Esports has taken giant strides to become a respectable and serious sport over the past few years, but it is still facing some niggling problems. One of these are visas to USA, which can be difficult to come by because the officials don't consider video games a legitimate sport.
Last year one of world's leading Super Smash Bros. Melee players, William "Leffen" Hjelte, was deported from the United States because he was sponsored by an American company while using a tourist visa, when he needed a work visa. After applying for a P1 Visa, that is what professional athletes use to come to the US, he was denied due to Super Smash Bros. Melee not being recognised as a "legitimate" sport.
However, competitors in other esports, such as League of Legends, have been approved for P1 Visas in order to travel to the US and compete. This sparked a petition on the US We the People website, which requires 100,000 signatures to get an official statement from the White House.
That requirement has now been fulfilled with ease. At the moment there is 116,695 people that have signed the petition. Hopefully this will help future pro players from having visa issues when entering the United States for competitions.
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