Archive for the ‘Visas’ Category

CALL TO ACTION! ARTISTS COMMUNITY ASSEMBLE!

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023

LAW & DISORDER Performing Arts Division February 22, 2023  CALL TO ACTION! ARTS COMMUNITY ASSEMBLE!   We have until MARCH 13, 2023 to file public comments and objections to USCIS’s proposal to artist visa petition fees to nightmarish levels. As a reminder, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the consummate embodiment of incompetency, capriciousness, […]

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USCIS PROPOSES DRACONIAN FEE INCREASES FOR ARTIST VISAS! 

Wednesday, January 25th, 2023

LAW & DISORDER Performing Arts Division January 25, 2023 USCIS PROPOSES DRACONIAN FEE INCREASES FOR ARTIST VISAS!  Despite my efforts to have our blogs and updates covering a wide range of topics, and not just artist visas, I am now frustratingly forced to focus entirely on a significant issue that has arisen in the world of obtaining […]

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Artist Visa Updates, Force Majeure Clauses, Streaming Licenses, and Deep Thoughts

Thursday, December 8th, 2022

  LAW & DISORDER Performing Arts Division December 8, 2022   INSIDE THIS ISSUE > Artist Visa Updates < > Force Majeure Clauses < > Streaming Licenses <   > Congratulations! < > Deep Thoughts <  Artist Visa Updates  • Current USCIS Service Center Processing Times Vermont Service Center: Standard Processing: 4 – 6 weeks Premium […]

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Backlogs at US Consulates, New USCIS forms, Contract Entirety Clauses, and Board Term Limits

Wednesday, June 15th, 2022

LAW & DISORDER: Performing Arts Division June 16, 2022 INSIDE THIS ISSUE » Backlogs at US Consulates « » New USCIS forms « » Contract Entirety Clauses « » Board Term Limits « Current USCIS Service Center Processing Times: Vermont Service Center: Standard processing: 4 – 8 weeks Premium processing: 9 – 10 days California […]

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IN-PERSON APPOINTMENT WAIVERS NOW AVAILABLE FOR O AND P VISAS

Tuesday, January 4th, 2022

By Brian Taylor Goldstein Happy New Year! Let’s hope the 2021 we wanted finally comes in 2022, Perhaps you were as surprised as I to wake up Christmas morning to discover that the U.S. Department of State had left an actual gift in our stockings. Not too much, and not too expensive, but it’s the […]

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THE NIE WALL TO COME DOWN …and more good news!

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021

By Brian Taylor Goldstein It’s so rare that I get to share anything positive in the world of artist visas that I still find myself wondering if I have inadvertently fallen through the matrix into someplace where it is not 2021. The White House announced today (Monday, September 20, 2021) that in “early November” it […]

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CLOUDY WITH CONTINUED EXCEPTIONS

Sunday, July 11th, 2021

Every time I sit down to write a blog about a more compelling subject, such as tales of successful artist entrepreneurship or navigating exciting new commissions and projects, a visa crisis drags me back into the bowels of despair. On this occasion, it’s the ongoing impact of the U.S. COVID Travel Ban on international artists […]

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IS IT TIME FOR ARTISTS TO RETURN TO THE U.S.?

Thursday, May 20th, 2021

The COVID Travel Ban, Significant Consulate Backlogs, and Other Current Issues For Non-U.S. Artists By Brian Taylor GoldsteinSorry for the long delay since my last post, but, well…it’s been an interesting year, to say the least. Things are improving, but 2021 still needs more rehearsal time to work the kinks out. Here in New York […]

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USCIS Has Officially Raised Premium Processing to $2500 EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 19, 2020… and an update on National Interest Waivers while we’re at it.

Friday, October 16th, 2020

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 […]

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USCIS Furlough-Nado UPDATE!

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020

GOOD NEWS: USCIS has agreed to call off its planned furlough of 13,500 employees which had been scheduled for this weekend. BAD NEWS: In exchange for this, the U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously agreed to let USCIS raise the premium processing fee from $1440 to $2500 for O and P petitions and cancel the […]

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