I have a friend who's 26 years old and graduated with her master's in journalism degree in 2020. She's been freelancing since then, publishing in magazines (like Popular Science).

I'm 31, and graduated from the same program as her. I also freelanced last year at big magazines too.

We both went to different attorneys to figure out if we qualify for the O1. The one I went to told me I didn't, because I don't have enough experience in the field, didn't get paid well above the standard, and have only been at it a year. He also said the internships I did in grad school don't count. Meaning even if I published at The New York Times, it doesn't really count because it was through an internship.

Her attorney told her she was VERY confident she would get it, and that she doesn't take clients she isn't confident in. My friend filed for the O1 through this attorney in January, and her status is still pending.

I'm trying to decide if I should spend the $6000 and take a chance with this attorney, or if my first attorney was right in that I don't have enough experience. Obviously $6000 is a lot to spend, so I wanted to solicit some advice before I go ahead.

Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks

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