What have you done, and how can you document it?
Review achievements, recognition, and your personal role in your field. Products, funding, and titles start the conversation; supporting evidence comes next.
Explore experience worth documentingAbout the project / A structured O-1A preparation path
Planning to build in the U.S.?
Understand the O-1A path first.
USCOO supports the full O-1A preparation journey: assess your experience, organize evidence, prepare the petitioner, assemble documents, and choose preparing materials; U.S. employer or qualified agent files I-129 or a law firm when you are ready.
Choose answers or import a resume · No project required to start · Go at your own pace
Start with two requirements
Personal achievements and genuine U.S. work.
Who will petition, and what work will you do?
A U.S. employer or qualifying U.S. agent generally files the petition. A separate U.S. company you own may petition for you. You cannot directly self-petition; the entity and work arrangements must be verified.
Understand the petitioning companyPetitioning arrangement · Petitioner
Identify which petitioning arrangement fits your current situation.
You are the beneficiary. The U.S. employer or qualifying U.S. agent filing Form I-129 is the petitioner. Personal evidence and petitioner records are prepared separately, then aligned.
- 01
You already own a U.S. company
Verify the separate legal entity, formation records, governance and signing authority, then document your role, duties, work period, locations and compensation.
- 02
You plan to form a U.S. company
Clarify the company goal, state and entity type, then work through formation, EIN, governance, accounts, permits and pre-operation setup.
- 03
Another employer or U.S. agent will file
Verify the actual employer, authorization, contracts, service dates and locations. Agent filings may also require an applicable itinerary.
Not sure which arrangement applies yet?
Add my situation in the assessmentThe initial assessment only asks for your current situation and plan. USCOO carries unresolved questions into the workspace; you do not need to form a company now.
Only want to set up a U.S. company for now?
Use the company track on its own for formation through pre-operation setup, then decide later whether the company will serve as an O-1A petitioner. Formation itself is not evidence of personal extraordinary ability.
Explore the company preparation trackThe full path on one page
USCOO takes you from “Could this work for me?” to preparing to build or work in the United States.
- 01
Understand first
Understand who O-1A serves, extraordinary ability evidence, and the proposed U.S. work.
See the whole process - 02
Tell us about your experience
Start with your current work, one standout achievement, and your U.S. timeline.
You and your petitioner - 03
Review what you already have
Turn your answers into leads worth verifying, then use existing records to fill the gaps.
Start with existing records - 04
Identify what is missing
Map your leads and documents against the USCIS criteria.
Identify evidence gaps - 05
Choose how to continue
Choose preparing materials; U.S. employer or qualified agent files I-129 or a law firm. The counsel brief and sharing link are created only for the law firm path.
Your choice - 06
Company and personal evidence tracks
Coordinate company work arrangements, personal evidence, drafting and professional review.
O-1A Extraordinary Ability Workspace - 07
Filing and follow-up
Track packets, dispatch, receipts, evidence requests, visas and admission.
Keep tracking
Time, effort, and cost
Bring your achievements to the surface,
then turn them into well-sourced evidence.
USCOO helps you reconstruct the concrete event first. Then, as you find originals or ask knowledgeable people to confirm it, the system tells you whom to ask and what each record should establish.
Set aside 30–60 minutes to review your achievements
This is a planning suggestion for reviewing representative experience. Start with your current resume; a complete petition package is not needed yet.
Plan collection in weeks; outside coordination can take months
Timing depends on available evidence, company arrangements, recommenders, and translation. This is a preparation plan, not a standard processing time.
Separate USCIS processing from visa timing
Check current standard processing times with USCIS. Eligible O-1 premium processing generally requires adjudicative action within 15 business days, which may include an evidence request; approval is not guaranteed. Consular appointments and administrative processing are separate.
Premium processing rules Standard processing timesWhat costs should I plan for?
Budget for applicable government and premium processing fees, company costs, and any translation, legal, or other services you need. Eligibility and amounts depend on the case; recheck official fees before filing.
Official fee calculatorGovernment filing fee estimate
Estimate for one O-1A beneficiary and one paper petition. Change the options to update the estimate. No payment is collected here.
I-129, I-907 and applicable consular charges below are government administrative fees, not USCOO platform service fees. Any third-party service budget you enter is listed separately.
What do these fee names mean?
- I-129
- The form a U.S. employer or agent uses to petition for your work classification.
- Asylum Program Fee
- An administrative charge on applicable employer petitions. Its name does not mean you are applying for asylum. Reductions and exemptions depend on the employer category.
- I-907
- An optional premium-processing request. This estimate uses $2,965 for O-1 requests effective March 1, 2026. Premium processing does not guarantee approval.
