Miguel Angel Sano Successfully Receives a Visa Despite Fraud Concerns

Sports Illustrated reports that heralded Dominican shortstop Miguel Angel Sano has successfully received a visa to play for the Minnesota Twins. The Twins signed Sano to a club-record $3.15 million signing bonus, and his employment was contingent on his successful acquisition of a visa. Although unconfirmed in the article, Sano was almost certainly issued a visa in the P-1 category.

Normally the mere issuance of a P-1 visa does not make news, but it did in this case for two reasons. First, the issuance of a visa turned out to be a potentially expensive condition precedent to Sano's contract. Secondly, the issuance of the visa was in doubt due to commonplace fraud issues among prospective Dominican baseball players.

The Dominican Republic, particularly Sano's hometown in San Pedro de Macoris, has been the epicenter for age and identity fraud. Some players and their handlers cut years off their age in order to increase their market value.

Sano is not immune from suspicion regarding age and identity fraud. His 6'3, 190 pound frame and his advanced skills have called into question whether he is really 16 years old, as is his claim. Despite such concerns, Sano's visa was approved.

USCIS Clarifies O and P Visa Filing Procedures for Agents

O and P visas apply to non-immigrants with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, or in the motion picture and television field. O and P petitions may only be filed by a U.S. employer, a U.S. agent, or a foreign employer through a U.S. agent. Often, an O or P employee will work for multiple employers during his/her stay in the United States. The relevant regulations allow a bona fide agent to petition on behalf of such a person, as long as an itinerary listing all actual employers is provided. The Service has found that in some cases involving multiple employers for an O or P employee, the first employer will file on behalf of the individual and list the other employer(s) on the itinerary. CIS has clarified that only a company that is “in business” as an agent can do a filing on behalf of multiple employers. This policy statement creates uncertainty as to how a company can prove that it is "in business" as an agent to the satisfaction of a particular USCIS adjudication officer.

Recruiting Foreign Minor League Baseball Players

The number of foreign-born players in baseball's minor leagues has significantly increased according to the Wall Street Journal. While baseball has historically had strong representation at the major league level from various countries, in the past MLB teams had to develop their foreign talent at overseas training grounds in the Dominican Republic, Australia and elsewhere. Beginning in 2007, the "Creating Opportunities for Minor League Professionals, Entertainers and Teams Act" has changed the immigration landscape to allow for easier access to foreign talent at the minor league level. Specifically, the Act now allows minor league teams to recruit foreign players using the P-1 visa. Previously, minor league teams were restricted to use the H-2B visa, which has limited availability and is restricted to seasonal employment. In contrast, P-1 athletes can be employed in the United States for longer durations, and players affiliated with major league teams are all-but guaranteed the visa.

Recent changes in U.S. immigration law and growing competition in baseball for raw talent have allowed the minor-league farm system to flourish with imported players. It has been a home run for globalization, but bad news for U.S.-born players, who suddenly have much more competition. Across the minor and major leagues, the total number of foreign-born players is growing fast, to almost 3,500 of the 8,532 players under contract this summer, from 2,964 three years ago.

Many of the foreign players hail from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. As noted above, one consequence is that U.S.-born players will face greater competition in making it to the major league level.

Consular Processing: A Learning Experience for the Sacramento Kings' Draft Pick Omri Casspi

The Sacramento Bee reports on the experience of Omri Casspi, the 23rd pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, in acquiring a P-1 visa sponsored by his newest employer, the Sacramento Kings.

Obtaining a visa to play in the United States remains a major irritant for the non-Americans in the league. Most of the time the NBA teams turn their attorneys loose on the immigration matter. But as Omri Casspi is learning - as did Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic and Hedo Turkoglu back in the day - the process is not hassle-free. Multiple time-consuming meetings at the U.S. Embassy remain common. In Casspi's case, the Kings rookie appeared for a 7:30 a.m., appointment on Tuesday and was required to return again Wednesday to finalize the paperwork. He sounded relieved to have the matter resolved. "Done, over," he said afterward. "I'm ready to go."

Casspi, while obscure in the United States, is well known in his native Israel as he starred for the country's best basketball team (Maccabi Tel Aviv) prior to joining the Kings. Even star basketball players are not immune from the vagaries of the U.S. Department of State's visa procedures.

H-2 Visa Shortages Affect Ski Resorts

First Tracks Online Ski Magazine reports that high demand for the number of H-2B visas has caused problems at ski resorts, which traditionally have relied on the visa to address seasonal hiring needs.

However, as the government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30th, the H-2b’s visa were capped under the quota earlier than opening day for many winter resorts.

The article recommends that employers needing to address staffing issues consider alternate visas, such as O-1, P-1, H-1B and E-3 visas. H-1B visas are for those coming to the U.S. to fill specialty occupation (i.e. professional) positions, while the E-3 is essentially a variant of the H-1B that is limited to Australian citizens. The O-1 and P-1 visas are for individuals with exceptional or extraordinary ability. Unfortunately, none of these alternate visas is especially useful for low-level employees who have neither a Bachelor's degree nor unique skills.

"New Visa Requirements Changing the Face of Boxing in Arizona" - Redux

The Arizona Star has picked up the article we blogged about last week, relating to P-1 visa requirements for boxers in Arizona. The Star has a broad readership, and as is apparent from the reader comments accompanying the article, that readership seems to be generally inclined against relaxed visa requirements. The following comment is just one example of what is a serious flaw in the country's current immigration debate - a lack of knowledge about immigration processing.

Yes this story is a complete lie and the ADS as usual does zero fact checking.
Immigrant visa applications currently cost $260 per individual application and $65 for issuance.

Too often rhetoric and vitriol prevail over fact and reasoning. As noted on the USCIS website, the filing fee for the I-129 (the form used to file a P-1 petition) is actually $320. Premium processing, which is a virtual necessity for speedy resolution of P-1 cases, is another $1000. Moreover, attorney's fees for the preparation of P-1 petitions typically run in the thousands of dollars simply because the amount of effort involved in procuring a P-1 visa greatly overshadows that which is required for a simple B-1/B-2 visitors visa.

Arizona Boxing Commission's P-1 Visa Requirement Undermines the Sport of Boxing in the State

As we reported earlier, the Arizona Boxing Commission explicitly requires acquisition of a P-1 visa before it will grant permission to an international boxer to fight within the state. According to a recent article in the Arizona-based La Estrella de Tucsón, this new requirement has been severely detrimental to the sport of boxing in the state.

The visa requirement happened at a bad time for the boxing world. Coupled with the country’s economic situation, it has lead to a decline in the frequency of fights.

“They hit us at the same time,” says Montaño, who estimates that the number of boxing matches in the state has dropped considerably – by about 70 percent.

Many of the professional boxers who compete in Arizona hail from Mexico. Since the P-1 visa requires an applying athlete to be "internationally recognized," it is often difficult for lesser-known boxers to receive approval. The standards for P-1 visas are not always easy to meet, especially when the applicant has not achieved a high degree of success, and the costs involved in acquiring such a visa are invariably much higher than a B-1/B-2 visitors visa. Even those boxers who successfully acquire a P-1 visa have been inconvenienced by the policy shift by the Arizona Boxing Commission. For instance, David "The Destroyer" López has voiced his concern that preparing for an opponent has become difficult because visa challenges often lead to last-minute changes on the fight card. Many Mexican boxers and their promoters are now seeking to hold their fights in venues outside of Arizona that would not explicitly condition the issuance of a boxing license on a P-1 visa.