O1 visa symbol meaning.

What O1 means in 22 CFR 41.12

Section 41.12 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations is titled “Classification symbols”. It opens: “A nonimmigrant visa issued to an applicant within one of the classes described in this section shall bear an appropriate visa symbol to show its classification. The symbol shall be inserted in the space provided on the visa.” Table 1 to that section then lists each symbol with its class and the section of law. The row for O1 is:

The statute behind the symbol

The “section of law” column points to the Immigration and Nationality Act. Most rows cite INA 101(a)(15), codified at 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15), the definition of “immigrant”, which lists the classes of nonimmigrant aliens by letter and begins: “The term “immigrant” means every alien except an alien who is within one of the following classes of nonimmigrant aliens”.

The O1 row cites INA 101(a)(15)(O)(i). Subparagraph (O) begins “an alien who—” and then lists three clauses. Clause (i), the one O1 cites, reads:

“has extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim or, with regard to motion picture and television productions a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement, and whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation, and seeks to enter the United States to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability”

Source: INA 101(a)(15)(O)(i)

“seeks to enter the United States temporarily and solely for the purpose of accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by an alien who is admitted under clause (i) for a specific event or events”

Source: INA 101(a)(15)(O)(ii)(I)

Reading the O1 row against its neighbours

The O1 label in Table 1 reads “Worker with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement in Sciences, Arts, Education, Business, or Athletics”. That follows the list in the statute (“the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics”). The statute also adds a separate phrase for motion picture and television productions, “a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement”, which the table label folds into the word “Achievement”.

The next two rows in the table are O2, “Person Accompanying and Assisting in the Artistic or Athletic Performance by O1”, citing clause (ii), and O3, “Spouse or Child of O1 or O2”, citing clause (iii). Clause (ii) uses the words quoted above about accompanying and assisting in a performance “by an alien who is admitted under clause (i)”. The O1 row is the anchor for both of them.

The words “sustained national or international acclaim” and “extensive documentation” appear in the statute. The table does not define what meets them, and neither does this page. Who qualifies is decided case by case by the agencies.

What this page does not tell you

A visa symbol is a label. Table 1 says what each class is called and where the classification comes from in law. It says nothing about who qualifies, what evidence is needed, how long anyone may stay, whether work is allowed or what an application costs. Those answers sit in other regulations and in agency guidance and they change, so use the lookup above to read the label and then take the question to the State Department’s visa pages (travel.state.gov, which blocked automated reading on November 2, 2026, so we have not cited its contents) or a licensed immigration attorney.

For other codes seen on immigration paperwork, see the EAD category code lookup, which covers a different code set, and the I-94 number format checker.

• P1 visa symbol meaning: P1, the next performer-related symbol in Table 1.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 22 CFR 41.12 Classification symbols, Table 1 (current text; last amended 2023-09-12 per the eCFR version history) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR renderer API, the same section as machine-readable text (read November 2, 2026)
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: 8 U.S.C. 1101, definitions, subsection (a)(15) (read November 2, 2026)