Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in July 2023 and updated in September 2025 with new NIL developments and athlete/visa cases.
Florida State University swimmer, Izaak Bastian, was excited to learn that student-athletes can profit from Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals. His excitement died when the 2021 Olympian realized his Bahamian citizenship would get in the way.
“It was really discouraging to learn about my ineligibility for NIL deals,” said Bastian, who competed for Florida State from 2018 to 2022.
TL;DR
- International athletes on F-1 visas can’t participate in NIL like U.S. students.
- Collectives and deals that drive NIL for American athletes are off-limits.
- Workarounds (home country deals, O-1/P1A visas, green cards) exist but are rare, costly, and limited to elite athletes.
- The result: more than 24,000 NCAA athletes are shut out of NIL opportunities, deepening inequities in college sports.
- Reform would require federal or immigration policy changes, but none are on the horizon.
The International NIL Roadblock
Northwestern University senior field hockey player Ana Medina Garcia shared a similar sentiment.
“I was excited until I found out I wasn’t really able to take part in it,” said Garcia, a native of Madrid, Spain.
As 2021 national champions and reigning NCAA runners-up, the Wildcat field hockey team has team NIL deals with companies like Dunkin’ Donuts. But Garcia is ineligible to partake in the windfall as an international student.
“I see my teammates participate [in the deal], and I’m like, ‘I wish I could do it,’” Garcia added.
Seidu Shamsudeen, a University of Delaware soccer player from Ghana, reacted slightly differently. Initially, he didn’t think much of NIL, as he believed it would only benefit football and men’s basketball players. However, as he saw how any athlete could utilize NIL, he became exhilarated—until he discovered that his international student status prohibited him from doing so.
“It was frustrating,” said Shamsudeen, who also played for Villanova University from 2018 to 2021. “Especially when I see on Instagram where other athletes that have really good deals and I have more followers than them, and I feel like I could promote [a company’s product] much better.”
Why Visa Rules Shut Athletes Out
International students pursuing their education in the U.S. require a student visa, which comes with extremely restrictive employment authorization laws. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), international students are only permitted to work on campus during their first academic year in the U.S. Following the first year, they may obtain off-campus employment, but only if it directly relates to the international student’s field of study.
Ksenia Maiorova, a sports immigration lawyer based in Orlando, Florida, said it is almost impossible to find a NIL deal that falls under the F-1 visa requirements.
“If a sponsor wants you to sign autographs, attend promotional events, generate content, and post on your social media, that’s going to be outside the scope of what is generally permissible with an F-1 visa,” said Maiorova, a Russian native.
Given the difficulty of finding a deal that fits within his athletic training major, Bastian said he quickly lost hope in profiting from his NIL during his collegiate career.
“It was a very gray area with international student-athletes and getting paid, and nobody was really sure how it would work with the [F-1] visa, so I stopped looking into it,” he said.
2025 Update: NIL Rights vs. Immigration Law
Since this article was first published in May 2025, the battle over international student-athletes and NIL has only intensified. The biggest development came on September 19, 2025, when a federal judge in Washington, D.C. denied the U.S. government’s attempt to categorically block athletes on P-1A visas from pursuing NIL opportunities. That ruling doesn’t suddenly open the NIL floodgates for every international athlete, but it does signal that blanket restrictions may not hold up in court.
Still, the reality for most of the more than 24,000 international NCAA athletes hasn’t changed:
- F-1 visa rules remain restrictive. Anything that looks like employment (autograph signings, appearances, social media posts for pay) is considered off-limits.
- “Passive vs. active” NIL distinctions are murky. Licensing your image might seem safe, but most deals involve active promotion — exactly the type of work immigration authorities can flag.
- Institutional risk is growing. Universities have been warned that even indirect involvement in brokering NIL for international athletes could be considered non-compliant.
Legal experts say the clash between college sports’ new economic reality (post-House v. NCAA settlement) and immigration law is widening. In other words, while American athletes are being promised direct NIL payments starting in 2025–26, their international teammates are still left out — unless they qualify for rare pathways like O-1 or P-1A visas, or in extraordinary cases, a green card.
For athletes like Izaak Bastian, Ana Medina Garcia, and Seidu Shamsudeen, that gap remains frustrating. And unless Congress or the Department of Homeland Security takes action, international athletes will remain the forgotten group in the NIL era — stuck between the promise of college sports money and the threat of losing their visa status.
Risky Loopholes and Gray Areas
Since the inception of NIL, stakeholders have sought ways to circumvent immigration restrictions for international student-athletes.
One potential loophole is that athletes may sign and complete the obligations associated with NIL deals while they are in their home countries during holidays.
Despite the potential opportunity, Bastian felt that there was too much at stake to attempt it.
“It seemed like a lot of hoops to jump through,” Bastian said. “And I didn’t want to make a simple mistake that could have cost me my visa.”
Shamsudeen had similar hesitations, labeling the ambiguity surrounding this potential avenue as “too risky.”
Maiorova agreed with the pair and fears for the future visa status of athletes who have taken advantage of this “gray area.”
