OnlyFans models, social media influencers among growing number of visa applicants: reports

Immigration attorneys are reportedly seeing an increasing number of social media influencers and models for OnlyFans — a platform accused of encouraging creators to make sexual or pornographic content for money — seeking to obtain a United States visa typically reserved for “exceptional” creatives like musicians and actors. 

O-1 visas are usually granted to individuals who have an “extraordinary ability” in specific fields (including the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics) or those who have received national or international recognition for achievements.

According to an analysis published this month by The Financial Times, the number of O-1 visas granted each year increased by more than 50% between 2014 and 2024, while the total number of non-immigrant visas issued grew by 10%. 

Data from the U.S. State Department also shows that the number of O-1 visas granted went from 7,294 in 2021 to 19,102 in 2022. While the number declined slightly in 2023 (18,994), the figure rose again to 19,457 in 2024.

“I knew the days of representing iconic names like Boy George and Sinéad O’Connor were over,” immigration attorney Michael Wildes told the outlet, saying that there has been a cultural shift towards “scroll kings and queens.” 

Wildes and other immigration attorneys, as well as talent managers and creators, noticed that the number of online influencers successfully applying for an O-1B arts visa has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attorneys specializing in these types of visas told The Florida Phoenix that around half of their clients — 65% in one lawyer’s case — are immigrants with large followings on TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram. Some, but not all, work with OnlyFans creators.

Jacob Sapochnick, an immigration attorney based in San Diego, told The Florida Phoenix that an OnlyFans model contacted him in 2020 about obtaining an O-1B visa. The attorney said he was skeptical at first, but then the OnlyFans model showed him she was making $250,000 a month on her platform.

“I was like, oh my god. OK. I can use that,” Sapochnick said, saying that he took the woman’s case after learning that she was also involved in fitness influencing. 

The woman became Sapochnick’s first OnlyFans client to obtain the O-1B visa, according to The Florida Phoenix.

In the next two years, Sapochnick represented other fitness influencers from various countries, including China, Russia and Canada. Many of these fitness influencers, he said, were also “dabbling” in OnlyFans. 

Some immigration attorneys also told The Financial Times that a reason why attorneys may take on an online influencer as a client is that it’s reportedly easier to cite “likes” and subscriber numbers to prove someone has a large following than it is to prove an “exceptional ability.” 

In addition to having a high follower count, appearing at a launch event or landing a contract to promote a specific brand can count as the online influencer having starred in a “distinguished production,” Fiona McEntee, founding partner of the McEntee Law Group, was quoted as saying. 

Some have expressed concern, however, about making algorithms and metrics the focus of the visa application process, saying it could put distinguished talents without a large online presence at a disadvantage. 

“We have scenarios where people who should never have been approved are getting approved for O-1s,” immigration lawyer Protima Daryanani, managing partner of the Daryanani Law Group, told The Financial Times. 

Attorneys who spoke with The Florida Phoenix said the number of OnlyFans workers who have successfully obtained an O-1B visa has declined since 2022 because that market has become “over-saturated," highlighting the shift in focus to AI-generated porn.