World class boxer Rohan Polanco receives P-1 visa
World class boxer Rohan Polanco receives P-1 visa
We are extremely proud to announce that we successfully petitioned for a P-1 visa for world class boxer Mr. Rohan Polanco.
Managing Member of the firm, Sherrod Seward successfully presented the petition proving eligibility for the P-1 visa as a World Class Boxer to USCIS. He provided as many documents as possible for each of the criteria satisfied by Mr. Polanco.
In our response to an RFE from USCIS, we further strengthened the petition providing conclusive evidence and irrefutable proof that Mr. Polanco is qualified to be an athlete of extraordinary ability. This success marks the momentous beginning of our journey at the DC Office of SDS Sports.
The Athlete
Mr. Polanco has been a world class athlete since 2013. He has garnered a great amount of regional and international acclaim through competition and exhibitions at the world level in Russia, Peru, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and many more countries.
The Petitioner
SDS Sports Agency was founded by Sherrod Seward, an award-winning international businessman, sports attorney, and industry professional, in North Carolina in 2020. SDS Sports Agency is a talent management company that focuses on the needs of niche sports and entertainment professionals. SDS Sports Agency helps maximize the branding potential of its clients in the United States by providing access. SDS Sports Agency works with international talent agents and entertainment related companies to market athletes and sports professionals that are renowned internationally. SDS Sports Agency clients routinely have their competitions and engagements viewed all over the world through well-established media networks. SDS Sports Agency prides itself on facilitating to clients the opportunity to be successful in the United States and looks forward to continuing to grow while serving the needs of the world’s best talent.
Sherrod Seward, the founder of SDS Sports Agency, has a vast history in international sports business and marketing. Sherrod learned the sports management/marketing business through mixed martial arts. His international management career began through independent research with one of the best sports law attorneys in the nation and co-managing/consulting with the area’s best fighters such as Brian Rogers (Bellator Middleweight), Jessica Eye (#2 Flyweight in the world), Stipe Miocic (former UFC World Champion), and many others. Sherrod has also served as a liaison between mixed martial arts and corporate America as the Corporate Partnership Director for North American Allied Fight Series and a business consultant for many promotions all across the nation. In his role as Corporate Partnerships Director, he facilitated sponsorship activations in new markets, VIP experiences at events, negotiated broadcast agreements, and much more.
The P-1 Petition
We demonstrated that SDS Sports Agency, the petitioner, would like to extend the P-1A status upon Mr. Rohan Polanco, whom they consider to be an exceptionally talented boxer.
In the petition, we presented Mr. Polanco as the world-class athlete he is by revealing his participation in international fights. We were able to give details and competition itinerary for the athlete. We also confirmed that Mr. Polanco would be taking part in international athletic exhibitions with athletes befitting his global ranking and skill level.
To add weight to our case, we also revealed that the beneficiary’s skill level and rank was far beyond that of most American boxers. Therefore, he would have to participate in international athletic exhibitions and competitions competing with other international athletes of his class and skill level.
We informed the USCIS that highly ranked American fighters require other highly rated athletes to compete against. Competing against internationally renowned athletes would allow them to move up in global rankings.
International Rankings of Mr. Polanco
We provided evidence that the athlete is highly ranked internationally to demonstrate that he has a reputation beyond a single country. We presented the following international rankings for Mr. Polanco:
AIBA World Boxing Championship
Mr. Polanco is ranked No. 5 in the world by AIBA.
AIBA is the premier ranking system in amateur boxing in the world. Historically, they are the qualification system for the Olympics. They are also the system used by USA boxing to qualify for the Olympics. Details on the AIBA ranking, which is objective and tabulated from competitions that happen all over the world, were included with the petition. AIBA also administers boxing in the Olympic games. Results of the AIBA world championships are the premier amateur boxing championship rankings until the Olympics occur. Qualifications for the World Championships, where Mr. Polanco is placed, were included with the response.
Boxrec
Mr. Polanco is ranked 24th in the World and the Number 1 boxer from his nation by Boxrec.
BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing. The objective of the site is to document every professional boxer and boxing match from the instigation of the Queensberry Rules, up to the present times. BoxRec publishes ratings for all active boxers and all-time ratings. Since 2012, the site has hosted Barry Hugman's History of World Championship Boxing.
Internationally-recognised Awards
We proved that Mr. Polanco is a person of extraordinary ability in the field of Boxing by showcasing his awards. The following are the prestigious international championships won by him:
Fifth Place finish at AIBA World Championships
Silver Medal at the 2019 Pan American Games
Fifth Place finish at the 2016 World Youth Games
Fifth Place finish in the World Elite Championships 2019
These are world championship events at the most significant competitions in the industry. We proved that placing high in these competitions earns recognition and acclaim from competitors, judges, media, and fans in more than one country.
We included evidence that Mr. Polanco has won competitions to support his world rankings, expert opinions on the significance of the competitions, independent articles from outlets around the world, confirmation from boxing national federations of multiple countries, and explanations of the selection process for these competitions that garner the world ranking. The evidence also included the governance process from AIBA to select members of the World Championship Competition.
We provided ample evidence that Mr. Polanco meets at least two of the P-1 criteria and qualifies for the non-immigrant P-1 visa. We, therefore, successfully demonstrated that he is unambiguously qualified to be classified as a P-1 athlete of extraordinary ability.
For more information on how we help support professional athletes and coaches with O-1 and P-1 visas, please contact our offices at 310-209-8545.