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The new visa fees for foreign artists are out. This is not good
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- isaacfrond 2y ago[flagged]
- akudha 2y agoWork visa extension fees has also increased, more than double.
- derbOac 2y agoAs an American, I'm always angry and sort of ashamed when I hear about this sort of thing. I feel like we should be making it easier for people to produce and visit, not more difficult.
- nippoo 2y agoAs someone who's had several of these artist visas in the past... especially when you're a small band with limited budget and need to get several of these - this is going to be cost-prohibitive for a lot of smaller artists. FWIW, a lot of countries, including Canada / Australia etc allow artists who perform under a normal tourist visa which is essentially easy and free for much of the Western world. It always amazes me that I can perform in Canada by just flying over but I need to spend $1000+, hand in my passport for a week, go for an interview and wait several months just to do one show in the US.
- mataug 2y agoAs frustrating as the US visa system is, large numbers of people are still applying for visas which is funding USCIS. Until either the numbers drop, or congress changes how USCIS is funded, I unfortunately think this is not going to change.
- returningfory2 2y agoI don't think this is quite what's happening here. Overall USCIS is funded by fees, but operates a system in which some kinds of applicants subsidize other kinds of applicants. So, applications for asylum are free to make even though they cost USCIS a lot to adjudicate. To make up for this, USCIS charges extra for applications in other categories, like employment-based visas. I'm not sure what exactly is happening in this case, but by saying "Because the US can’t seem to get a handle on its borders" the article author seems to be claiming that artist visa fees are subsidizing asylum claim applications.
- kevin_thibedeau 2y agoTo be fair. Canada is stringent about Americans coming over the border and teaching anything, even in a non-professional capacity, without a work visa.
- ethbr1 2y agoCanada is oddly serious about their border with the US. Having traveled worldwide, it easily ranks up there with the most unfriendly customs officers. Maybe that's why Canadians are so nice? All their assholes are employed for border security?
- paleotrope 2y agoThey have to be to preserve their culture. The us population vastly outnumbers them and most of populated Canada is within a couple hours drive from the US. If there wasn't a strong border they'd end up being assimilated quickly.
- ChumpGPT 2y agoWhat culture? - Canadian
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- xenospn 2y ago“That’s the way she fucking goes”
- nick__m 2y agoThat's the theory yet we had so much immigration that the pro unfettered immigration prime minister¹ was forced to acknowledge that is a significant factor in the current housing crisis afflicting Canada. The federal accept immigrants faster than the GDP can raise, so the GDP per capita of Canada has shrunk². Yet the immigration minister is on record saying that the solution to temporary immigrants overstaying their visa is to make them permanent residents³. 1- He is a member of the https://centuryinitiative.ca https://centuryinitiative.ca , a group that want to see Canada having a population of 100 millions in 2100. And the only way it's possible is by having unsustainable immigration. 2- https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2024/statcan/36-28-0001/CS36-28-0001-2024-4-1-eng.pdf https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2024/statc... the latest drop in the previous graph is a consequence of that artificial population growth. 3- https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/temporary-visas-cut-meeting-1.7200025 https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/temporary-visas-cut-meeting... as if this would help with the housing crisis or the shrinking GDP per capita
- orochimaaru 2y agoThis is the USCIS using visa money to fund its operations, which includes the spike of undocumented/illegal migrants across the border. The entire immigration policy is a complete shit show and both the major parties shoulder the blame for not being flexible enough to make improvements. This will hit smaller and medium size acts. It is really sad.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- lotsofpulp 2y agoI can only surmise the US’ immigration policy and lack of consequences for employers is the way it is specifically to provide for a large contingent of labor that is willing to work for lower prices due to their immigration status. Illegal immigrants’ labor for more physical work, and H1-B labor for more mental work.
- orochimaaru 2y agoI don’t think there is a “policy”. There may have been one in the 1990’s or earlier. It had never been revised. If I’m not mistaken the US is still working off immigration numbers from the early 90’s for employment based green cards. The republicans and democrats can’t agree on a policy. They use it as flame bait since it is a very emotional topic, especially illegal migrants and H1b abuse. So we are in this situation of a poorly funded agency without consistent guidance for immigration in the 21st century.
- jpalawaga 2y agoI just saw Dylan at the Bowery Ballroom in New York a few weeks ago. All of her openers were foreign (along with her). It really makes me wonder if that show would have happened at all. Why there is so much barrier, I do not understand. And yes, the cost will absolutely be born by customers, at least at these small shows.
- blindriver 2y ago[flagged]
- AlotOfReading 2y agoI don't think culture war stuff is particularly appropriate here, but to provide some more useful discussion/context about the southern border, about half of illegal migrants enter legally and simply overstay their visas. Of those who do cross the border, about 80% are caught and arrested. The southern border also stretches through some of the harshest terrain on earth and most of the bits remotely near populated areas are heavily fortified. Crossing the border is the closest thing I've seen to the DMZ outside Korea. Those who cross far outside populated areas are putting themselves at incredible personal (and financial) risk.