“Consular officers have almost unlimited discretion to approve or deny your visa [extension],” Maiorova said. “Is the consular officer going to be interested in where, geographically, the content was created? Or are they just going to go on Instagram, see that somebody is posting content, it’s got the athlete’s face on it, he’s in a video promoting whatever product, and they’re just going to say, ‘You’re on an F-1 visa, why are you promoting this product?’”
The Elite Exceptions
Looking at potential ways athletes can legally profit from NIL, Maiorova outlined three special visa options.
The P1-A visa is the lowest level of extraordinary-ability visas for elite-level athletes, according to Maiorova. It is reserved for athletes competing “at an internationally-recognized level of performance.” It means an eligible athlete is one of the best in the NCAA in their sport and is selected to represent their home country at high-level international competitions, such as regional championships, world championships, and the Olympics.
Why Most Athletes Still Miss Out
Another option is the O-1 visa, which the USCIS grants to athletes who are “one of the small percentage who have arisen to the very top of the field.” So far, one athlete has secured an O-1 visa: Austin Peay University basketball player Hansel Emmanuel, who, last October, became the first college athlete to gain approval for the authorization. The rising sophomore from the Dominican Republic has amassed over 1.6 million followers on Instagram, going viral on social media for playing competitive basketball despite having one arm.
The third option would be obtaining a green card based on exceptionally high achievements in sports. Notably, Maiorova recently assisted the University of California, Berkeley track and field athlete Camryn Rogers in receiving an “extraordinary-ability” green card through the Canadian native’s Tokyo Olympic performance, where she became the youngest woman ever to make an Olympic hammer-throw final.
While all these avenues are potential opportunities for international student-athletes to profit from NIL, they are primarily reserved for the top athletes.
“If you’re very good in the NCAA, chances are you are probably good enough for one of these classifications,” Maiorova said. “But if you’re a Division II field hockey player from some school no one’s heard about, and your local pizzeria wants to offer you $500 a semester towards books to sign autographs, you’re not going to be eligible for one of those categories, and thus, you’re precluded from being able to take the money.”
She added, “It’s tragic because arguably those are the kids that need [NIL money] more because they don’t have an imminent professional career with the promise of riches. These are the kids who are here for an education. They’re already paying three times the in-state tuition and are already somewhat financially strained. I think it’s a good, common, humanitarian sense to give them the opportunity to earn. However, under the existing law, there’s no option.”
Visa application fees and the need for an attorney for the process can also quickly outrun the benefits of the deal.
“At some point, it’s also a cost-benefit analysis,” said Maiorova. “Do you spend the money to transition [to a P-1A or O-1 visa] for a $2,000 deal? Probably not, because you’ll spend more money to change your visa status than you will [earn] from the NIL [deal].”
What Could Fix the Problem?
Looking to the future, how does NIL become universally available to foreign athletes?
According to Maiorova, there are two paths forward.
The first, she said, is a regulatory fix, where an amendment is made to the F-1 visa, granting employment authorization specifically to international student-athletes for NIL purposes. The other is a public policy memorandum to consider NIL deals as on-campus employment, making it legal for foreign athletes to participate.
Looking Ahead
Despite the benefits these changes will bring to the more than 24,000 international students who compete in the NCAA, given the current political situation in the country, Maiorova does not feel confident that any change will occur soon.
“There is a lack of political agreement on immigration between the two parties, and they just don’t seem to be convinced that this is a large enough problem to warrant their attention, which I think is misguided.”
While Bastian wrapped up his NCAA career last year, he hopes international student-athletes can benefit from NIL as soon as possible.
“I see [international student-athletes profiting from NIL] as an absolute win,” Bastian said. “It’s just another way of funding some of these international athletes that may not have the support at home to go to college in the United States.”
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FAQs: International Athletes and NIL in 2025
Can international student-athletes sign NIL deals in the U.S.?
Generally, no. Athletes on F-1 student visas are prohibited from most NIL activities because they count as “employment.” That includes autograph sessions, appearances, or social media promos.
What about doing NIL work from their home country?
Some athletes have tried to sign and fulfill NIL deals while back home, but immigration lawyers warn this is risky. Consular officers have wide discretion and could still deny a visa extension if they see U.S.-based NIL promotion.
Have any international athletes successfully earned NIL money?
Yes, but only a few at the elite level. Examples include Hansel Emmanuel (O-1 visa) and Camryn Rogers (extraordinary-ability green card). These are exceptions, not the rule.
Didn’t a judge rule on this in 2025?
Correct. In September 2025, a federal judge denied the U.S. government’s attempt to categorically block athletes on P-1A visas from NIL opportunities. That doesn’t legalize NIL for everyone, but it shows courts are questioning blanket restrictions.
What visas allow international athletes to participate in NIL?
Options include P-1A visas (for internationally recognized athletes), O-1 visas (for the very top tier of performers), or permanent residency (green card). But these are limited, costly, and not realistic for most NCAA athletes.
Will U.S. law change to allow foreign athletes NIL rights?
Not anytime soon. Experts say the only real fixes would be (1) amending the F-1 visa rules to permit NIL activity or (2) issuing a DHS policy memo treating NIL as “on-campus work.” Both are possible, but with political gridlock in 2025, neither is imminent.
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