The right strategy depends on your specific facts.

I once submitted a screenshot of a McDonald's ad as evidence in an O-1 case.

It was one of the strongest pages in the file.

When you're building an O-1 case for someone in a creative field (the O-1 is the visa for people with extraordinary ability), everyone assumes you need an Oscar or an Emmy sitting on a shelf. You don't.

What you need is for the officer reading your case to look at it and immediately think, "yes, obviously, this person is the real deal."

Nothing does that faster than a name they already recognize.

My client had worked on a McDonald's commercial. The officer doesn't have to look anything up to understand that. They don't have to ask whether the company is real, or whether being hired for that job means something. The credibility is built in.

Now compare that to a credit from a small festival the officer has never heard of. Suddenly they're doing homework. Is this festival legitimate? Is this award a big deal? And every question you make them ask is a door you've opened to a request for evidence.

To be clear, a well-known festival is a great credit. It's the obscure ones that create work for the officer.

So here's what I tell people in film, design, and the arts who are working toward a visa.

You're already being offered good projects. The question is which one you say yes to.

Choose the recognizable credit. Go for the biggest name or organization, even if the role is a lower one.

Working with a company or a person the officer has heard of is worth more for getting your case approved as easily as possible than a project nobody outside your field knows about.

Say yes to the names that don't need explaining. Because the strongest case is the one the officer doesn't have to think twice about.

PS: Every case is different, and the right strategy depends on your specific facts. If you're working on this, talk it through with someone who can look at your actual profile.