Managing Partner Michael Wildes is pleased to announce that Wildes & Weinberg has secured O-1 visa classification on behalf of Ms. Wilma Casal, an extraordinary Ballet dancer in both the classical and modern techniques of ballet.
Originally trained in classical ballet, Ms. Casal is an acclaimed Ballet Dancer and choreographer from Berlin, Germany, who has performed nationally and internationally with some of the most innovative and experimental dance companies and theaters in Europe. Recognized for her incomparable musicality, alluring grace, instinctive expressiveness, a quiet and yet dramatic presence, and interpretive brilliance, Ms. Casal caught the eye of the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, where she became an ambassador, performer and teacher of the Graham technique of modern ballet.
Ms. Casal is unique and extraordinary because she is a classically trained modern ballerina who brings all of the traditions, rigors, formal lines and aesthetic beauty of classical ballet and incorporates those qualities with the emotionally expressive, interpretive and fluid gracefulness of modern ballet. Ballet dancers such as Ms. Casal are rare and her qualities and impeccably nuanced movement and dance place her in the same group as the modern ballet giants.
In order to qualify for an O-1 visa which allows individuals of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, athletics, education or business to live and work in the United States, a foreign national must provide adequate documentation to demonstrate that he/she has sustained national or international acclaim in their field.
In addition, the individual must provide substantial evidence to prove that he/she meets 3 of the 6 evidence categories defined by statute, as well as a written advisory opinion from a labor union or relevant peer group. The O-1 visa applicant must also show that he/she has an offer of employment in the United States to work in his/her field of expertise (or several offers of employment from multiple sources, along with a third-party Agent to petition on the individual’s behalf and connect him/her to the multiple employers).
For more than fifty six years, the firm of Wildes & Weinberg has concentrated its practice in all aspects of U.S. immigration and nationality law, servicing the immigration requirements of prominent American and International individuals and corporations, banks, industrial, financial and manufacturing concerns, and law firms in connection with the personnel needs of their foreign national employees. In addition, the firm has a distinguished clientele and has done substantial immigration work for investors, scientists, physicians, bankers, performing artists, directors, writers, models, actors, athletes, fine artists, art dealers, curators, musicians, and literary agents.
For more information on the O-1 visa category, which allows individuals of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, athletics, education and business to live and work in the United States, please visit our Immigration 101 page or contact Michael Wildes at michael@wildeslaw.com.