World Class Martial Artist Zviad Lazishvili Receives P-1 Visa

We are proud to announce that we effectively fixed the initial denial for a P-1 Visa petition prepared by another lawyer for the world class martial artist, Mr. Zviad Lazishvili! 

Managing Member of the firm, Sherrod Seward successfully presented the petition proving eligibility for the P-1 visa as a Professional Martial Art Athlete to USCIS. He provided as many documents as possible for each of the criteria satisfied by Mr. Lazishvili. 

Sherrod Seward and his team’s incredible work provided Mr. Zviad Lazishvili an opportunity to compete in any promotion, including the UFC, and to get the best competitors of his level to achieve his next goals! 

The Athlete - Zviad Lazishvili

Zviad Lazishvili, the beneficiary, has been a world-class athlete competing professionally since 2011. He has a phenomenal track record of 13 wins and no loss in his 10-year MMA career. He is an extremely popular athlete in his home country, Georgia. He has had the rare honor of carrying the Olympic Torch for Youth Olympics in 2014. He has won multiple World Championships in MMA.

Mr. Lazishvili has proven his mettle through his exceptional talent and track record. His P-1A Petition is supported by ample evidence that he meets at least two of the P-1A criteria above and qualifies for the non-immigrant P-1 visa. Second, he seeks to come to the United States on a temporary basis to continue competing in world championship level combat sports events. The beneficiary is unambiguously qualified to be classified as a P-1A alien of extraordinary ability. 

Petitioner - Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia LLC

Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia was founded by Sensei Nima Mazhari in 1999 as a small karate school. He started the school out of a passion for teaching martial arts, and has seen the school grow because of that passion and dedication to teaching others.

Enshin is derived from two Japanese words: “en” meaning ‘open or unfinished circle’ and “shin” meaning ‘heart’ or ‘inner.’ The combination of these two words and their meanings embody the most important aspects of Enshin Karate. The ‘inner circle’ of Enshin Karate represents the strong bonds that keep us together. 

Sensei Nima has competed in over 100 full contact tournament fights against some of the best fighters in the world, but now wants nothing more than to foster the development of his students. Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia was founded upon helping students grow as human beings, and through that, as martial artists. The school has trained some of the best karate fighters in the world, with some going on to win international tournaments in Japan. 

Most martial arts schools teach discipline and values. Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia offers that with the most practical self-defence system available. They have the best instructors. Their instructors are not just teachers, but individuals who have positively impacted their lives through martial arts. Their instructors are dedicated to martial arts and to helping others grow as people through martial arts. Enshin is a martial art focused on partner training.  Not only does this make the system more practical, but it provides a safe place to learn self-defence and cooperation. 

Lineage is important in martial arts, and this school is directly under the Grandmaster of Enshin. All of their instructors here have trained under him at one point or another, and he makes periodic trips to their school to hold seminars.

As such Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia wishes to employ Mr. Lazishvili as a World Class Martial Artist to complete the tasks and projects mentioned in the consent to oral agreements included with this petition and additional related contracts as permitted under the P-1 Regulations. 

Agent petitioner structure: Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia is serving as the U.S. agent petitioner for the beneficiary.

1. Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia asserts that the contents of this petition are true to the best of their knowledge and belief. 

2. Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia agrees to accept service of process on behalf of the beneficiary.

3. Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia agrees to secure reasonable travel for the beneficiary in the event that the visa is terminated early. 

4. Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia will also add additional engagements to Mr. Lazishvili’s itinerary for competitions, sponsors, promotional activations, media-related activities, and related marketing opportunities as they become available. The petitioner also hereby consents to represent the beneficiary to participate in opportunities procured by his talent agent(s) and foreign manager(s).

The P-1 Petition

We demonstrated that the petitioner, Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia LLC, would like to extend the P-1A status upon Mr. Zviad Lazishvili. Enshin Karate of Northern Virginia LLC considers Mr. Lazishvili as an exceptionally talented martial artist who continues to compete towards a world championship. 

The petition presented Mr. Lazishvili as a world-class athlete through his participation in international fights. Details and competition itinerary were provided along with a confirmation that Mr. Lazishvili 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 martial artists. 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

We demonstrated Mr. Lazishvili’s international rankings as presented on major martial arts databases like Tapology and Fight Matrix.

Mr. Lazishvili’s Tapology ranking:
He is currently ranked: #118th Best MMA Bantamweight Fighter worldwide. His regional rankings are as follows:

• 19th ranked of 233 active Europe Western Pro Bantamweights

• 4th ranked of 57 active Italy Pro Bantamweights 

• 40th ranked of 768 active United States Pro Bantamweights 

• 3rd ranked of 151 active Caucasus Pro Bantamweights 

• 28th ranked of 393 active Europe Western Pro Men's Featherweights

• 4th ranked of 82 active Italy Pro Featherweights 

• 72nd ranked of 1017 active United States Pro Featherweights 

• 4th ranked of 208 active Caucasus Pro Featherweights

Mr. Lazishvili’s Fight Matrix rankings:

• currently ranked 84th Best Bantamweight Fighter 

• historically ranked 89th Best Bantamweight Fighter on 01/10/2021

Media Coverage

We were able to establish that Mr. Lazishvili was featured in publications of international repute. We provided the title, date, and author of the title. 

The articles included in the petition were:

Get to Know Undefeated Georgian Fighter Zviad Lazishvili” – in Cageside Press, October 2, 2019 

“Zviad Lazishvili Looked Fantastic After Almost Four Years Off” – in Bloody Canvas, November 23, 2019

“LFA 90's Zviad Lazishvili: The Fight Mechanism”– on Combat Press, September 2, 2020 

“LFA 90: Lazishvili vs. Steele set for Friday, September 4th”– on Fight Book MMA, August, 2020 

“Zviad Lazishvili Beats Ricky Steele to Win the Vacant LFA Bantamweight Championship” on The Ring Report, September 6, 2020

“LFA 90 results: Zviad Lazishvili wins vacant bantamweight title, moves to 13-0” on MMA Junkie, September 4, 2020

“LFA 90 highlights: Watch Zviad Lazishvili claim vacant bantamweight strap” on MMA Junkie, September 5, 2020

We were able to clearly demonstrate that Mr. Lazishvili’s rankings and international press coverage gained him acclaim around the world.

International Awards

In the petition we also presented the award that Mr. Lazishvili had received:

• LFA Bantamweight Championship, 2020

• Olympic Torch Relay, Olympic Youth Fire Festival, Tbilisi 2015

• Kombat League World Championship, 2015

These are world championship events at the most significant competitions in the industry. It was proved that placing high in these competitions earns recognition and acclaim from competitors, judges, media, and fans in more than one country.

Thus, we had provided proof that Mr. Lazishvili had met at least three of the required criteria and was thus eligible for a P-1 Visa.

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.