NFL Player Faces Delay Over Failure to File P-1A Transfer Petition

While sports like soccer (football), basketball and baseball are replete with foreign players, American football features relatively few foreign national players. However, the emerging trend is for increased foreign participation in American football. The case of New Zealander Paul Lasike presents an interesting example of this trend. Lasike was recruited from New Zealand as a future All-American rugby player at Brigham Young Univeristy in Utah.  His athletic prowess caught the attention of BYU football coaches, who convinced him to switch to football for his remaining 3 years of college. Lasike subsequently enjoyed a successful career in college football and was named to the College Sports Madness All-Independent Third Team his senior year.

After his graduation, the Arizona Cardinals initially picked up Lasike as a free agent full-back, and employed him on the basis of a P-1A visa. This season, he has been signed by the Chicago Bears as a member of the practice squad. Unfortunately, the trade has run into visa trouble:

It’s one thing to have a transaction held up by the league office.

But for the Bears, the State Department is keeping them from filling their practice squad at the moment.

Apparently, the Bears may not have been aware of the rule that an NFL team acquiring a player from another team typically needs to file a new P-1A petition with USCIS to reflect the player transfer. The rule is that a player in P-1A visa status can play for a new team based on the existing P-1A for up to 30 days. During that time, the new team must file a P-1A transfer. While the transfer petition is pending, the player can play for the new team for up to 240 days beyond the earlier work authorization.