- returningfory2 2y agoYour model of the southwest border may need to be updated because the dynamics have changed a lot in the last 4 years. Nowadays people cross the border and intentionally get caught by border patrol (in many cases by calling 911) so that they can make asylum claims. Even if they are arrested, they are generally released and allowed to live in the US for many years while their cases are pending. The number of people doing this has shot up during the last 4 years and is now about 3 million people per year [1]. By comparison, the number of visa overstayers is less than 1 million per year. [2]. [1] https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters [2] https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-07/23_0707_FY22_FY23_CBP_Integrated_Entry_Exit_Overstay_Report.pdf https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-07/23_0707_FY22...
- throwaway5959 2y agoIf the numbers are as high as you say the problem will resolve itself in a decade because there won’t be any people left to cross over. So I’m skeptical they’re that high.
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- xenospn 2y agoWow. This is absolute madness. I can’t see how small European bands can possibly afford it.
- kome 2y agobut, truth to be told, there is little interest or curiosity for small eu acts in the US, just niche stuff.
- ecjhdnc2025 2y agoIt affects more than musicians, though. Same as the Brexit changes relating to this.
- xenospn 2y ago90% of metal tours are foreign bands! This is going to decimate the industry.
- londons_explore 2y agoCulture is really a slow motion war game. If you can make your films and music popular across the world, that will eventually buy you influence with the people of the world, and that in turn will turn into political influence. That's part of the reason nearly every country spends taxes to support the arts/music/theatre/film. By restricting foreign actors, you are restricting foreign countries culture spreading, and giving your own actors/filmmakers/musicians a boost. That in turn will translate into more worldwide cultural influence for your country. To be honest, I'm really surprised all countries don't ban artists from non allied countries.
- justinclift 2y agoThey're hiking the fees for artists from allied countries as well. ;)
- portaouflop 2y agoExtremely cynical and reductive look at one of the most meaningful things humans can do in their lifetime. War eats everything, don’t let it eat your soul. Edit: also not clear how restricting foreign actors in your country would boost your cultures influence in another country. I would even argue that giving foreign artists the opportunity to be influenced by your culture, in turn will strengthen your cultures influence outside of it.
- ecjhdnc2025 2y ago> Extremely cynical and reductive look at one of the most meaningful things humans can do in their lifetime. War eats everything, don’t let it eat your soul. But it is not really a cynical statement about art. It's a cynical statement about government policy towards the arts. In the UK, Brexit has done a great deal of slow-motion damage to the prospects of British artists (and the opportunities for British audiences) and it is difficult not to see the government's intransigence towards work travel restrictions for artists as an arts policy rather than just an immigration policy.
- londons_explore 2y agoBattling with songs and shows is far better than battling with guns and bombs. Those who have visited Ukraine will know quite how many free art galleries, sculptures, children's playgrounds etc all had EU, Russia and even USA flags on a little plaque saying "Proudly sponsored by...". The cultural war predated the traditional war by 20+ years. You can see the same cultural war in the '-stan' countries, Georgia , etc today. I
- jimbokun 2y agoSeems like a win for small American bands looking for paying gigs.
- tfigueroa 2y agoNot meaningfully. It’s already expensive to get over the border and line up a tour, so international artists are already far more disadvantaged.
- moribvndvs 2y agoI go to see a lot of independent and smaller label bands. The show scene has just been getting rougher over the past 15 years or so with rising costs for touring bands and venues, challenges to connect with an audience and get them to show up, Trump-era visa changes, COVID, probably a bunch of other things I’m forgetting, and now this. It’s terrible for fans and is going to ruin a lot of artists and possibly obliterate small venues.
- tfigueroa 2y agoI used to book Japanese bands for FanimeCon/MusicFest (happening today, coincidentally). It’s frustrating for a single event, as the overhead eats into (already meager) revenue. The net result is a high-pass filter where you either have to be bigger than “indie”, go on a multi-show tour, or just eat the loss and do it for the love of the art. It’s a shame because the cross-cultural connection is very special. Every artist I brought over was floored - sometimes brought to tears - that people from across the Pacific loved their art.
- dotps1 2y agoThe fees are going up, but this article is mostly clickbait.. which is why they likely don't link to anything but their own website. Pretty much all touring artists will use a P3 visa, or get a waiver. A P3 visa is going to cost the sponsor $460. The person filling out the application will have to pay $190 (and then another $80 for biometrics if it's their first time)
- ungreased0675 2y agoIt seems like some fee is a good thing. Small time venues should hire small time local musicians. We don’t need to import more starving artists, because that pie is sliced pretty thinly already. How high the barrier should be is debatable, but $1615 seems too high. That’s a ton of money for a large ensemble. Most egregious to me is the several month waiting time. When we allow anyone and everyone to enter via the southern border, fly them wherever they want to go within the country for free, and provide resources at their destination, that same administration is going to have some elaborate screening process for touring guitar players? What a sick joke.