Social influencers and content creators on subscription platforms, including OnlyFans, are increasingly applying for O-1B visas in the US for people with outstanding achievements in the arts, the Financial Times reported.
As noted in the publication, in such cases, lawyers use digital metrics — audience, reach, revenue, and commercial collaborations — as one way to confirm the applicant’s “notoriety” and professional success; a niche of lawyers specializing in such applications has also formed in the market.
This is not a “new visa for models,” but rather the existing O-1 (extraordinary ability/achievement) category, often referred to in the public sphere as the “talent visa.” The formal requirements for it are established by USCIS rules and federal regulations and do not include a separate criterion for the number of subscribers — the applicant must prove outstanding abilities or achievements through the prescribed sets of evidence.
According to US State Department statistics, in fiscal year 2024, consulates issued 19,457 O-1 visas, 13,922 O-2 visas (accompanying professionals), and 6,035 O-3 visas (family members).
The tax debt of Ukrainian citizens who received income from posting content on the OnlyFans platform in 2020–2022 amounts to UAH 384.7 million as of September 1, 2025. This was reported by the State Tax Service in response to a journalist’s request, as reported by Ekonomichna Pravda; the information has also been confirmed by a number of Ukrainian media outlets.
The tax service clarified that this refers specifically to the tax debt of individuals on income from the service owner Fenix International Ltd for the period 2020-2022; data for 2023 has been received recently and is currently being processed.
It should be noted that the State Tax Service treats the income of Ukrainian residents from OnlyFans as foreign income subject to taxation in Ukraine (income tax and military tax; some authors work as sole proprietors). At the same time, the platform itself pays VAT in Ukraine on electronic services (the so-called “Google tax”): in 2023, the amount of such VAT exceeded $928,000.
Previously, the media raised the issue of conflicts between criminal law provisions on pornographic content and the need for authors to declare their income, but the fiscal authority’s position on the taxation of such income remains unchanged.
