Agostinho Cabral was among the most respected IT managers in Portugal.  Everyone in IT management knew his name and although Portugal is not an IT powerhouse in Europe, many IT managers in France and Germany knew of him.  Agostinho was older and had managed IT and MIS operations since the 1980s when a big part of corporate IT infrastructure included PBX systems and mainframe computers.

Agostinho had a secret: although he achieved much in his field, he had no related degree - not even a bachelor's degree. Agostinho was a radical in his youth and studied politics, philosophy and psychology - he took not so much as a single computer science or electrical engineering course.

FADO was a multinational alcoholic beverage company with a focus in Latin America, but especially Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Agostinho was working for an IT company in Lisbon, but FADO offered him a big raise and the possibility of real wealth if the company did well.

To qualify for H-1B status, a job must require at least a bachelor's degree for an ordinary worker to be able to perform the job's essential duties and the worker must have a bachelor's or higher degree directly related to the work to be performed. There is an exception. If the worker can demonstrate at least three years of progressive, related experience for each year of education he is missing, that will qualify.  Progressive experience is experience in positions of increasing complexity and responsibility over time.

Agostinho had more than 30 years of progressive, related experience, and so he could qualify for an H-1B without a degree related to the work to be performed. But the H-1B cap had been reached months earlier and the earliest H-1B start date was October 1 of the following year - 14 months in the future.

FADO asked Sean Olender to interview Agostinho and consider if there was some other way to lawfully get him in the United States and on FADO's payroll more quickly. The first thing Sean noticed interviewing Agostinho was the remakable breadth and depth of his experience. The man had seen it all. He had managed huge hardware and software deployments in large organizations with 15,000 or more employees. He spoke at IT management seminars across Europe and wrote frequently on IT management subjects. Trade journals published his articles and his name was on conference and symposia programs. He explained that he had made original contributions to the field and played a critical role at several of the companies where he had served.

It was obvious he had a good O-1 extraordinary ability case.  The O-1 is a nonimmigrant visa for those who've reached the top of their field in the sciences, business or arts. The regulations suggest that the requirements for O-1 are similar to the ones for the EB-1(a) immigrant visa, but because the O-1 is temporary, USCIS effectively applies a lower standard of proof.

To qualify for O-1 status, the alien must present evidence of the receipt of a major, internationally-recognized award, like the Nobel Prize, or evidence from at least three of the following nine categories:

1. Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field;
2. Membership in an association that requires outstanding achievements of its members as judged by recognized national or international experts;
3. Published material in professional or major trade publications or major media about the applicant and his work;
4. Participation on a panel, or individually, as the judge of the work of others in the field;
5. Scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions of major significance in the field;
6. Authorship of scholarly articles in the field in professional journals or other major media;
7. Employment in a critical or essential capacity for organizations that have a distinguished reputation;
8. High salary or other remuneration commanded by the alien for services;
9. Other comparable evidence.

The petitioning employer need not show that the position demands the skill of someone with extraordinary ability.  USCIS changed its rules regarding this some time ago, and now the petitioning employer need only show that the alien will work in his area of expertise.

Sean told FADO he believed USCIS would approve an O-1 for Agostinho. FADO told Sean to do it. Sean worked closely with Agostinho to get copies of his past publications, speaking engagements, letters from prominent people in the field evaluating Agostinho's standing in the field, and other evidence.  Then Sean prepared and filed the petition using premium processing. 10 days later USCIS sent the approval notice.  Agostinho was at work at FADO's US offices only four weeks after starting the process.