Do I understand correctly that a lead created by the API should be tied to an existing organization or person? if so, how can I create a person using the API, to which I will then link the lead?
Hi @Anton_Shirshov,
Welcome to our Dev Community! 
Yes, you understood correctly. A lead has to be tied to an existing organization and/or person. This is mandatory for all leads, whether it’s added via the API or the Pipedrive webapp.
You can create a person using the POST /v1/persons endpoint. I hope this answers your question? 
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Thanks! What is the workaround for newcomers leads? i.e. inbound leads that come to my website sign-up form. For those leads, I only know names and emails and they are not yet part of the Pipedrive. Therefore I can’t assign any organization or person to such leads.
Hi @Anton_Shirshov
You still have to create a contact via the persons endpoint and then proceed to create the lead. And there is a reason behind it.
As you see from how the model below, contacts (persons and organization) would be associated with different areas. Also, a lead can be converted to a deal directly (without affecting contacts). This enables to have an efficient process down the road.
Unfortunately, there is no workaround at this point. However, I have taken note of this 