The United States P-1A visa is for internationally recognized athletes or athletic teams. The P-1B visa is for recognized entertainment groups visiting the U.S.
Do you want to know your eligibility for the P-Visas (P-1A, or P-1B or P-2 Visa) to the US?
Call us toll-free or take less than a minute to fill our Online Assessment for Your Visa Options.
The United States P-1A visa is for internationally recognized athletes or athletic teams. The P-1B visa is for recognized entertainment groups visiting the U.S.
Do you want to know your eligibility for the P-Visas (P-1A, or P-1B or P-2 Visa) to the US?
Call us toll-free or take less than a minute to fill our Online Assessment for Your Visa Options.
Have you achieved international success as an athlete or an entertainer? If you are an athlete or member of an athletic team that has achieved international recognition and will be competing in the United States, you may be eligible for the P-1A visa.
If you are part of an international entertainment group that will be performing in the US, you may qualify for the P-1B visa.
If you are an artist or entertainer who wants to participate in an exchange program involving a US employer and your foreign employer, you may qualify for the P-2 visa.
We will help you find the best path to temporary immigration to the US.
To qualify for the P-1 Visa in the United States, you must be an internationally recognized athlete or entertainer.
Because both athletes and entertainers are covered by this visa, the P-1 visa is broken down into two different P-1 Visas: P-1A and P-1B. Individuals and family members who plan to visit the US temporarily in order to compete or perform may qualify for either the P-1A or the P-1B visa.
Eligibility requirements are as follows:
Athletes must have been a part of and participated in a US professional sports league, US college sports, have received either a national or international award, and must have participated in either a national or international sports competition or event to qualify for this visa.
The P-1B is applicable to performers who have achieved:
The P-1 visa (also known as P-1 Status for Internationally Recognized Athletes and Entertainment Groups) is a temporary, non-immigrant visa that allows an internationally recognized individual or team athletes and members of the entertainment industry to visit the US.
The P-1 has two categories, the P-1A and the P-1B. The P-1A allows individuals and teams to compete, perform, promote themselves, and participate in athletics while the P-1B allows internationally recognized entertainers to perform in the US.
A team or entertainment group must consist of at least two or more members.
The group must have been formed at least one year ago and 75% of the team members/entertainers must have been on the team/group for at least one year.
The athletic team, athletes or entertainment group must be internationally recognized.
Individuals and groups of people who have achieved success as an artist or entertainer may qualify for the temporary, non-immigrant P-2 visa. You must be as skilled as the artist or entertainer participating in the exchange outside of the US.
The P-2 visa is for individuals or groups who would like to enter the United States in a reciprocal exchange program in order to work temporarily as an artist or entertainer for no longer than one year.
If you are a P-2 visa holder you will be working for a US employer and must possess skills comparable to those of US artists and entertainers taking part in the program outside the United States.
The difference between the P-1 and P-2 visa is that P-1 visa holders must have achieved international recognition for their accomplishments while P-2 visa holders do not need to be internationally known for their talents.
The US employer who is participating in the reciprocal exchange program must begin the application process by filling in Form 1-129. The individual or group who may be granted the P-2 visa is not permitted to begin the process.
The US employer must submit supporting documents along with Form 1-129, which should be confirmed with the United States Citizenship Immigration Services.
Processing times for the P-1 visa, including both P-1A and P-1B, as well as the P-2 visas vary depending on several factors:
While there are many reasons why your P-1 or P-2 visa application could be refused, we have listed the ten most common here:
