In this video, we'll talk about whether a Tiktok social media influencer or any other social media
influencer can apply for a US visa and a green card. If this topic interests you. I'll see you
on the other side. Hello, everybody and welcome back to our immigration channel. This is a
place where we get the most up-to-date information about immigration news, immigration updates, and
all the cool visas out there that you may have not known that exist, but they are definitely possible
for so many talented people all around the world. In this video, we're going to talk about
social media influencers, TikTok influencers, YouTubers, Instagramers, and many, many more.
TikTok is a huge platform right now emerging in so many great talents are coming to the
United States to work, but they have no idea how to do it. Well, guess what? In this video,
we're gonna break it down into all the different steps and help you understand how you can also
work in the United States. If you're an influencer on TikTok or any other social media platform. And
by the way, if you’re not following me on TikTok, right here, I’ll wait, follow me on TikTok. And
let's continue the conversation there as well. The immigration system is really, really old. In fact,
our immigration laws that are currently being used for work visas have not really changed since the
early 90s. And think about it. How much innovation of experience over the past several decades. Well,
our immigration system has not changed at all. And there were no categories specifically for social
media influencers. But there is a way to fit those influencers within the categories of the O1B visa
for extraordinary ability artists that are coming to the United States to perform and contribute
to our economy. Up until recently, there was not really a category to allow social media
influencers to come and work in the United States. But as more companies are relying on social media
influencers, for their marketing for their brand building, it became crucial and essential
to create a category that would allow those influencers to be able to come to the United
States and work here legally and be able to get paid here as well. And so in this video, I'm going
to tell you what this category is, and how you too can get that visa to be able to come here,
create and be able to work in the United States. I can tell you that in the past several years,
we've done hundreds of visas for bloggers, Instagramers, YouTubers, and now TikTokers that
are coming to the United States to collaborate with brands and help expand the reach of these
brands to consumers. And therefore, getting those visas correctly is essential now more than ever.
So what I'm gonna do in this video we're gonna talk about the most common visas available for
Tiktokers, YouTubers, and Instagramers. And what are the criteria to apply for those visas,
as well as the things that you need to supply while applying for those visas, specifically,
what kind of documents? So, make sure you stick to the end because I'm going to break it down for you
step by step. If you come here as a visitor, and you shoot a video or do a collaboration without
the proper visa, once that information becomes public, CBP officers, immigration officers can
see that and you can be penalized the next time you come to the states and barred entry for many,
many years. And it's not worth it. Because if you want to be able to come back and forth if you want
to be able to earn a living legally, you need to apply for the correct visa. There are currently
two options for social media influences. One is an automated visa called the O1B specifically
available for artists. And the second option is an EB1a that's a green card option for those that
want to stay more permanently in the United States and apply for permanent residency. For the purpose
of this video, we'll talk about the O1B visa, also known as the talent visa. The O1B is also known
as the extraordinary ability visa and allows an individual to work in that it states up to three
years at a time. And the beautiful thing about this visa is that you can continue to renew it as
you continue to build your reputation and projects in the United States. So how do social media
influencers meet the definition of extraordinary ability? Typically, one way to show it is the
kind of brand deals that you're involved with if you're working with big companies like Coca-Cola
or Vans shoes, but also even smaller companies that pay you higher amounts of money. Those sorts
of evidence will be used in any application that I prepare to show that somebody is extraordinary
in what they do. Also, the number of views, the number of likes, the number of followers, as he
translates into monetary success is also some factors that we include in all the applications
as we translate those numbers, those views, those likes to the Immigration Service to explain to
them why somebody is so extraordinary compared to their peers, who are engaging in a similar
activity. And also another element is to show why an influencer's collaboration is essential to the
expansion and growth of a particular brand. We can show that before they started working with
this influencer, they had X amount of revenue or X amount of sales. And after collaborating with this
influencer, or other influencers in that space, that's how much their brands continue to grow. And
these numbers, these statistics are the ones that we use to showcase the success of our influencers,
as we continue to help them get the visa. So how do we apply for the O1B visa, in order to apply
for an O1 visa, you need to have some sort of a job offer or an agent in the United States,
they will be your sponsor, that is going to be an individual or a company, that through them,
you're going to be able to get your visa, and continue to get your project as you continue to
work in the United States. As part of the assembly of documents for an O1B visa, you're going to need
deal memos, you're going to need contracts, and prove that you're going to continue to
do your job and your activities for the duration of those three years that you apply for your visa.
Let's look at some examples of documents you're going to need to provide as part of your O1B
application. Any documents that can show what is the nature of your collaboration with your brand,
that you're working with, as an ambassador, or as a lead influencer, any documents that can show
your success in the past, whether it's the amount of followers and likes that you've done, any
previous campaigns that you've done in your home country, any monetary success, that translated
as a result of these campaigns. So for example, we worked with a recent Tiktoker that had a brand
deal, and they paid him an X amount of money for this brand deal. As a result of that brand deal,
he is going to be able to get even bigger deals, because they all translate into monetary numbers,
right? The number of followers that he has, the number of engagement, the number of comments
that he gets all translate to the amount of money that he was offered from that brand,
for somebody at his level. And those are the kind of documents we show the USCIS
as to why they continue to excel, and why he's going to be able to continue to get even more of
these deals, because of the level of him being an influencer. Proof of pay statements from the past,
showing evidence of higher salary compared to others in your space. Again, all these things
are essential evidence for a successful O1B application. A list of past clients,
other social media influencers that you work with. And the people that they're going to be
able to provide reference letters to support your extraordinary ability. Evidence of any awards that
you've received from your work as a social media influencer, any competitions, any ceremonies that
you've attended, and if you've been recognized, these are all essential to the success of the O1B
case. Also, any articles that were published about you whether it was Yahoo news, intrapreneur,
any publications that are related to your trade, are also essential to show that you are
known in your industry. Very important, our deal memos. Deal memos are essential in any O1B case,
these amendments that will show the work that you're going to be performing in the future,
anytime in those three years. Any O1B application must contain those deal memos as a whole. Our job
as attorneys is to repackage all this information and translate it to the US Immigration Service.
What does it mean to be an influencer? What does it mean to have a million views on Tiktok?
What does it mean to have 10 million followers on Tiktok, who basically compare will take
other famous influencers and show what they've done, what they do, how much they earned,
and then reflect that to our client in comparison, to elevate their influence, and allow them
to make their case more successful by explaining it to the immigration? Because remember,
the immigration service may not understand what Tiktok is and how it works, what Instagram
is and how it works, and how influencers are generating income on those platforms.
And therefore, it's our job to tie all these factors together, put it into a nice package,
and because I myself am involved on Tiktok, I'm verified on Tiktok and verified on Instagram and
verified on Facebook. It's easier for us who are coming from that space as well to be able to take
that translated information and put together a strong case as a leader, in the immigration,
social media space for influencers. So once again, if you're an influencer,
and you're interested in coming to work in the United States, make sure you drop me a
comment here or connect with me by texting me 6194834 549. I'm here for you and I'm excited
to discover the next big influencer coming from Tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube and help them come
here to work in the United States. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next video.