Content creators and influencers in the US are now increasingly dominating requests for O-1 work visas. Astoundingly, the number of O-1 visas granted each year increased by 50% between 2014 and 2024, as noted by recent reporting in the Financial Times.

These visas allow non-immigrants to work temporarily in the US. The O-1 category includes the O-1A, which is designated for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business or athletics and the O-1B, reserved for those with “extraordinary ability or achievement”.

The Guardian spoke with some influencers who have had success in obtaining or are still trying to obtain the coveted O-1 visa and talked about what was involved in their process.

Julia Ain decided to post some videos of herself on social media at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown, when she was a student at McGill University.

“I was bored during the pandemic – like everyone else – and started posting on TikTok,” she told the Guardian. “I started livestreaming, and I grew a fanbase kind of quickly.”

Five years later, the 25-year-old Canadian content creator now has 1.3 million followers combined across various social media platforms. Her influencer success led her to an O-1 visa so, after graduating college in 2022, she decided to pursue content creation full-time.

“It became really obvious that you could make a lot of money doing this in a short period of time,” she said. “It felt like a very time-sensitive thing. Nobody knows how long this is going to last for.”

Ain posts photos and videos across Instagram, TikTok, X and Snapchat, sometimes in collaboration with other creators. Of her brand, she says: “My whole thing is being the funny Jewish girl with big boobs.” The majority of Ain’s income is from Fanfix, a safe-for-work subscription based platform for influencers to monetize their content. She first applied for the O-1B Visa after launching on the platform in August 2023, and the company ended up sponsoring her application. She now says she makes five figures per month on the platform.

Luca Mornet also began making content during the pandemic while he was a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Mornet, who is from France, realized soon that his F-1 student visa was holding him back from making money as an influencer.

“I became friends with so many [other influencers], and I would always see them work with so many people and brands and agencies. And I always was so annoyed that I couldn’t because I was a student,” he said.

He applied for the O-1B Visa shortly after graduating, during which he could finally make money from influencing while on his OPT, a 12-month work authorization for international students post-graduation.

The O-1B visa, once reserved for Hollywood titans and superstar musicians, has evolved over the years.

Michael Wildes and his client, Pelé. Photograph: Courtesy of Michael Wildes

“We started doing [O-1 visa applications] for kids who are e-sport players and influencers and the OnlyFans crew,” said Michael Wildes, an immigration attorney and managing partner of Wildes & Weinberg. “It’s the new, sexy medium for people to be a part of.”

Wildes has worked with the likes of musician Sinéad O’Connor, soccer star Pelé, and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten. His father, Leon Wildes, who started the firm in 1960, defended John Lennon and Yoko Ono against deportation during the Nixon administration, and helped facilitate the creation of the O-1B visa, which was established by the Immigration Act of 1990. Wildes’s client roster now includes social media influencers and Twitch streamers.

To qualify for an O-1B visa, applicants must submit evidence of at least three of the six regulatory criteria, which include performing in a distinguished production or event, national or international recognition for achievements, and a record of commercial or critically acclaimed successes. In 2026, though, these criteria are being stretched to encompass the accolades of an influencer.

In Ain’s application, she highlighted her sizable income and social media metrics.

“Part of my application was: ‘I have 200,000 followers on this app, 300,000 followers on this app, 10 million people watch me here every month,’” she said. “This isn’t just, ‘Oh, you had one viral video and people watched that.’ No, you’ve got a following now that are not only watching you, but also paying for your content actively month after month.”

Social media was an integral part of the O-1B visa application of Dina Belenkaya, a Russian Israeli chess player and content creator – which was approved in December 2023.

“My followings on Instagram (1.2 million), Twitch (108,000) and YouTube (799,000) were included as part of my profile, and I listed my follower counts on each platform,” she said. After her visa approval, she moved to Charlotte, North Carolina – widely considered the chess capital of the United States.

Members of Boy Throb (left to right): Anthony Key, Zachary Sobania, Evan Papier and Darshan Magdum (pictured on poster). Photograph: Courtesy of Boy Throb

While a certain number of followers may not be an automatic ticket to the US, one viral music group has been trying their luck. Boy Throb, comprising Anthony Key, Evan Papier, Zachary Sobania and Darshan Magdum, spent the past few months campaigning to reach 1 million followers on TikTok so that Magdum could use the stat on his O-1 visa application. Clad in matching pink jumpsuits, the three US-based bandmates danced together on screen to parody lyrics of hit songs, while Magdum was edited in from India.

Within a month of their first post, Boy Throb reached their goal of 1 million followers. Whether it will help Magdum get a visa remains unclear.

“Honestly, the entire immigration process has been so complicated and there have been so many people who don’t believe us when we say we’re doing everything in our power to get Darshan here,” the group said.

“We’re not sure how much longer we want to keep going without Darshan here and the process has been really expensive,” they added. In total, the band has spent more than $10,000 in legal and processing fees.

The rise in content creators applying for visas given out on the basis of “extraordinary ability” has garnered a variety of reactions. Dominic Michael Tripi, a political analyst and writer, posted on X that the trend was indicative of “end-stage empire conditions. It’s sad.” Legal professionals like Wildes, however, argue that the creator economy is the next frontier of American exceptionalism.

“Influencers are filling a large gap in the retail and commercial interests of the world,” he said. “They’re moving content and purchases like no other. Immigration has to keep up with this.”

Ain also takes issue with the criticism of influencers applying for O-1 visas, as well as the notion that influencing is not a legitimate profession.

“I don’t think [people] realize how much work actually goes into it,” she said. “You might not agree with the way the money is being made, or what people are watching, but people are still watching and paying for it.”

She continued: “Maybe 50 years ago, this isn’t what people imagined the American dream would look like. But this is what the American dream is now.”