OVERVIEW
Throughout his career, the Beneficiary demonstrated his extraordinary abilities as a Stage Director
in the film, television, and esports content-production industries. In his fourteen-year-long career as
stage director, he led the stage production of world-class productions such as Cirque de Soleil, So
You Think You Can Dance, X-Factor, Ukraine’s Got Talent and Eurovision Song Festival.
After making a move to esports, he is credited as being the creative mind behind some of the most
wide-reaching esports tournaments organized by the Petitioning company; the AniMajor Dota 2,
Academy League Season 3, Academy League 2021, and more. He received widespread recognition
from the gaming industry for transforming esport productions, raising the standard from the
traditional “gamer-and-pc” to full-on television show-worthy production with themes, light effects,
props, and complete sets. His groundbreaking work culminated in a nomination for the 43 rd Annual
Sports Emmys (2022).
The Petitioner is an esports group with headquarters in Los Angeles, U.S., and Kyiv, Ukraine. A
leader in esports, they provide cutting-edge solutions and services to help users learn about
esports, grow in it and have memorable experiences. Making esports mainstream since 2011,
Petitioner organized hundreds of esports tournaments, talk shows, and more, with millions of
dollars in prize pools, and millions of viewers globally.
The Beneficiary worked as a Set Designer at the Ukrainian headquarters before being requested to
join the U.S. company as a Stage Director.
FACTS OF THE CASE
- The Beneficiary and petitioning company were nominated for a Sports Emmy in 2022 and
received (nominations for) other major industry awards (Teletriumph Awards, Ukrainian Design
Award and Esports Awards) - Recognized experts (varying from governmental leaders, executives at esports and media
companies, and public figures) attested to the Beneficiary’s achievements - The Beneficiary played a critical role in distinguished productions such as So You Think You Can
Dance, X-Factor, Ukraine’s Got Talent and Eurovision Song Festival - The Beneficiary was employed in a critical role for famed esports production companies
- The Beneficiary and his productions were featured in Esports Grizzly, European Business Review,
AFK Gaming, Kyiv Post, and Dot Esports - The Beneficiary’s annual salary of over UAH 1,500,000 placed him at earning almost 5 times theannual salary of the highest earning Scenographers in Ukraine
- The Beneficiary achieved critical and commercial success through his widely-viewed productions
in television and esports.
CONCLUSION
- The Petitioner worked on generating more press and interviews featuring the Beneficiary
- There was a Request for Evidence. USCIS classified this O-1B “Arts” filing as an O-1B “Motion
Picture or Television Industry” petition despite the Beneficiary’s latest work being in esports. - USCIS requested the additional advisory opinion that is required for O-1B MPTV1 , which we
provided, and the case was swiftly approved.
