{"id":90750,"date":"2026-01-06T05:15:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T05:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/90750\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T05:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T05:15:07","slug":"onlyfans-models-influencers-pushing-cultural-shift-report-says-scroll-kings-and-queens-grab-high-us-artists-visas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/90750\/","title":{"rendered":"OnlyFans models, influencers pushing cultural shift, report says \u2018scroll kings and queens\u2019 grab high US artists visas"},"content":{"rendered":"

OnlyFans models and influencers <\/a>are the major benefactors of the O-1B artists visas in the United States as streams, views and follower count allows for clear and easy metrics to quantify impact, according to a Financial Times report.<\/p>\n

Citing immigration attorney Michael Wildes, whose father Leon Wildes defended John Lennon and Yoko Ono<\/a> in their deportation case, the report said that social media influencers and streaming stars are far outpacing traditional artists when it comes to gaining O-1B visa approvals to the US.<\/p>\n

Wildes described the phenomenon as a shift towards \u201cscroll kings and queens\u201d.<\/p>\n

What is the O-1 category of US visas?<\/p>\n

Notably, O-1B visas are reserved for creatives <\/a>who can prove \u201cexceptional ability\u201d. Similarly, the O-1A visas cater to those with remarkable abilities in science, education, business or athletics. Together, these are the O-1 category of visas available for talent, seeking opportunities in the US.<\/p>\n

Notably, it was Leon Wildes who helped \u201cpave the way\u201d for the O-1B visa with his defence of Lennon and Ono in 1972, when he argued for a dedicated visa for artists. The US Congress codified the O-1B visa in its Immigration <\/a>Act of 1990.<\/p>\n

To qualify for an O-1B visa, one must among other things:<\/p>\n

Perform in a leading role for a distinguished production,Show record of commercial success or significant recognition from experts.<\/p>\n

Attorneys told FT that these qualifications <\/a>have now been adapted to fit online influencers and streamers.<\/p>\n

Notably, between 2014 to 2024, the number of O-1 visa issuances has increased more than 50%, and total number of non-immigrant visas<\/a> issued has jumped by 10%, as per the report. O-1 share in total non-immigrant visas is low \u2014 less than 20,000 in 2024.<\/p>\n

How big are OnlyFans models, influencers winning?<\/p>\n

Immigration attorneys told the publication that proving \u201cexceptional\u201d talents to gain such visas is a murky process and often subjective to each field. And it is here where influencers and OnlyFans <\/a>streamers win big.<\/p>\n

Likes, subscriber numbers, views and streaming data are easy metrics that such clients use to quantify and justify their application. As immigration lawyer and founding partner of the Yao Law Group, Elektra Yao laid it out to FT, \u201cA lay person is very easily impressed by a large number of followers. You don\u2019t need to be a rocket scientist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fiona McEntee, founding partner of the McEntee Law Group noted that significant follower count and high earnings can prove commercial success and brand contracts can show endorsement of talent. \u201cIf you think about how many people are on social media<\/a> every day and how few people actually make a living from it \u2014 it is really a skill,\u201d she told the paper.<\/p>\n

The commerce of arts: Cultural shift underway<\/p>\n

However, New York City-based attorney and founder of Abachi Law, Shervin Abachi expressed concern that attaching metrics to arts could disadvantage noncommercial talents.<\/p>\n

\u201cOfficers are being handed petitions where value is framed almost entirely through algorithm<\/a>-based metrics. Once that becomes normalised, the system moves towards treating artistic merit like a scoreboard,\u201d Abachi warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a structural shift, not a niche development. What looks like a spike in influencer filings may be signalling a broader shift in how opportunity is allocated,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OnlyFans models and influencers are the major benefactors of the O-1B artists visas in the United States as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9082,21031,43062,43063,9,24,63,43059,43060,122,124,123,13078,43061],"class_list":{"0":"post-90750","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-commercial","9":"tag-earnings","10":"tag-exceptional-ability","11":"tag-metrics","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-city","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-o-1b-visas","16":"tag-onlyfans-models","17":"tag-queens","18":"tag-queens-headlines","19":"tag-queens-news","20":"tag-social-media-influencers","21":"tag-streaming-stars"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}