Managing Partner Michael Wildes is pleased to announce that he has secured a renewal of O-1 extraordinary ability visa classification on behalf of music icon Boy George, the front man and lead singer for Culture Club.
George Alan O’Dowd, p/k/a “Boy George,” is a Grammy-award winning singer and musical performer who has risen to the level of international music legend. As the lead member of the iconic pop band Culture Club, which was founded in the 1980s, Boy George and the band have toured world-wide, securing many top song/album positions on the charts as well as winning numerous awards. This success and fame in music spans decades. Of late, Boy George has been invited to participate in several hit TV shows, including most starring as a judge on “The Voice U.K.” It has been reported that MGM will soon be producing a feature film based on the life of Boy George.
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 three of the 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).
Founded in 1960 by Michael’s father, Leon Wildes, whose best-known accomplishment was his successful representation of John Lennon in his widely publicized deportation proceedings, the circumstances of which have inspired several films and documentaries, Wildes & Weinberg specializes exclusively in the practice of U.S. immigration and nationality law. More than fifty nine years since its inception the firm continues to serve a distinguished domestic and international clientele and covers all areas of U.S. Immigration Law, including employment and investment-based immigration, work permits, permanent residence for qualified individuals, family-based immigration, asylum applications and all temporary and permanent type visas.
In addition to running a highly successful immigration law practice, Michael was recently sworn-in as Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, has just released his newly authored book, Safe Haven in America: Battles to Open the Golden Door, which draws on over a quarter of a century of his practice in the immigration field, is an Adjunct Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, and serves as Counsel to Lincoln Center and several international/corporate law firms. Moreover, Michael is internationally renowned for his successful representation of distinguished individuals and corporate clients such as performing artists, directors, writers, models, actors/actresses, athletes, race car drivers, fine artists, art dealers, curators, musicians, photographers, stylists, and literary agents. Some of the firm’s other distinguished clients include several Miss Universe winners as well as soccer icon Pele, Master Chef Jean-Georges and First Lady Melania Trump and her family.
Today, the firm of Wildes & Weinberg maintains offices in New York City, New York, Englewood, New Jersey, Miami, Florida, and a presence in Los Angeles, California and continues to maintain its stellar reputation in the field of U.S. Immigration & Nationality Law.
For more information on the O-1 visa category, please visit our Immigration 101 page or contact Michael Wildes at michael@wildeslaw.com.