Partner Colleen Caden, Chair of Pryor Cashman’s Immigration Group, spoke to Law360 for its article, “5 Tips for Securing a Visa for an Athlete.” The article appeared on August 4, 2015.

Athletes come into the U.S. under two main visas, the P-1 visa and the O-1 visa. The P-1 visa is for internationally recognized athletes, and the O-1 visa is for those with “extraordinary ability” in athletics. Some attorneys prefer the P-1 visa, as it requires a lower standard of proof, and can be good for five years, as opposed to three years under the O-1 visa. Caden stated that major sports leagues have the extra advantage of automatically qualifying for P-1 visas. “Not that there aren't Os out there, but why go through all that time and effort and energy, if it's not necessary to do?” said Caden, who works with basketball (NBA) and hockey (NHL) teams.

Technical pitfalls can also plague sports visas. For example, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has started denying petitions for internationally recognized athletes aiming to play on lower-level tours, since the agency has determined these events don’t require athletes with international reputations. Caden notes that this appears to be a particular problem in golf.

P-1 and O-1 visa applications only require a limited amount of documentation. For P-1 visas, attorneys can choose two of seven possible supporting documents. O-1 applications require three of eight possible supporting documents. Attorneys recommend submitting as much documentation as possible to strengthen a petition. Caden stated that including a consultation letter from the appropriate sports union is key, which typically states a player is at the top of his field, and that the organization doesn’t object to the hiring of a foreign worker.

“You need the union letters,” Caden said. “Because when we have been in rush cases — where trades are going on and what not — and we haven't been able to secure the consultation letters, they've actually come back to us and said they won't approve the cases without the letters."

Many times in sports immigration cases, athletes are needed quickly. However, in terms of O visas, it is important to collect the right evidence. According to Caden, not jumping the gun on switching foreign student athletes from F-1 visa status to P-1 status is also a recurring issue. Major sports leagues may want to switch young athletes to a P visa before the school year is over, but many schools won’t allow the students to graduate unless they’re in F-1 status, she said.

Surmounting this hurdle usually requires completing degree requirements in F status, before being allowed to change to P status for graduation, Caden explained. “I find that the teams don't want to jeopardize these kids getting their degrees, particularly if they're coming out of the Stanfords of the world, so we'll adjust the timing of the filing of the applications, until they finish their degree requirements,” she said.

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