The U.S. work visa for people at the top of their field. We build your petition in three weeks, and if you're denied, we refund our fee.
Extraordinary ability
Two versions, one bar each. Pick your field to see the criteria you'll need to prove.
You need evidence for at least 3 of these 8, unless you hold a major internationally recognized award. Whether yours is strong enough depends on the details.
National or international awards for excellence in your field.
Counts: A national research prize, a selective dissertation award, an award for a talk at a recognized conference.
Doesn't count: Awards open only to one employer, school or city.
All 8 criteria explained →Groups that admit members for outstanding achievement, judged by experts.
Counts: IEEE Fellow, AAAI Fellow.
Doesn't count: Memberships you get by paying a fee, by years of experience or because your job requires it.
All 8 criteria explained →Articles about you and your work in major media or trade publications.
Counts: A TechCrunch or Financial Times piece that names you and your role.
Doesn't count: Press about your company that never mentions you.
Press for founders →Judging work in your field, on a panel or on your own.
Counts: Peer review for a recognized conference or journal, a grant review panel, a startup pitch competition.
Good to know: USCIS wants proof you completed the reviews, not just the invitation.
All 8 criteria explained →Scientific, scholarly or business work that changed something in your field.
Counts: Open-source code adopted by large companies, a licensed patent, research cited well above your field's norm.
Doesn't count: Being funded, patented or published, on its own.
Patent evidence →Scholarly articles in professional journals or major media.
Counts: Peer-reviewed papers, published conference papers, bylined articles in major trade publications.
Good to know: You don't need to be first author, and citations aren't required here.
Researchers' evidence guide →A leading or critical role at an organization with a distinguished reputation.
Counts: Founding engineer who built a known fintech's payments system, co-founder of a startup with significant venture funding.
Good to know: Your duties count, not your title. You also have to prove the organization's reputation.
Critical role for founders →Pay that is high compared with others in similar roles.
Counts: Offer letter or pay stubs vs. wage data for your role and city. For founders, valuable startup equity.
Good to know: Pay earned abroad is compared with local wages there, not converted to dollars.
All 8 criteria explained →If a criterion doesn't fit your job, you can submit comparable evidence. USCIS's examples: a talk at a major trade show instead of scholarly articles, startup equity instead of salary.
Three criteria get your file a full review. Then the officer looks at everything together. Three well-documented criteria usually beat eight thin ones.
You need evidence for at least 3 of these 6, unless you have a major national or international award or nomination. Whether yours is strong enough depends on the details.
Lead or starring roles in productions or events with a distinguished reputation, past or upcoming.
Counts: Principal dancer in a company's season premiere, lead designer of a show at a major fashion week.
National or international recognition in critical reviews or major outlets.
Counts: Reviews of your exhibition in a national newspaper, a profile in a major culture magazine.
Lead, starring or critical roles for organizations with a distinguished reputation.
Counts: Creative director at a recognized agency, executive chef at an acclaimed restaurant group.
A record of major commercial or critically acclaimed successes.
Counts: Box office, streaming or sales numbers, chart positions, sold-out tours.
Significant recognition from organizations, critics, government agencies or recognized experts.
Counts: A letter from a museum curator or festival director describing your work, with their credentials.
High salary or other substantial pay compared with others in the field.
Counts: Performance contracts or commission fees above the norm for your field.
If a criterion doesn't fit your work, you can submit comparable evidence. It works for O-1B Arts the same way it does for O-1A.
Three criteria get your file a full review. Then the officer looks at everything together. Three well-documented criteria usually beat six thin ones.
Bring your résumé to a 30-minute call. We'll map your evidence to each criterion and tell you where the gaps are.
The bar is the same for everyone. What changes is the evidence that usually fits.
Five stops. What you do and what we do at each one.
Not sure what counts as evidence? Bring your résumé and anything that shows recognition. That's enough to start.
JumpstartGoes through it criterion by criterion and shows you which ones to build the petition on. 30 minutes, free, no credit card.
USCIS doesn't accept O-1 self-petitions. A U.S. employer, a U.S. agent (for freelancers or several clients) or a U.S. company you own files for you.
JumpstartHelps you pick the route that fits your situation.
Do you have press, awards, contracts or citations? Pull them together with letters from experts in your field. Every petition also needs a written advisory opinion from a peer group or expert.
JumpstartGives you one dashboard with every document's status and what's still missing. Three independent reviews check the file against 600+ past petitions and USCIS decisions.
Read the final petition and approve it before it's filed.
JumpstartSends it to an independent U.S.-licensed attorney we work with, who reviews and signs it before Form I-129 goes to USCIS. Premium processing is optional.
Already in the U.S. in valid status? Your status changes when USCIS approves the petition, since the change of status is requested when it's filed. Abroad? Take the approval notice to a U.S. consulate for your visa, then start working.
Not sure what counts as evidence? Bring your résumé and anything that shows recognition. That's enough to start.
Goes through it criterion by criterion and shows you which ones to build the petition on. 30 minutes, free, no credit card.
Book it and find out where you stand.
Clients approved with Jumpstart, in their own words.
"The Jumpstart team was clear. They were attentive. They delivered."
"Communication was fast and straightforward, and I always felt comfortable asking questions. The team made something as complex as an O-1 petition much less stressful."
"A life changing milestone, made possible by an incredible team."
"I'm trembling with happiness. Thank you for everything!"
"Jumpstart helped make a complex process feel structured and manageable, and I genuinely appreciated the team's guidance, responsiveness, and support throughout the journey."
"I previously worked with other lawyers whose approach didn't adapt to the times. Jumpstart was completely different: their incentives are aligned, and they work with technology and statistical tools. We couldn't have prepared a more well-rounded case."
