Review: ArtistGreenCard.com

Mei and I DIY’d our artist visa applications using the site ArtistGreenCard.com We met at a party and discovered we had both used their service. That party was the impetus for starting this site with Jason. Mei and I owe our careers in the USA to ArtistGreenCard.com so here is our review.

Why ArtistGreenCard.com?

I’m a fine artist, Mei is a musician and Z is an actor/filmmaker. I applied for my EB-1 Artist Green Card in 2018 – the only Artist specific guides available online. I was struggling to figure a layout of the petition letter and how to actually format my evidence. Their guide gave us that.

Mei, in 2019, needed an O-1 US temporary Arts visa to get to the US fast for a big gig and hiring an attorney just wasn’t in her budget – a friend of hers had put her onto ArtistGreenCard.com Z is an actor/filmmaker who had no issues working on the O as a filmmaker but had trouble getting auditions on his O visa and needed to upgrade his visa – he knew Rachel and Kevin and used the guide to successfully get his Green Card.

Was ArtistGreenCard.com worth it?

Even though Rachel and Kevin are both actors Mei and I found their interpretations of the criteria to work really well for both of us. It is their belief that actors, filmmakers and musicians, as they are mostly interpretive artists, can have a more difficult time proving their extraordinary ability. In their opinion if you are a creator of your own work you have an easier application. They go through each criterion and the various interpretations for the different arts forms and how you can make them fit your career. You could be a puppeteer or a tattoo artist and still use this guide. When they went through their visa process in 2014 they found very little info about the Artist visas online, it was a lot of information on science focused visa applications. They had a tough time compiling their applications as what was online was just not relevant to them. They set up the guides having helped may artists that were dealing with RFE’s and found that they needed to get their info out there. We found them when googling.

What is included in the ArtistGreenCard.com guides?

• O-1B Arts and MPTV US Visa DIY Package that provides detailed step by step application process
• EB-1 Artist Green Card US Visa DIY Package that provides detailed step by step application process
• They breakdown each criterion twice:
  • firstly, the interpretations that the USCIS accepts and
  • secondly, how to prove the criteria with evidence.
• They show you how to fill in the forms and tell you in which order they should be submitted.
• They walk you through each scenario:
  • Applying from outside the US
  • Applying from within the US
• Include an O-1B DIY Extension Package
• Include an O-1B DIY Change of Sponsor Package
• Include a blueprint to go from O-1B to EB-1
• Their EB-1 petition letters can be doctored to be used as an NIW petition letter

PROS and CONS

The guides are very thorough. Here are the pros and cons that Mei and I jotted down.

Pros:

• When you buy you get access straight away
• They take crypto
• If you need a specific answer to a question you can find it using their search
• Guides are up-to-date
• They can’t answer specific questions as they are not attorneys and can’t legally give individual advice, however, they are very communicative and will help when possible
• When you ask a question that’s not clear in the guide they update the text to be more understandable in future
• For the O-1B visa – they have an Arts letter and a MPTV letter
• For the EB-1 Green Card – they have 2 different styles of letters
• They have excellent hacks to getting your career visa ready
• They opened our eyes to the importance of recommendation letters and have great samples
• The guides are priced about the same as attorney consultation fees that I was quoted
• Their Bonus sections were particularly helpful – especially their ‘PR Guide’ and ‘Your Career Online’
• You have immediate forever access
• They are sincere and really want you to succeed

Cons:

• They can’t answer specific questions as they are not attorneys and can’t legally give individual advice
• They are working artists so it can be a few days before they respond
• It is pricey – but if you are using an attorney it’s about the same as a consultation fee
• They have stopped giving attorney recommendations
• It is entirely up to you to keep working on your application so this route is not for everyone

Mei was in touch with them more than I. I didn’t feel the need to ask any questions – I found the guide answered all I needed. After I was successful I messaged them to let them know and they sent me a really sweet congratulations message. In Mei’s experience their emails were always very positive. It made her feel like she wasn’t alone in the process and gave her the confidence to keep going.

Mei having received her O visa then successfully got her EB-1 using their guide. She was able to easily upgrade her guide level from the O-1 Guide to the O-1 & EB-1 Combo package.

