Six classifications cover almost everyone in sport — athlete, coach, cornerman, official, creator, and the career that has earned permanence. One honest table, then the doors.
| Visa | Who it is for | The standard | Petitioner | Typical term | Green-card path |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P-1A | Internationally recognized athletes and teams | International recognition in the sport | Employer, team, or US agent | Up to 5 years (individual) | Via separate immigrant petition |
| P-1S | Essential support staff of a P-1 | Essentiality + the P-1 it attaches to | Same side as the P-1 | Tracks the P-1 | — |
| O-1A | Athletes and coaches of extraordinary ability | Sustained acclaim; 3+ criteria — the checklist | Employer or US agent | Up to 3 years, extensions | Strong runway toward EB-1A |
| O-1B | The sport-adjacent arts side — creators, commentators, personalities | Distinction in the arts/media | Employer or agent | Up to 3 years | Via immigrant petition |
| O-2 | Essential support of an O-1 | Essentiality + skills not readily available | With the O-1's | Tracks the O-1 | — |
| EB-1A | The permanent version: extraordinary ability, green card | The highest bar — self-petitionable | The athlete (self) | Permanent residence | It IS the path |
Fifteen minutes into the consultation, this table becomes YOUR row. A $500 consultation with Sherrod Seward covers your specific facts — credited toward the fee if you retain the firm.
That is the classic trajectory — nonimmigrant status for the career now, the permanent petition when the record matures. The firm's published O-1A/EB-1A comparison covers sequencing.
Dual-track careers sometimes fit O-1A and O-1B differently for different activities — classification follows the activity, and mixing them casually is an RFE generator.
Fees differ less than evidence-assembly costs do. The expensive visa is the wrong one filed twice — which is the honest argument for getting the classification right before the first filing.
