World Class Tennis Player Diana Bogolii receives O-1 visa

World Class Tennis Player Diana Bogolii receives O-1 visa

World Class Tennis Player Diana Bogolii receives O-1 visa

We are elated to announce that we successfully petitioned for a O-1 visa, for none other than World Class Tennis Player Diana Bogolii!

O-1 visas provide young graduates who are not yet qualified for big tournaments the opportunity not only to compete but also to work in country clubs to support themselves while competing. Therefore, receipt of an O-1 visa is an excellent opportunity for Diana Bogolii to participate in more activities to achieve the highest level of success!

Managing Member of the firm, Sherrod Seward successfully presented the petition proving eligibility on many counts for the O-1 visa, as a World Class Tennis Player to USCIS. He provided as many documents as possible for each of the criteria satisfied by the athlete. The highly compelling evidence presented resulted in yet another successful petition. 

The Athlete

Ms. Diana Bogolii is in great demand for her extraordinary abilities as a World Class Tennis Player and has been commissioned by various project employers for the next three years. 

The Petitioner

Mr. Simo Alami is a professional tennis coach and coach to the stars such as Dustin Hoffman, George Clooney, among others. Alami has been a coach for more than twenty-four years including working with the Breaker’s Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida.  Born in Morocco, Mr. Alami came to the United States on a tennis scholarship when he was nineteen years old. Since his arrival in the United States, Mr. Alami has garnered a distinguished reputation as the go- to tennis coach for celebrities and elite clientele around the United States. 

The O-1 Petition for the world class tennis player

We demonstrated that Mr. Simo Alami, the petitioner, would like to extend the O-1 status upon Ms. Diana Bogolii, whom they consider to be an exceptionally talented tennis player. Our petition reflected the world-class excellence of the beneficiary. 

We put forth that American fighters that are highly ranked require other highly ranked fighters to compete against in order to improve their own world standings. Very few American fighters are ranked high and thus are not afforded the opportunity to move up in the world rankings unless they are granted the opportunity to compete against international talent. 

To establish Ms. Diana Bogolii’s claim for the Extraordinary Ability visa, we can prove her eligibility in one of two ways. The first is evidence of a one-time achievement, that is, a major internationally-recognized award. 

Major internationally-recognized awards

We established that the beneficiary could claim that she is entitled to the O-1A immigrant visa through this route, for the following accomplishments:  

  • 1st place in the Championship of Ukraine (2007);

  • 1st place in the Championship of Ukraine (2008);

  • 1st place in the Championship of Ukraine (2010);

  • “10th Monastir ITF Tournament” Singles Winner, July 2011

  • 2nd place “Czech International Junior Indoor Championship” Prerov, Czech Republic (2012);

  • ITF Women’s Circuit, Doubles Winner, Antalya, Turkey;

  • Winner Ukraine National Tournament (2005);

  • 2nd place in the Jolie Ville Championship, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt;

  • Winner of the Shymkent Women’s Tennis Tournament, Kazakhstan (2014);

  • Winner of the Shymkent Women’s Tennis Tournament, Kazakhstan (2013);

  • Shymkent Women’s Finalist, Kazakhstan, 2014

  • Winner Jolie Ville Championship, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt;

  • 2nd place in the ITF tournament in Offenbach, Germany;

  • Winner of the ITF Donetsk City Cup;

  • 2nd place in the Osijek Ladies Open, Croatia (2011);

  • 2nd place in the ITF International Tournament, Zabrze, Poland;

  • Winner of the ITF International Tournament Zabrze, Poland;

  • Winner of the Savitaipale Ladies Open, Finland (2014);

  • Winner of the International Junior Pilar De La Horadada, Spain (2011);

  • Zentiva Czech Open Indoor, Finalist, Czech Republic

  • Two-time Winner of the Pancevo International Tennis Tournament, Serbia (2011); 

  • 3rd place in the Zentiva Czech Open, Czech Republic;

  • Two-time Winner of the Racquette D’or, Morocco;

  • Winner of the International Tennis Federation’s Riaan Vener Juniors Tournament, South Africa;

  • Winner of the Riad 21, Morocco; 

  • Two-time Winner of $10,000 in the Sharm El Sheikh Tournament, Egypt (2014);

  • Two-time winner of $10,000 Djibouti International Tournament (2012);

  • Winner of the Boca Lago Prize Money Open 2019, Boca Raton, FL;

  • Broward Summer Money Open 2019, Winner, Coral Springs, FL

  • 2020 USTA/UTR Reel Tennis Open Circuit 11, Winner, Plantation, FL

  • KL Tennis 2020, Winner, West Palm Beach, FL

  • 2020 USTA/UTR Canas Tennis Open Championships, Winner, Boynton Beach, FL

  • KL Tennis Tournament 2020, Finalist, West Palm Beach, FL

Awards and Rankings as a World Class Tennis Player

We proved that the beneficiary is a person of extraordinary ability in the field of tennis by showcasing the major championships she has won. Ms. Diana Bogolii is such a consummate champion that she has won all major championships. 

