Denise McGettrick of McGettrick Law is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law and has been working with PassRight clients since 2018. Her passion for helping people immigrate to the United States is inspired by her great-grandparents’ story of coming to this country in the 1920’s. “It was much easier for them to immigrate as opposed to what people have to go through today,” Denise says. She still keeps a copy of her great grandmother’s residence card with her as a symbol of what the people she helps today desire. While moving to a different country is much harder than it used to be, Denise feels that if highly talented foreign nationals are interested, motivated and can get past their fears, will be able to come to the United States with the O-1 Visa. There is a lot of self-doubt involved when people are asked to prove themselves to other people or to foreign governments. But taking stock of everything you’ve done, and really thinking about what you do and how you have affected positive changes in your company or with a company you worked for, this can make a big difference in getting your O-1 Visa petition accepted and approved.
Time of Self-Reflection
Aside from all the legal challenges associated with immigrating to a new country, Denise explains that “one of the hardest things is immersing yourself in the culture and getting used to American ways of talking and interacting.” But even before arriving to the United States, when they are just thinking about coming, Denise says, “it’s really a time of self-reflection, and for you to look inwardly and see why it is so difficult for someone else to do your job.” According to Denise, most people don’t really think about what they really do and why it makes them so special and so unique. But this becomes especially important when filling out forms for the O-1 Visa. “A lot of what clients do is super complicated,” she says. So being able to explain it to the PassRight team gives them the ability to create a stronger and clearer case for the client in front of the U.S. government. PassRight offers clients one of the strongest success rates with the O-1 Visa because they work closely with all their clients to ensure that all the proper documentation is presented and explained in a correct and timely matter.
Making the O-1 Reachable
It’s hard for a lot of people to understand how the O-1 Visa works and the process required to attain it. Even as an experienced immigration lawyer, Denise admits, “discussing the O-1 is hard and coming up with the communication to show how a person can show that they qualify is difficult. Making the O-1 reachable and understandable is possible, but immigration is always a complex area…it’s great when people understand, but when they don’t, it’s really difficult.” That’s why PassRight has a whole team of people, from lawyers like Denise who handle the paperwork, to Joanna who acts as a liaison between the clients and the lawyers and helps clients better understand the complexities of their situation. There are so many highly skilled professionals in the world who would be a great asset to the U.S. economy and workforce, but they are just missing one or two things that they could easily attain with the help of the PassRight team: such as an article published in a scholarly journal, which can be quickly arranged with PassRight’s PR package. The O-1 Visa is easier to achieve than most people realize. All they have to do is reach out and ask for the right kind of help to get it.
Finding Your Place with O-1
Once an applicant receives their O-1 Visa and arrives in the United States, “it’s just a matter of them finding their place within their industry,” Denise explains. “I get them to the point where they can make their own decisions with the flexibility of the O-1 visa and from there they can do whatever they want.” As part of PassRight’s team, Denise guides clients step by step through the legal process of getting their O-1 Visa. Then, with the thousands of job openings in the United States that are ready to be filled by O-1 visa beneficiaries, Denise says, “The sky is the limit.”
Q & A with Denise
Q: What are the most common fears that applicants share?
D: That they can’t prove it. That no one will believe that what they do is important or difficult. I think it’s fear that they’re not good enough. It’s always in the back of their head. How can they be good enough if everyone is telling them that they’re not? We can work with them to show that they are important and that what they do is vital.
Q: If you were starting the O-1 Visa process right now, what would you do?
D: I would gather all my work products from past employment, document expertise and network within my industry with people who are willing to look at and make judgments about my work. It’s important to show that you’re connected to others who look highly upon your body of work.
Q: What creative experiences should applicants be open to in order to provide supportive evidence to qualify for the O-1 Visa?
D: Applicants should be open to things like writing scholarly articles and publications important to their industry. They should also be open to judging competitions, and publishing materials about themselves and their business journey. These are just examples of solid ways to document your expertise.
Q: What do you think others find most surprising when they go through the immigration process?
D: The amount of documents that say the same thing but state the evidence in different formats, but with the help of the PassRight team, petitioners are able to navigate through the required O-1 factors and provide the information needed.
Q: What other options do immigrants have if they do not qualify for an O-1 Visa?
D: They can think about getting sponsored for a green card. So, if there’s a particular company that’s interested in them, they could see about getting sponsored and that’s when the employer recruits for their position and they take into mind their needs and how this person can fulfill their employment needs. There are other visas from particular countries that if they are working for a country that is owned by individuals of the same nationality they could work for a company like that. There’s also a visa called the H-1B where if they are a professional in their field, then an employer could sponsor them.
Q: What do applicants find the hardest about visa applications?
A: Many documents require applicants to say the same thing in three different ways. So a lot of applicants will say, I’ve already said that,” but the government might want to see it said differently. Foreigners might find it hard to fill out these documents, but with the help of their teams and with a little motivation, they definitely come through with the documents they need to show their specific value in their field.
If you are interested in applying for the O1 visa, contact us.