Are ArtistGreenCard.com guides up to date?

We logged in recently and noticed they have updated their O1B guides to include the differentiation between the Arts O1B and the MPTV O1B applications. They have also updated their O petition letters too. They have kept the guides members updated throughout COVID.

ArtistGreenCard.com Questions

We at ExtraordinaryVisa messaged ArtistGreenCard.com to say we were going to review their guides and we offered them feedback on their guides:

1. Set up a forum so users can connect with others in the same boat.

Their response: We had considered this, however, it would need someone to manage and take the lead on advice. We are full-time artists and don’t have the time to commit. If specific advice is needed it could be construed as legal advice and that should really come from the USCIS or an attorney.

Our thoughts: This makes sense to us. We have an article here on forums/communities that we found helpful visa communities on our visa journeys. Perhaps they will help you too.

2. Consider giving attorney recommendations of specialist attorneys that offer these visas.

Their response: When we started out we would give attorney recommendations for people going through the process but we stopped. Finding an attorney is a very personal thing. It is important that you can work together. Not everyone we connected with attorneys was happy with the attorney and attorneys were not happy to have them as clients either. There are great attorneys out there we didn’t use any and we wanted to empower others if they wanted to do the same.

Our thoughts: We didn’t hire attorneys ourselves. Z did have a bad experience. Most people we know have had a good experience, some just felt there could have been more communication. ArtistGreenCard.com on their site mention that some clients have prepared their case using their guides and paid an attorney a nominal fee to read over it, adjust if necessary and file it on their behalf. We have an article here on hiring attorneys.

3. You previously offered a 14 day refund – are you bringing it back?

Their response: We removed the refund because many of the artists that asked for it had copied the guide and then asked for a refund. (Our system keeps visited page logs). Sometimes we help out anonymously on Reddit and there was a post from one who was waiting for his approval – the USCIS has just brought out the Motion Picture Television instruction – having outdated information could have potentially damaged his case. We produced the guide as an online format for this very reason, you need the most up to date information available for a successful case. Some ask for a refund because they are not ready. We believe we warn people enough before they buy the guide that this is a difficult application and it’s not for everyone and so we’ve made it a lifetime licence for when they are ready. We also believe our guides are priced fairly. Right now we are not bringing back the refund but we may revisit this policy.

Our thoughts: We understand this. This makes sense to us. What do you think?

Conclusion

The ArtistGreenCard.com guides have everything you could ever need to apply for the O-1 or the EB-1.

Mei was successful in getting her O-1 visa (approved in 2 days) and EB-1 visa using their guides. I got my EB-1. It was hard work and it was nerve-racking but the guide was thorough and we felt confident that we were on the right track.

We found that there was a lot of information to read so took a while to get going. We recommend you go straight to the petition letters and read those – they will give you an overview of the format and how to sell yourself. Then, read the criteria breakdowns in Step One. Then, check out their Gathering Evidence section to know exactly what the USCIS need from you to prove each claim. All that’s left to do is copy their petition letter word for word changing it to suit your career, fill in the forms, submit and wait to be approved!

We found the guides a fantastic resource and we hope you do too. If you are interested click our ArtistGreenCard.com affiliate link here so they know we sent you. If you buy we will get a small commission. These commissions help us keep the site going and keeping our content free – so THANK YOU! There is no extra charge to you.

They have given us a promo/discount code see below Add this at checkout for 10% OFF.

Let us know if you use them/have used them. We’d love to hear your experience.

P.S. Rachel and Kevin have been working on the ATHLETICS and BUSINESS DIY guides. Get on their mailing list to get notified of their launch.

Read HOW TO APPLY HERE.

FAQ

Can I apply for the O1 visa myself?

Yes. We did. We used the ArtistGreenCard.com guides but you don’t have to (discount code above). Jason didn’t use any guides and was successful. Rachel and Kevin got their green cards without a guide – they simply didn’t exist at the time.

Is the O1B different to the O1A?

Yes. They are different. There is not only a difference between the O1B and O1A but within the O1B there is the Arts and the MPTV. The USCIS interpretation of the criteria should be followed. You can find this discussed here on our site. ArtistGreenCard.com go through this in great detail (discount code above).