O-2 and O-3 Visas: Support Staff and Family of O-1 Holders

The O visa family has three parts:

The O-2 is a work status in its own right. The O-3 is a dependent status that follows the principal's stay.

O-2 is only for support staff of O-1A athletes or O-1B artists and entertainers. It is not available for support staff of O-1A scientists, business people, or educators.

To qualify, you must:

• Be an integral part of the O-1's actual performance or event, not just a general assistant.
• Have critical skills and experience with that O-1 person that others don't have and that are hard to find in the US.
• Have a foreign residence you don't intend to give up. Unlike the O-1, the O-2 requires this.

Film and TV productions have extra rules. The O-2 must either have a long-standing working relationship with the O-1, or be needed because important parts of the production happen both inside and outside the US and continuity is essential.

Typical O-2 workers include a touring sound engineer, a long-time stage manager, an athlete's coach or trainer, or a camera operator who has worked with a director for years.

The O-2 needs its own petition. It cannot be added to the O-1's petition as a name on the list.

• The same employer or agent that files for the O-1 files a separate Form I-129 for the O-2 staff. Several O-2 workers can be on one petition if they support the same O-1 at the same events.
• The O-2 petition needs its own advisory opinion (consultation) from a labor organization. For film and TV, it also needs an opinion from a management organization.
• USCIS usually decides the O-1 and O-2 petitions together if they are filed at the same time.

After approval, O-2 workers apply for a visa at a US embassy or consulate, unless they are Canadian citizens. The visa application fee for petition-based visas is $205 as of September 2026.

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can get O-3 status if you hold O-1 or O-2 status.

What O-3 family members can do:

• Live in the US for the same period as the principal.
• Study at school or university, full-time or part-time.
• Travel in and out with a valid O-3 visa.

What they cannot do:

• Work in the US, including remote work for a US company. A spouse who wants to work needs their own work visa, such as the H-1B.

O-3 family members don't need their own USCIS petition. They apply for O-3 visas at a consulate with proof of the relationship (marriage and birth certificates) and a copy of the principal's approval notice. If they are already in the US in another status, they can file Form I-539 to change to O-3.

A child's O-3 status ends when they turn 21. They then need their own status, such as an F-1 student visa.

O-2 and O-3 stays follow the O-1:

• O-2: approved for the time needed to support the O-1 event or production, up to 3 years at first. Extensions come in steps of up to 1 year to finish the same event.
• O-3: admitted for the same period as the O-1 or O-2 principal. When the principal's status ends, O-3 status ends too.

You generally have a short grace period after the event ends to prepare to leave. Don't count on it to start new work.

• O-2 petition: the employer or agent pays the Form I-129 fee of $1,055 ($530 for small employers and nonprofits) and the Asylum Program Fee of $600 ($300 for small employers, $0 for nonprofits), as of September 2026. Premium processing is $2,965. See the USCIS fee schedule.
• O-2 visa: $205 visa application fee as of September 2026, plus any reciprocity fee.
• O-3 visa: O-3 is a derivative of a petition-based visa. Check the State Department fee page for the amount that applies to your case.
• A $250 visa integrity fee, created by a 2025 law, is charged when a visa is issued. As of September 2026, consulates have rolled it out unevenly, so check your embassy's fee page.
• Form I-539 (for family members already in the US): see the USCIS fee schedule.

The O-2 visa does not lead to a green card. It also requires a foreign residence you intend to keep, so be careful about filing any immigrant petition while in O-2 status. Talk to a licensed immigration lawyer first.

O-3 family members can become permanent residents as derivatives if the O-1 principal gets a green card, for example through EB-1A or the EB-2 National Interest Waiver. Children must still be under 21 (as adjusted by the Child Status Protection Act) when the case is processed.

• The O-2's role looks general, not integral to the O-1's performance.
• No proof of a long working history or critical skills with the O-1.
• No advisory opinion for the O-2 petition.
• The O-2 cannot show strong ties to a home abroad.
• For O-3: missing or unclear marriage or birth records, or doubt that the marriage is genuine.

Travel ban. Proclamation 10998 took effect on January 1, 2026, and has no end date. It limits visas for nationals of 39 countries: for 19 countries it suspends almost all visas, and for the other 20 it suspends immigrant visas plus B, F, M, and J visas. USCIS is also holding many pending cases from these countries for extra review. Check Travel ban status before you pay fees or book travel.