The petition included complete details of her bout history; we brought forth and highlighted all her major championship wins: 

  • LYNN UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP AWARD 

  • RANKED NO 1 IN UNDER 12, UNDER 14, UNDER 16, AND UNDER 18 CATEGORIES IN UKRAINE

  • MASTER OF SPORTS AWARD (UKRAINE)

  • NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES

  • INTERNATIONAL TENNIS FEDERATION WOMEN’S CIRCUIT DOUBLES CHAMPION (ANTALYA, TURKEY)

  • RANKED NO 60 IN THE WORLD IN JUNIORS BY THE INTERNATIONAL TENNIS FEDERATION

We proved that only top-class champions have won such a combination of championships since the beginning of tennis. The criteria for rankings and championships for the sanctioning bodies and the histories of past winners were included with this petition.  

Memberships in prestigious organizations

To strengthen the petition, we proved that the athlete is part of teams which require outstanding achievements of their members. Through her world championships, Ms. Diana Bogolii is part of the following sanctioning bodies: 

Distinguished Tennis Associations/Federations and Teams 

UKRAINIAN NATIONAL TENNIS TEAM is Ukraine’s tennis team governed by the Ukraine Tennis Federation. The team competes in international championships and tournaments around the world including European Championship, the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Orange Bowl, and numerous other international championships and cups. Ms. Bogolii was selected as a member of this prestigious team because of her excellence as a World Class Tennis Player. 

NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (NCAA) is the governing body for athletics in the United States in collegiate sports. The NCAA is a non-profit organization that regulates student athletes from up to 1,268 North American institutions and conferences. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The NCAA currently awards 90 national championships yearly – 46 women's, 41 men's, and coed championships.  Ms. Bogolii was a two-time Division II National Champion and NCAA Championship Finalist and as a World Class Tennis Player for Lynn University served in an essential role as a member.  

INTERNATIONAL TENNIS FEDERATION (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national associations, and as of 2016, was affiliated with 211 national tennis associations and six regional associations. The ITF also governs the tennis federations such as the Ukrainian Tennis Federation (UTF) among other associations and federations around the globe. We include a background for the ITF as well as a list of the numerous associations and federations around the world they govern. 

UNITED STATES TENNIS ASSOCIATION (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States.  A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass-roots to the professional levels. The association was created to standardize rules and regulations and to promote and develop the growth of tennis in the United States. The USTA also runs the US Open and hosts tournaments across the country every weekend for club players or professionals.  The USTA has 17 geographical sections with more than 700,000 individual members and 7,000 organizational members, and a professional staff. Ms. Bogolii has garnered membership in this distinguished organization as a World Class Tennis Player with international recognition for achievements. 

Along with the above, we included details of the mandatory challengers to become champions in each of the above bodies. The supporting evidence helped prove the excellence required to be a member of these teams. 

Internationally-recognised publications

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

The articles included in the petition were:

  • Newsband.in article features Ms. Bogolii competing in the Ganesh Naik ITF Women’s Tennis Championship in India, “Prena, Sneha Lead India’s Charge In First Round 

  • Qualifiers of $25000 Ganesh Naik ITF Women’s Tennis Championship”, Ashek Dhamila, December 8, 2013;

  • “About” Newsband.in;

  • Viewership / Readership (159,505 yearly views);

  • Lynnfightingknights.com features Ms. Bogolii with bio, “Dina Bogolii”, Date Unknown;

  • “About” Lynn University;

  • Viewership / Readership (302,950 yearly views);

  • Itftennis.com features Ms. Bogolii and her current ranking with the International Tennis Federation (ITF);

  • “About” the International Tennis Federation;

  • Viewership / Readership for Itftennis.com (13,325,055 yearly views);

  • Wtatennis.com (World Tennis Association) features Ms. Bogolii and her rankings and prize winnings;

  • “About” World Tennis Association;

  • Viewership / Readership (20,759,010 yearly views);

  • Tennisrecruiting.net features Ms. Bogolii;

  • Background for Tennisrecruiting.net;

  • Viewership / Readership (3,013,440 yearly views);

  • Eckerdtritons.com article features Ms. Bogolii, “Lear Wins in Singles But Tritons Fall to No 4 Lynn -Eckerd”, John Armstrong, March 27, 2018;

  • “About” Eckerd Tritons;

  • Viewership / Readership (184,325 yearly views);

  • Tennislink.usta.com features Ms. Bogolii defeating Elan Minatsakanov in the West Palm Beach Open, November 21, 2020;

  • “About” Usta.com;

  • Viewership/ Readership Usta.com (7,067,130 yearly views);

  • Gettyimages.com features Ms. Bogolii in the NCAA Division II Women’s Tennis Championship, Matt Marriott, May 13, 2017;

  • “About” Gettyimages.com;

  • Viewership statistics for Gettyimages.com (255,607,310 yearly views);

  • Itatennis.co features Ms. Bogolii’s NCAA Division II Ranking in the Top 50 National Doubles Champions, “Oracle/ITA Division II Women’s National Doubles Rankings – Mar 21, March 21, 2018;

  • “About” the International Tennis Association (ITA);

Viewership / Readership statistics for Itatennis.co (71,540 yearly views)

We were able to clearly demonstrate that Ms. Bogolii’s rankings and international press coverage gained her acclaim around the world.

Thus, we had provided proof that Ms. Bogolii had met at least three of the required criteria and was thus eligible for a O-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.

Sherrod Seward