- MRV
- A visa application fee for consular processing, separate from the U.S. worker petition fee.
Third-party service budget (optional)Expand to add legal, translation and other service estimates3 categories available
Government fees subtotal · USD$530.00 – $1,860.00
Uncertain inputs produce a range. Blank service estimates are excluded.
- Worker petition · I-129 (O)
- $530.00 – $1,055.00
- Asylum Program Fee
- $0.00 – $600.00
- Premium processing · I-907
- $0.00
- Consular visa application · MRV
- $0.00 – $205.00
- Your service estimates
- $0.00
Reference check: September 8, 2026. Recheck the applicable fees before filing.I-129 / Asylum Program FeeI-907Visa / MRV
Start with familiar experience
Look for evidence leads in work you know.
The usual evidentiary threshold is a major internationally recognized award or at least three of eight evidence criteria, followed by review of the record as a whole. Three yes answers do not establish three criteria or predict approval. Evidence quality, sustained recognition, and standing in the field matter.
01Awards and honors · Awards / Prizes
Who received the award? Are the selection rules and recipient list available?
A company award, funding round, or paid certificate does not automatically demonstrate a personal award.
Review focus:Recipient, selection process, field, and scope of recognition。02Selective professional membership · Membership
What achievements are required for membership, and who evaluates applicants?
Payment of dues or an ordinary professional qualification alone is insufficient.
Review focus:Outstanding achievement requirements, expert evaluation, and actual selection。03Reporting about you · Published Material
What specific work of yours does the article discuss?
A name mention or company announcement does not automatically satisfy the criterion.
Review focus:Coverage of you and your work; author, date, and type of publication。04Evaluating others' work · Judging
What work did you actually evaluate? What scores or feedback remain?
Organizing an event, speaking, or receiving an invitation without completing judging does not automatically count.
Review focus:Same or allied field, actual judging, and records of completion。05Original work and field impact · Original Contributions
Which part did you create, and who adopted the results?
A patent, software registration, or product alone does not establish major significance.
Review focus:Originality, your role, adoption, and major significance。06Scholarly articles · Scholarly Authorship
What did the article investigate, and where was it published?
An ordinary blog, interview, or marketing article does not automatically qualify as a scholarly article.
Review focus:Scholarly nature, authorship, field, and publication。07Essential work for a distinguished organization · Critical / Essential Capacity
How did your work contribute to the organization?
Founder or CEO titles alone do not establish a critical role.
Review focus:The organization's distinguished reputation, actual duties, and your role。08High compensation · High Salary / Remuneration
What work was the compensation for, and what comparable data is available?
Funding, company valuation, and ownership percentage are not automatically personal remuneration.
Review focus:Compensation, services performed, and comparable field benchmarks。What if a founder's experience does not fit these categories?
Keep the genuine experience and supporting records. Comparable evidence may be considered when the listed criteria do not readily apply to the occupation. This has specific conditions; it is not a substitute simply because evidence is missing. Preserve the question for professional review.
One manageable next step
See which parts of your experience are worth documenting.
Use simple choices or bring a resume. You do not need to enter a passport number, address, or company tax ID now.
Saved application projects
A project is created only when you explicitly save. Each card is one application you can continue or move between filing methods.
No saved projects yet. Start with your experience.
Free O-1 assessment: what to expect
This O-1A eligibility tool is free. No registration is required to assess, view results or download the full report. Downloading the report creates no workbench project. Saving a project is a separate signed-in action.
- Describe your professional field, current work and one defining achievement.
- Add the evidence you have, your personal contribution, company context and preparation timeline.
- Review criteria mapping, evidence gaps and a preparation checklist; download the report if useful.
The output organizes preparation directions. It is not a USCIS determination or an approval prediction. Do not enter passport numbers, SSNs or bank information.
Fictional sample output — illustrative excerpt
Maya Chen is an invented software founder, not a real user. The following excerpt illustrates the kinds of preparation information a report contains; it is not an actual tool result or a finding that any criterion is satisfied.
- Criteria mapping: investigate judging and original contributions. Maya describes reviewing a competition and building a tool adopted by another team.
- Evidence gaps: obtain proof of completed judging, independent adoption records and an explanation of significance beyond her own company.
- Preparation checklist: gather dated records, distinguish personal from team work, confirm a U.S. employer or qualified agent as petitioner, and review claims with counsel.
Preparation resources
- O-1 visa requirements
- O-1 visa evidence checklist
- O-1A application guide for founders
- O-1 vs EB-1A: requirements and petitioners
Why three criteria do not guarantee approval · Founder-owned petitioners
USCOO is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Consult a licensed immigration attorney about your case.