The number of OnlyFans content creators granted extraordinary talent visas has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Financial Times. O-1B visas have historically been granted to top artistic talent, but immigration lawyers say they are now increasingly given to content creators thanks to easily understandable metrics such as follower counts and earnings. O-1Bs, for top creatives, and O-1As, for the crème de la crème in the worlds of science, education, business, and athletics, together make up the two halves of O-1s. According to The Times, the number of O-1 visas issued rose by 50 percent between 2014 and 2024, and State Department data shows a spike since the pandemic, from 7,294 in 2021 to 19,457 in 2024. The newspaper reports, “Some immigration attorneys said influencers now made up more than half their clientele,” and includes creators from OnlyFans, a platform commonly used by sex workers. “I knew the days of representing iconic names like Boy George and Sinéad O’Connor were over,” attorney Michael Wildes said. Immigration lawyer Protima Daryanani told the newspaper, “We have scenarios where people who should never have been approved are getting approved for O-1s. It’s been watered down because people are just meeting the categories.”
Read it at Financial Times
