Last-Tear Poa, an Australian national and Louisiana State University (LSU) women’s basketball player, has filed a lawsuit against the USCIS after her P-1A visa application was denied. Poa is originally from Melbourne, Australia and joined LSU in 2022. She is currently a legal resident in the United States by holding a F-1 student visa.
As a F-1 visa holder, Poa is restricted from participating in non-work-study employment. This specifically includes active NIL work being prohibited. F-1 visa students are still allowed to participate in passive NIL work, which requires no labor, such as licensing NIL rights to a merchandiser producing jerseys. But the most money when it comes NIL employment comes from active work- where the student is required to work to earn her NIL income. Poa has amassed nearly 159,000 Instagram followers and has a strong social media presence. Due to the restrictions set forth by the F-1 visa, she has an inability to use her athletic brand and social media presence to enhance her NIL income. It leads to her missing out on potentially lucrative NIL income likely in the millions.
Poa, who wanted to fully participate in NIL activities, decided to apply for a P-1A visa. This visa is meant specifically for an applicant who is an internationally recognized athlete who demonstrates they are coming to the United States to compete at a major level. Despite Poa helping guide LSU women’s basketball team to its first national championship title in 2022-23- she was denied the P-1A visa. Hence, Poa filing the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
There has been a constant frustration between international student-athletes and the USCIS in their inability to generate income through NIL for the past three years. International student-athletes compromise nearly 12% of all NCAA Division I student-athletes and the USCIS continues to provide no guidance or reform to help these students benefit from NIL. It is an issue that needs to be addressed due to several high-profile student-athletes like Poa or Zach Edey- last year’s national men’s basketball player of the year from Purdue University who was a Canadian national. If these great international athletes can impact the NCAA game at such a high level, then they should also be allowed to benefit from the NIL era like their United States domestic counterparts.