Musical America Blogs

The Screaming Demon Pumpkin and his festering goblins of anal carbuncles JUST announced TODAY that it was raising the premium processing fee from $1440 to $2500 effective this Monday, October 19, 2020. Any petitions postmarked after October 19, 2020 will be returned if they do not have the higher fee. Whilst I expect this to […]

I. Consulates Are Open, But Now Refusing To Issue Visas To Applicants Who Have Been In Certain Countries For artists who have been approved for visas, but have been waiting months to apply for them at a U.S. Consulate, many U.S. Consulates have re-opened and are beginning to issue visas. But not so fast…there continues […]

On July 31, 2020, DHS (The Department of Homeland (In)Security) issued a “Final Rule” confirming that USCIS (Unconscionable, Shameful, Callous, Immoral, and Sinister) will be imposing steep fee increases for visa petitions as well as creating new forms. Assuming that the many lawsuits and injunctions that are already in the works don’t stop this, then […]

Last night, July 6, 2020, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that all F-1 (student) visa holders attending schools that have decided to operate entirely on-line for the fall 2020 semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic will not be permitted to take a full online course load and remain in the U.S., forcing schools and […]

(Understanding Streaming Rights) As we all try to figure out how to cobble the performing arts world together, more and more venues, presenters, and artists are turning to streaming–live streams, virtual performances, and showing archived footage of previously recorded concerts. For now, these efforts are critical as a means to stay connected with audiences. Soon, […]

By Brian Taylor Goldstein To those of you wondering what is happening with The Screaming Carrot Demon’s immigration ban, his Executive Order slithered out of the White House today. Here’s the deal: Today’s spewage only addresses immigrant visas (green cards). Though there is a fairly long list of exceptions, for the next 60 days people […]

Unemployment and the CARES Act For Non-US Artists April 7, 2020 By Brian Taylor Goldstein Shocking as it may sound, USCIS has passed a tiny wind of hope in the direction of artist visas during this coronavirus pandemic. The Department of Homeland Security (which sets the policies for USCIS) has confirmed that applying for unemployment […]

Cancelled Engagements, Unemployment, Layoffs, and Visa Renewals March 31, 2020 By Brian Taylor Goldstein As the tumbleweeds blow through Times Square and we begin to consider the viability of Easter peeps or even kale to supplement the dwindling toilet paper supplies, there is an understandable amount of angst and confusion on many fronts. Not least […]

By Brian Taylor Goldstein In short, not much. As you can imagine, this was announced without any details as to how, exactly, this was going to work in terms of screening, implementation, flight schedules, etc. But here what we know so far… Anyone who has been in one of the 26 European countries in the […]

By Brian Taylor Goldstein Let’s all step back and take a breath for moment. As you can imagine, the coronavirus has overrun (dare I say “infected?”) our office with an ever growing stream of cancellations based on force majeur and concerns from venues, presenters, agents, and artists from around the world. As the situation has […]