In three months it will be two years since I left Peru.
My F-1 student visa ends this December, and after that I’ll transition to OPT.
OPT (Optional Practical Training) allows international students to work for up to 12 months after completing their studies.
By December 2026, if I choose to stay in the US, I’ll need to apply for a new visa.
I have two options: the H-1B or the O-1.
The H-1B is a work visa for specialized fields that requires employer sponsorship.
The O-1 is for people with extraordinary ability or achievement in their field.
Most international students in the US go for the H-1B after finishing their studies.
Most H-1B holders are graduate students, meaning those in master’s or PhD programs. It’s uncommon for undergrads to get one.
This path isn’t for me because I’m not planning to keep studying after I finish school in December.
I might do a master’s in design in my thirties after retiring, but an MBA? Never. Not in this life, not in the next.
So the only real option for me is the O-1. But getting an O-1 is hard.
If you’re even considering an O-1, you can probably get it. Most people drop it right away because the work and proof needed are more than they can handle.
Thankfully, I’m crazy, so this is the only option I’m looking at.
Still, it’s scary to think about the level of work needed. After 2026, getting an O-1 would mean being officially recognized by the US government as an “alien with extraordinary ability.”
Not everyone gets that title, and it comes with a lot of responsibility.
I know I’ll get my O-1, but I can’t fully picture who I need to become yet. I’ll have to leave my comfort zone in ways I never have before.
All of 2026 will be for building my portfolio and prepping my application before the year ends.
The first step is picking the area where I’ll claim this expertise. I know software to a decent level, but I don’t yet see myself as someone with extraordinary ability.
Compared to people from my home country, I’m an outlier. Compared to others in America, not at all. People here are next level.
My field of choice will probably be AI, cybersecurity, or crypto. But I’m not sure yet.
Two firms that come to mind as advisors are Plymouth Street and Extraordinary, but there are hundreds in the US, so I’ll just pick one.
Unlike an H-1B, an O-1 can be self-sponsored. That’s why this is the visa most startup founders take when they build a company here.
The only thing that’s certain for now is that my O-1 will be to build my company.
My last year as an employee will be 2026. I won’t hold a job after December 2026.
My O-1 will be to build my company, so the area of expertise I choose has to be tied to it.
This choice will massively impact my life in the next years.
I’ll be 25 then. If I leave the workforce, it’ll be to build something that changes the world.
I’ll hold my O-1 for three years, then switch to an EB-1, which gives me a green card. By 2029, once my O-1 ends, I’ll be five years away from becoming a US citizen.
I’ll probably leave America in 2034 after ten years here. By then I’ll be a citizen, started a family, and retired.