Cross-Fit Athlete's Visa Troubles Highlight ESTA v. B-1 Dilemma

The CrossFit Games is a fitness competition in which athletes from around the world compete for the title of “Fittest on Earth”.  Alexander Anasagasti, Spain’s top CrossFit athlete, has been issued a B-1 visa after initially being refused.

The problem arose because last year, when Anasagasti travelled to the US to train, he applied for a tourist visa that was longer than the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) form would allow him to stay. The disconnect meant his visa was rejected and the ESTA was revoked as a result. The sanction remained in place when he applied again this year.

As a Spanish citizen, Anasagasti was eligible to enter the United States through the fast-track ESTA program, which is an automated system that generally allows most eligible applicants to enter the country.  ESTA is the screening system through which foreign nationals can enter the United States under the Visa Waiver program.  Visa Waiver is available to nationals from certain generally-affluent countries, and allows entry as a tourist without applying for a tourist visa.

In contrast, the B (tourst) visa is one of the most difficult visas to procure.  One drawback of ESTA is that it only allows entry for up to 90 days at a time.  For this reason Anasagasti chose to apply for a tourist visa.  Unfortunately, his tourist visa was denied, which also led to the denial of his ESTA authorization (per the norm).  Luckily for Anasagasti, he posted about his plight and was successful when he reapplied for a tourist visa, thereby allowing him to compete in the CrossFit Games.  This episode shows that when entry using ESTA is possible and appropriate, it is often preferred to applying for a tourist visa.

Now Available: O-1 Visas for Competitive Eating

Many will recognize Takeru Kobayashi as the six-time winner of the annual Nathan's hot-dog eating competition held every July 4th in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. Despite his diminutive frame, Kobayashi has marveled spectators and competitors alike with his eating prowess. That prowess has earned him an O-1 visa.

Kobayashi was recently in the news for storming the stage at this year's competition, after he was barred from participation. He was barred for refusing to sign a contract with a professional league called "Major League Eating,"which sanctioned the event. An MLE contract would have restricted Kobayashi's earning from outside sources such as sponsorships.

MLE is no longer a joke. In the last year, it has organized 85 contests with nearly $600,000 in prizes. It has secured sponsorships from Coca-Cola, Harrah's, Netflix, Orbitz, Pizza Hut, Smirnoff, and Waffle House. This year, it recruited Pepto-Bismol, Old Navy, and Heinz to sponsor the hot-dog contest. In addition to MLE's TV programming for Fox, SpikeTV, and other networks, ESPN now pays the league to broadcast the hot-dog contest, with 40,000 spectators on hand and another 1.5 million households watching.

The most interesting part of the story from the immigration perspective is that Kobayashi was able to secure an O-1 visa on the basis of his "extraordinary ability" to eat. He was granted the visa despite the fact that he has not joined the major league in the sport (Major League Eating). One wonders if the P-1 visa would also be available to other contestants in the MLE. Most likely, foreign participants in eating contests would utilize a tourist visa, which is allowed for amateur events involving per-event prize winnings. However, if Major League Eating comes to feature a string of professional events year-round, visas of a longer duration might be attainable, even for competitors of lesser renown than Kobayashi.

Summary on Visa Options for International Boxers

The 8CN Boxing website contains a useful summary of the various visa options available to international boxers seeking to travel to the United States for various purposes. As one might expect, the US has been a prime destination for top boxers.

"Foreign-born prospects Ji-Hoon Kim, Ruslan Provodnikov, and Maxim Vlasov all scored important wins on the February 12, 2010 ESPN Friday Night Fights card at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California; the Germany-based, Ukrainian-born WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Sergiy Dzinziruk signed a joint promotional agreement with Banner Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions; Britain’s Amir Khan signed a co-promotional agreement with Golden Boy Promotions with an eye towards his U.S. debut; the Russian-born Matvey Korobov continued his march towards middleweight contention with a first round knockout win at the Las Vegas Hilton on February 13, 2010 on the undercard of Filipino Nonito Donaire’s third round destruction of Mexican contender Manuel Vargas; and Roy Jones, Jr.’s Square Ring Promotions signed undefeated Ukrainian-born light heavyweight prospect Ismayl (The Black Russian) Sillakh, 11-0 (10 KOs), to name a few examples. A common thread connects each of these boxers, and a myriad of others: each of them requires a visa to train, live, and/or box in the United States."
8CN Boxing - Immigration Issues in Boxing

As always, the primary factor in determining which visa avenue to choose is: what does the athlete seek to do and accomplish in the United States? Other important factors are the athlete's country of citizenship, how long he/she would stay in the US, and what level of skill and accomplishment the athlete has achieved.

Major League Soccer Player Gets Fast-Tracked P-1 Visa -- But at What Cost?

MLSnet.com reports that New England Revolution striker Edgaras Jankauskas was able to acquire P-1 status in a matter of only three days.

The speedy resolution occurred because Jankauskas already had the right to enter the country on a tourist visa, according to Revolution vice president of player personnel Michael Burns.

Jankauskas entered the United States on the tourist visa on June 28, filed a change of status under the USCIS's Premium Processing service on June 29, and was issued an approval by July 1.

Under Premium Processing, USCIS is required to issue a response to the filing of an eligible petition (such as for O-1 and P-1 status) within 15 days. This response can come in the form of a denial, approval or Request for Evidence (RFE), wherein the USCIS requires the production of additional documentation to support the petition. By regulation, the $1000 premium processing fee is to be refunded if the Service takes longer than the allotted 15 days.

While the idea of using a tourist visa to come to the United States and immediately changing to P-1 visa may seem expedient in the short-run, it could be problematic in the future. Oftentimes consulates will look askance upon the filing of a change of status so soon after entry using a tourist visa, as a quick filing can be seen as evidence of a lack of intent to be a bona fide B-1/B-2 nonimmigrant. Therefore such a strategy can lead to problems in acquiring visas at foreign consulates in the future.