The Producers Guild provides O-1 and O-2 consultation letters to experienced and qualified producers in the motion picture and television industries. The USCIS website describing O-1 and O-2 visas may be found here.

Consultation Process

Requests for O-1 and O-2 consultation letters are submitted to the Guild via email to visaapplications@producersguild.org.

In order for the PGA to prepare a consultation letter, the PGA is required to collect personal information. Before submitting any information to us, please carefully review our Privacy Policy, which you will be deemed to have agreed to by submitting your request for a consultation letter.

To submit your request, please complete the Consultation Letter Form and submit the following materials:

• Consultation Letter Form (this can be downloaded to your device and filled out via Adobe Acrobat Reader)
• I-129 form and supporting documents (e.g. deal memo(s), itinerary of engagements)
• Supporting documentation to demonstrate the beneficiary satisfies the applicable evidentiary criteria:
  • For O-1 petitions, evidence should include the following:
    • Beneficiary’s producing credits on commercially released productions within the last 10 years;
    • The specific release date and/or launch of Beneficiary’s productions;
    • The Beneficiary’s credits received in their productions;
    • The format of Beneficiary’s productions;
    • The number of episodes, if applicable, of Beneficiary’s productions;
    • The run-time of Beneficiary’s productions;
    • The URL, if applicable, to view Beneficiary’s productions;
    • The distribution/exhibition method(s) of Beneficiary’s productions;
    • The distribution companies of Beneficiary’s productions;
    • Evidence of wide commercial distribution and/or national broadcast in the U.S. marketplace, a foreign territory, and Beneficiary’s home country, as demonstrated through commercial statistics; and
    • The beneficiary’s demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in motion picture and/or television productions (e.g. evidence of awards and nominations, receipt of the Producers Mark (p.g.a.) on a specific motion picture, and other forms of recognition for achievements);
  • For O-2 petitions, evidence should include the above requirements for an O-1 petition, as well as the following:
    • If based on a long-standing working relationship, evidence should include the length and nature of the working relationship between the O-1 principal and the O-2 beneficiar(ies), as well as a list and description of the previous productions that the parties worked on together.
    • If based on the continuity of production, evidence should include documentation that significant production has commenced abroad and that the O-2 beneficiary has been sufficiently involved in that production, has a credit in that production, and that their continuing participation in the United States is essential to the production’s successful completion.
• Proof of payment (e.g. copy of check if paid by check)

Please submit all required materials to visaapplications@producersguild.org. Only complete and properly submitted requests will be processed.

Evaluation Criteria for Consultation Letters

The PGA may issue the following types of consultation letters:

• Favorable Letter
  • The PGA may issue a favorable letter, in its sole discretion, when the beneficiary’s body of work meets or exceeds the PGA membership qualifications (found here). Consideration for a favorable letter will not extend to a beneficiary qualifying under the multiple format criteria found here.

• No Objection Letter
  • The PGA may issue a no objection letter, in its sole discretion, when the beneficiary’s body of work meets substantive PGA membership eligibility requirements outlined above for a favorable letter with respect to credit, format and number of projects, but within a longer time period and a wider scope of distribution:
    • The eligibility window is for projects released within ten (10) years prior to the date of submission/petition.
    • Wide commercial distribution and/or national broadcast in the beneficiary’s home country or another foreign territory may be accepted if the beneficiary does not meet U.S. distribution requirements.

Examples of wide commercial distribution can be demonstrated by a production that has done one (1) of the following:

• Theatrical exhibition for at least one (1) week in approximately 10% of the movie theaters operating in the home country or foreign territory (evidence may include newspaper listings or distribution data);
• National television broadcast in home country or foreign territory;
• Video-on-demand (VOD) release via a major television network or cable/satellite television provider; and
• Streaming release in the home country or foreign territory on a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform listed on the Qualifying Platform list.

Please note that it is the responsibility of the petitioner to include evidence from reputable third-party sources to demonstrate the existence, scale, and scope of such distribution.

Processing Time

There is no specific time in which a consultation letter is issued, though the PGA attempts to issue a consultation letter within fourteen (14) business days of receiving a complete application. However, some applications require additional time to review. After fourteen (14) business days, petitioners may inquire as to the status of their consultation letter by sending an email to visaapplications@producersguild.org.

Fees

• $600 USD - Consultation Fee*

_{* please note that $100 of this amount is a non-refundable application processing fee (see below)}

• There is no fee for members of the Producers Guild of America

• In addition to the O-1 request, there is no additional fee to process up to four (4) O-2 requests if they are for the same production. Five (5) or more O-2 consultation letter requests will require an additional consultation fee.

PGA can accept payment by credit card (HERE) and by physical check. If submitting payment by check, the PGA can only accept checks that come through a lawyer or law firm. PGA cannot accept personal checks directly from the beneficiary.

Checks must be payable to Producers Guild of America, Inc. and sent by FedEx or UPS to:

Attn: O1-O2 Advisory Letters
Producers Guild of America
11150 W. Olympic Blvd., Ste. 980
Los Angeles, CA 90064

It is your responsibility to review the consultation letter and notify us in a timely fashion if you believe it contains an error. We will not correct letters after sixty (60) days following issuance.

If we are unable to issue a consultation letter, PGA will notify you, and will retain a $100 processing fee and reverse payment for the remainder of the consultation fee.