situation. I've had dialog with Gina at the UFC and she preferred that UFC prospects already have a stamped visa and be in/able to get in the United States.

If You Are In Canada, Your Only Worry Is Either Getting An Appointment To Get The Visa Stamped Or Change Status From B-1 To P-1 Or O-1 While Inside The United States.

There are several options to accomplish this goal with various risks and timing.

Option 1 - File the application with regular processing, wait for things to calm down and appointments to open up.

If you file an application for regular processing, you will have to wait 2-5 months for a response on the petition. The thought is that appointments will be available more readily in the future and you can always use the receipt number to purchase an appointment date which can be used to request expedited appointments. In our experience, the Canadien US Consulates prefer that your visa application be approved before expediting an appointment. The problem is they will not give instructions on if they are accepting expedited appointments unless you already purchase an MVR appointment request through form DS-160 online.

Remember, you always have the option of adding premium processing at any time if you need to speed up the process. This process is the slowest but also has the least amount of risk.

Option 2 - Change Status in the United States

Changing Status in the United States means you enter into the United States in one visa category and then change status P-1 or the O-1 visa. This is pretty easy for Canadians because Canadiens, most of the time, receive a B-1 visitor visa stamp everytime they fly NOT DRIVE into the United States from Canada. Once in the United States, the athlete is now eligible to change status into a new visa category without having to do an interview.

There Are Two Ways To Go About Changing Status:

a. The most safe approach is to fly into the United States and then file a premium processing petition. The drawback is that it can be expensive or not practical to stay in the United States while the petition is pending. Even with premium processing, applicants can expect for petitions to take at least 25 days because USCIS is issuing requests for evidence in almost every premium processing case.

b. The more risky approach is to submit an application for P-1 or O-1 while still in Canada and then attempt to come into the United States while the application is still pending. Sometimes the consular officer will let you travel into the United States and we can request for USCIS to request that the adjudicator change the petition to Change of Status. However, it is also common for Customs and Border Protection to deny entry into the United States until the new visa application is processed and the visa stamped. In rare cases, the CBP office will issue a provisional visa approval at Preclearance Airports. We have an example of this for a Top Rank boxer earlier this year - https://www.sherrodsportsvisas.com/consular-congressional-success-stories/p-1a- consular-practice-success-cbp-provisional-p-1-approval-canada-top-rank-boxing. If you already have a B-1 visa, you can also try to drive across the border and request a change of status in the petition.

This process is the fastest way to obtain P-1 or O-1 status but can be expensive to stay in the United States while the petition is pending or risky if attempting to travel into the United States while the petition is pending. It is important to be honest and upfront with consular officers about plans to change status to avoid any issues down the line for not being honest.

Option 3 -

Option three is to apply for the P-1 or O-1 visa with premium processing while in Canada and wait for the approval. Once the approval is done the applicant can go through the process of applying for a visa interview using the DS-160 online platform - https://www.sherrodsportsvisas.com/p1-o1-visa-approval.

Once the applicant pays the MVR fee, there probably will not be any appointments available in Canada or they will be far into the future. From here, we can use our consular practice to submit requests to expedite appointments utilizing our congressional contacts - https://www.sherrodsportsvisas.com/congressional-inquiries-for-immigration-cases Fly to the United States and then submit an application

This method is unpredictable on timing because expediting the interview is not an exact science. This method is very safe for Canadians.

If you have more questions about obtaining P-1 or O-1 visas in Canada, please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.