It looks like pro-gamers are athletes
Kim “viOLlet” Dong Hwan has become the first professional StarCraft 2 player to get a visa to come to the United States and compete as an athlete. Kim was cleared for a P-1A visa, which is the type of visa given to internationally recognized athletes, to come to the US for five years. He will be able to live in the country and earn wages, just like players in other sports.
Regardless of what you think of gamers as being athletes, it is really cool to see pro-gamers be allowed to come into the country. This will let people from outside the country compete for some really big prizes in American competitions, and it will increase the levels of competition for American players.
First ‘StarCraft 2’ player officially recognized as an athlete by U.S. government [The Daily Dot]