Visas for International Students Presentation in San Antonio, Texas
March 1, 2020
On April 8, 2020, Sherrod Sports Visas lead attorney, Sherrod Seward, will facilitate a sports-based immigration seminar in San Antonio, TX. Sherrod was invited by the International Students’ Office of the University of the Incarnate Word to come to the campus and talk about sports-based immigration options for students on campus and from nearby campuses in the area. This will be the third time Sherrod Seward has enjoyed the opportunity to address the student-athletes at UIW, which features many foreign-born athletes from all over the world who compete in sports such as soccer and swimming. Some students at the school even compete in their national team. Sherrod will be addressing options for post-graduation as jobs that sponsor foreign-born students are becoming increasingly more difficult to find, and athletes desire to remain in the United States to continue their sporting careers.
“Student-athletes who compete in NCAA sanction competitions are some of the best candidates in the world to obtain a P-1 or O-1 visa,” partner Sherrod Seward says. “In fact, completing a season in the NCAA is an eligibility requirement of one of these visa categories. I think school officials will advocate for more students to pursue P and O visas after graduation once they fully understand the eligibility requirements and work authorization for these categories.”
The seminar will focus greatly on timing concerns of when to apply for these visas and describe the flexibility and limitations of both the P-1 and O-1 visa category. For example, O-1 visas offer much more flexibility for work authorization than the P-1 visa and do not require a schedule of competitions in the United States; however, the O-1 is much more difficult to prove eligibility for. Meanwhile, the P-1 visa is much easier to prove eligibility for than the O-1 visa for student-athletes but requires a schedule of high-level competitions and is not suitable for flexible work opportunities.
Several other topics will also be covered during the sports immigration presentation along with an opportunity for college students to ask questions during and after the presentation. Attendees of the seminar can expect to leave more informed about these niche visa categories and obtain personal feedback on their own unique circumstances.
Sherrod Seward enjoys his relationship with the University of the Incarnate Word and the tremendous student-athletes that compete for the college. In the future, Sherrod plans to increase the time he spends on campuses to educate more staff and students about sports-based immigration visas.
More information can be found on our website at www.sherrodsportsvisas.com or by calling our office at 310-209-8545.