Hi Reader,

Here is something I hear constantly. "I looked at the O1 criteria. There's no way that's me."

And then they go back to refreshing the H1B lottery results and hoping for the best.

I get it. The official name is alien of extraordinary ability. That alone makes most people close the tab.

But I recently sat down with someone who felt exactly the same way. He researched the O1 for four years before he finally pulled the trigger. And when he did, he got approved on his first attempt, in 15 business days, and walked straight into building a startup that is now part of Y Combinator.

His name is Chetan. And his story is worth understanding not because it is extraordinary, but because of how ordinary his starting point actually was.

He came to the US in 2022 on an L1B visa through an internal company transfer. No masters degree. No F1 route. He was a specialized knowledge worker who wanted to experience entrepreneurship in the US and was not interested in taking on debt for a degree he did not want.

L1B gave him the entry. But it also gave him a problem. He could not switch companies. And with layoffs happening around him, he felt one bad quarter away from having to pack up and leave.

So he applied for H1B, got lucky in the lottery on his first try, and switched over.

Then the H1B started feeling like a different kind of trap.

He wanted to start a company. He wanted to pay himself less in the early days. H1B wage requirements in the Bay Area made that complicated. And he was watching regulations around the program tighten in ways that made him uncomfortable about the long term.

That is when the O1 moved from background research to a real decision.

Here is what most people do not understand about the O1.

• It is not reserved for Nobel Prize winners.
• It is for people who have demonstrated sustained recognition and impact in their field.
• There is no annual cap.
• No lottery
• No employer holding your status over your head in the same way.
• And the approval rate sits around 92 to 94 percent for properly filed petitions.

What matters is evidence.

Specifically, you need to meet at least three criteria from a defined list.

Things like:

• Critical role in a distinguished organization, original contributions of major significance, high salary relative to others in your field, published work, judging or peer reviewing others' work, awards, or media coverage.

Chetan's case was built on four of these. Critical role with documented revenue impact. Original contributions including papers from his time at IIT. High salary. And peer reviewing and judging work in his field.

None of it required him to be famous. It required him to connect his existing work to the right framework and document it properly.

The single most useful habit he developed was one most people overlook entirely. \

He created a folder in Gmail labeled "appreciation" and dropped every email where someone senior acknowledged his work. Pitch decks where he was named. Slack messages screenshotted. Client revenue tied back to his contributions. Anything that created a paper trail showing he was not just a contributor but someone with genuine ownership over outcomes.

He did it years before he filed. And when it came time to build his petition, half the work was already done.

Two things he said that I think are worth sitting with.

First: your lawyer only knows as much as you tell them. They are handling dozens of cases. The people who get the best results are the ones who treat this as their process, not something they handed off. Read the draft. Push back. Ask questions. Use every tool available to review it before it goes out.

Second: the most important move you can make right now is finding out where you actually stand. Not guessing. Not reading eligibility lists and self-rejecting. Getting an actual assessment from someone who has seen hundreds of these cases.

That is exactly what Manifest Law does. If you have been on H1B for a few years, or you are building a track record in your field and wondering whether any of this could apply to you, they offer a free profile evaluation. You complete a short quiz and if your profile qualifies, you get a 15-minute call with their immigration lawyer at no cost. That call will tell you more about your actual position than anything else you can do today. Book it here: Evaluate your profile here​

The window between thinking about the O1 and actually being eligible is mostly evidence. And evidence takes time to build intentionally.

Start paying attention to what you are already doing. The critical projects. The recognition. The impact numbers. Start saving it.

Chetan's final point was the one that stuck with me most.

If you don't believe you are worthy, no lawyer is going to show up and tell you that you are. That belief has to come from you first.

One more thing before you go.

I am hosting a free live session next week with an immigration lawyer on the O1 visa roadmap. We will cover what the 9-month build actually looks like, what criteria matter most, and you can ask questions live. Register here for free.​

This Week in US Immigration

Every week, I’ll share the biggest updates around H-1B, F1 visas, green cards, OPT, layoffs, travel rules, lawsuits, and policy changes, without the confusing legal language.

Watch the full breakdown here: Immigration Session​

1. The AOS memo: DHS walks it back

Last week's Adjustment of Status policy memo created a lot of panic. This week there is more clarity, and it is calmer than the headlines suggested.

The memo was largely aimed at people who enter on tourist or visitor visas, overstay, and then file for a green card, not employment-based applicants with clean records.

That said, the memo does give USCIS officers broader discretionary authority and that has not changed. If you are on H1B or L1, you are in a better position than most. If you are on F1, B1, or B2, there will be more scrutiny and you will need to show stronger positive factors.

2. EB-2 India: an important clarification from last week

You can still file EB-2 cases even with the India quota exhausted. USCIS will continue accepting I-140 petitions and Adjustment of Status applications where your priority date is current. What they cannot do is approve and issue the actual green card until the quota resets on October 1. Your case will just sit and wait for the numbers to become available again.

If you have a biometrics appointment scheduled, keep it. If you are eligible to file, go ahead and file. The pause is on final approvals only, not on submissions.

3. Mandatory e-filing rule submitted for review

USCIS has submitted a new rule to the Office of Management and Budget that would make electronic filing mandatory for immigration applications.

This is not in effect yet. It is still under OMB review. But it is worth knowing about. The stated reason is to reduce payment rejections and paperwork errors. The concern from attorneys is that current USCIS systems are not fully equipped to handle this at scale and that mandatory e-filing could create new processing complications if the infrastructure is not ready.

Nothing changes for you today. But watch this space as it develops.

4. H1B second lottery and visa slots: do not plan around either

On the H1B FY2027 second lottery, it is too early to say whether one will happen. The filing season runs until June 30 and the full data is not in yet. On H1B and H4 visa appointment slots, no bulk slots were released this week for the fourth consecutive week. Ghost slots are appearing occasionally but nothing consistent.

Disclaimer: The information in this newsletter is for general awareness only. It is not legal advice and should not be treated as such. Immigration law is complex and every situation is different. I am not an immigration attorney. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. For advice specific to your situation, please consult a licensed US immigration attorney before making any decisions.