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 […]
Read the rest of this article »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 […]
Read the rest of this article »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 […]
Read the rest of this article »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 […]
Read the rest of this article »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 […]
Read the rest of this article »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 […]
Read the rest of this article »We have seen two Requests for Evidence (RFE) this week for foreign artists who are currently in the U.S. with O-1 classification (both of whom have been previously approved for O-1 classification multiple times) and who filed new O-1 petitions to extend their status and remain in the U.S. In each case, neither artist has […]
Read the rest of this article »As you are doubtlessly aware by now, the Dark Lord has just issued a new immigration proclamation. IT WILL HAVE LITTLE, IF ANY, SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON ARTISTS! Now, take a breath and read on… Fresh from his triumphant campaign rally before a crowd of several dozen (including a frightened family of squirrels trapped in the […]
Read the rest of this article »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 […]
Read the rest of this article »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 […]
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