Two kinds of fees: ours and the government's. One flat price, no surprises, and you get our fee back if the petition is denied.
USCIS filing fees, plus the insurance that covers them if your petition is denied.
With a traditional firm, the whole process can reach US$15,000 to $20,000 once RFE responses and government fees are added on top. With Jumpstart, everything is included in the total below.
Six questions to ask anyone who wants to file your petition. Here's how we answer them.
Why it matters: A generalist firm files a few O-1s a year. The criteria are judged on nuance, and nuance comes from volume.
At Jumpstart: O-1, EB-1A and EB-2 NIW are all we do. Our AI review is trained on 600+ past petitions and real USCIS decisions.
Why it matters: If they won't share it, assume it's not a number they're proud of.
At Jumpstart: 98% across O-1, EB-1A, L-1 and EB-2 NIW, with an RFE rate well below the market average.
Why it matters: Most firms keep their fee either way. The risk is all on you.
At Jumpstart: We refund 100% of our fee, and our insurance partner covers your government filing fees.
Why it matters: Traditional firms take 4 to 6 months. Every month is a month you are not working in the U.S.
At Jumpstart: Three weeks from the strategy call to a filing-ready petition. Some petitions have been filed in as little as two weeks.
Why it matters: One overloaded associate misses things. USCIS can now deny without an RFE, so the first filing has to be right.
At Jumpstart: Three independent reviews on every petition. An independent licensed attorney signs every filing.
Why it matters: Chasing a lawyer by email for weeks is the most common complaint we hear.
At Jumpstart: One dashboard shows every document, its status and what's still missing. You know before you ask.
Built by extraordinary immigrants, for extraordinary immigrants.
Former immigration counsel at Microsoft, with more than a decade of legal operations experience in U.S. business immigration.
Engineer turned founder, MIT Sloan and ITA. Building the AI that reviews every petition and the success-based pricing behind it.
Y Combinator (S21) alumna and Forbes 30 Under 30. Has built and scaled startups across three countries.
Short answers here. Bring the rest to your free consultation.
People who can document extraordinary ability. For an O-1A, that means evidence for at least 3 of 8 USCIS criteria and a record that places you among the small percentage at the top of your field. For an O-1B in the arts, it's 3 of 6 criteria and distinction in your field. A degree, years of experience or a job title don't qualify anyone on their own. Recognition does.
Our fee is US$8,500, one-time, with installments available. Extra costs are separate: $1,055 for the Form I-129 filing fee, a $600 Asylum Program Fee and a $600 insurance fee. That brings your total to US$10,755. Premium processing is optional and adds $2,965, for a total of US$13,720. Small employers and nonprofits pay lower USCIS fees. If the petition is denied, we refund 100% of our fee and the insurance covers your government fees.
With Jumpstart, the petition is filing-ready in about three weeks. With premium processing, USCIS acts within 15 business days of filing. Without it, check the current USCIS processing times. If you need a visa stamp, add the consulate's interview wait. The petition can be filed up to 1 year before your start date. USCIS recommends filing at least 45 days before, to avoid delays.
Someone has to file for you: USCIS doesn't accept O-1 self-petitions. The petitioner can be a U.S. employer, a U.S. agent, or a foreign employer filing through a U.S. agent.
It can. USCIS guidance updated in January 2025 says you may file through a U.S. company you own. USCIS may ask for proof that the company is a real employer, that the job isn't speculative, and that the work fits the O-1.
The O-1 is temporary, but many holders later file for a green card. Much of the O-1 evidence overlaps with EB-1A, and some holders file EB-2 NIW instead. USCIS can't deny your O-1, an extension or a change of status because you have an approved labor certification or a filed immigrant petition. You can hold O-1 status and seek a green card at the same time.
Up to 3 years on the first approval. To keep doing the same work, extensions come in steps of up to 1 year. A new project or a new employer can be approved for up to 3 years. There's no limit on the number of extensions. If your extension is filed on time, you can keep working for up to 240 days while USCIS decides.
Not necessarily. There is no minimum age or number of years. USCIS says someone early in their career can show sustained acclaim, as long as the recognition has held up since they earned it.
Not exactly. USCIS reads "area of extraordinary ability" broadly: work that uses the same skills, knowledge or expertise counts. Its own examples include an engineer coming to start a technology company and a researcher moving to a private company. The U.S. job also doesn't have to require someone of extraordinary ability.
Yes. Each employer can file its own petition, or a U.S. agent can file one petition that covers several employers. It needs the terms agreed with each employer (a written contract, or a summary of an oral agreement backed by emails) and an itinerary with the dates and places of the work. For someone coming off a layoff, that means not depending on a single employer.
Yes, if you qualify. The new petitioner files Form I-129 for the O-1 and, if you're in the U.S. in valid status, asks for a change of status. If you were laid off, you have a grace period of up to 60 days, and the O-1 can be filed during that time.
You can change, but the new employer has to file a new Form I-129 to authorize the new job. If an agent filed your petition, the agent files an amended one. If your job ends, you keep O-1 status for up to 60 days, or until your approval ends if that's sooner. You can't work during that time.
USCIS may send a Request for Evidence (RFE) asking for something the file didn't prove. Since August 2026, it may also deny without sending one when required initial evidence is missing. That puts more weight on the first filing, which is why every Jumpstart petition goes through three independent reviews before it's sent.
Yes. Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come in O-3 status. They can study in the U.S., but O-3 doesn't allow them to work.
Bring your résumé. We'll go through it criterion by criterion, tell you where the gaps are and what a petition would take. No credit card, no obligation.
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