My journey with Rick started last October. Let's define that 'journey' a little better...I stayed put and Rick has stayed put...this is not the smooth journey for which I was hoping.
We placed an ad for a graphic designer and Rick applied. We were blown away by his talent and decided to work out a contract with him, while we helped him obtain a visa. Rick is a Rio de Janiero, Brazilian native. He worked a ski season at Tahoe on a J-1, so we figured we could get him back here on the same type of visa. Also, he had started earning a bachelor's degree in graphic design (or the equivalent thereof), but his mad talent had overwhelmed various employers and he had not finished his degree--which makes him a good candidate for the J-1 student training visa.
We started working away on the application for a J-1 visa, which required institutionalizing a training program in the office, and partnering with a sponsor organization. We've now realized that we can't pull off a J-1 application, since we can't justify training Rick--he's really that good.
So we're going to apply for an H-1 visa next month.