The O-1B That Brought a Cricket Empire to the U.S.
How T10 founder Shaji Ul Mulk's agent-based O-1B petition became the legal foundation for a U.S. cricket tournament — players, production, and all.
How a Billionaire Cricket Innovator Used an Agent-Based O-1B to Build a U.S. Tournament — and Bring His Team With Him
Most people think of the O-1 visa as a way for one extraordinary person to take one extraordinary job. Shaji Ul Mulk's case shows what it really is: infrastructure. Structured as an agent-based petition, a single O-1B became the legal foundation for an entire cricket enterprise on American soil.
The beneficiary: the man who reinvented cricket for television
Shaji Ul Mulk is the founder of the T10 cricket format and the Abu Dhabi T10 League — a competition built deliberately for the broadcast era. Ninety-minute matches. Soccer-length sittings. A format engineered for streaming platforms and highlight culture. The league's numbers made the case for themselves: a reported $621.2 million in total economic impact, 342 million television and OTT viewers in a single season, and sponsorship value that grew to $279.3 million. Media rights negotiations under his leadership reached organizations like Viacom18, Reliance Jio, and Sony ESPN, and he sits as the only Indian member of the Emirates Cricket Board.
The challenge: a global founder, not a U.S. employee
When Mulk set out to expand T10 cricket into the United States through US Masters T10 and T Ten Global, he faced the classic structural problem: he wasn't coming to take a job with an American employer. He was coming to build something — select athletes, produce and distribute broadcast content, make media appearances, and promote a new league to American audiences.
The petition strategy, handled through an agent-based structure, reframed his role in terms USCIS recognizes under O-1B: he functions like the director and producer of a distinguished production. The athletes are the cast, the matches are the episodes, the league is the series — and Mulk is the showrunner whose creative and commercial decisions drive the whole production. When USCIS issued a request for evidence, the response leaned into that framing, documenting his lead role in content creation, athlete selection, global media appearances, and rights negotiations, with an O-1A alternative argued in parallel.
The multiplier: one O-1 unlocks the O-2s
Here's the strategic detail worth studying. A tournament is not one person — it needs the essential support personnel who make the production possible. The O-2 visa exists precisely for individuals whose assistance is integral to an O-1 holder's performance. By securing the principal's agent-based O-1B, the case created the anchor that O-2 petitions could attach to — turning one approval into a doorway for the team required to stage world-class cricket in the U.S.
That's the lesson we emphasize to founders and event organizers: the right principal petition, structured through a qualified U.S. agent, isn't just an individual work permit. It's the keystone for an entire operation.
Why agent-based petitions fit sports ventures
Foreign founders and international sports organizations rarely have a U.S. entity ready to act as employer-petitioner — and often shouldn't rush to create one just for immigration purposes. A U.S. agent petitioner can file on behalf of a foreign employer, preserve existing employment relationships abroad, and account for multi-event, multi-venue itineraries in one filing. For a venture that lives across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Dallas, that structure isn't a workaround. It's the correct tool.
Every case is different, and past results don't guarantee future outcomes. Aventus Visa Agents provides petitioner services in collaboration with licensed immigration attorneys; this article is general information, not legal advice.
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