| Author
|
US VISA advice
|
wisp
Started Topics :
6
Posts :
18
Posted : Jan 9, 2006 20:28
|
Hi! I am looking into booking an overseas act which will need a visa. I am going to just bite the wait-time bullet and call the State department, but I was hoping that someone here might give me some advice.
Some general questions are:
What is the usual wait time ?
What kinds of info will the artist need to bring with them when applying ?
Thanks! |
|
|
Surrender
IsraTrance Team
Started Topics :
506
Posts :
5388
Posted : Jan 9, 2006 20:51
|
i can tell you that from my experience going the artist visa is not the way.... its hard to prove alot of times that these people are actually artists in the sense that the form requires you to. they have to provide all sorts of booking proofs and papers that are more often then not, missing or nonexistant. 99.9% of all bookings happen on an tourist visa, this means ofcourse that they cannot "work" in the us legally and therefore the whole money exchange is techincally illegal. still, this is your best bet - ask them to get a tourist visa and not an artist visa... when i tried to bring hujaboy and rinkadink a few years back i ate alot of shit with this stuff... paid for all sorts of form and got nowhere.... it is best to avoid 
also dont get fooled into paying for the tourist visa for the artist, i tried to book skazi when he didnt have a visa and he actually wanted me to pay for his tourist visa application - to which i answered: "go f yourself"
 "On the other hand, you have different fingers."
http://myspace.com/gadimon |
|
|
|
psyman
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
51
Posts :
427
Posted : Jan 9, 2006 23:07
|
|
citizens of some countries dont even need us visa that goes for most of europe me being israeli know that it is really hard to get a tourist visa from israel and russia surrender is right no point of asking for artist visa waste of time you have to be like U2 kinda thing |
|
|
|
Bodhi 13:20
Bodhisattva 13:20
Started Topics :
38
Posts :
725
Posted : Jan 10, 2006 00:54
|
If ever travelling through Mexico, get a tourist visa. My wife and I were harassed just a few days ago, with jail and fee threats for quite a few mintues from the a-hole team of govt officials. I didn't tell them why I was there, but I'm sure that if they would have seen my headphones and CDs, they would have taken them.
info/tourdates/psy
http://soundcloud.com/Bodhi1320
http://www.facebook.com/Bodhi1320
http://www.beatspace.com
3rd Album \\\"Equations\\\" on 2to6 records |
|
|
|
Lauryn
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
51
Posts :
729
Posted : Jan 10, 2006 01:03
|
you can probably find a lot of the answers to your questions here...this is a link to the us embassy in moscow...and would have information about how a russian citizen would go about obtaining a us tourist visa...not sure if a us visa for a russian is what you are looking for, but it should give you some idea. good luck! 
http://moscow.usembassy.gov/consular/consular.php?record_id=nivservices
~gOa ist nicht nur musik sondern auch eine lebenseinstellung~
http://www.peakrec.com/
http://www.myspace.com/djlauryn |
|
|
|
Mistress of Evil
Mistress Of Evil Records
Started Topics :
101
Posts :
961
Posted : Jan 10, 2006 02:43
|
ahem, well yes the visa process sucks. first, i agree with surrender, apply for a tourist or non-immigrant visa, don't even mention that you are an artist or plan to perform in the usa. If you are lucky enough to be from one of the 13 visa waiver countries, you do not need a visa, only a passport. otherwise, you'll have to have a face to face visa interview at the us embassy in your country.
1) send a invitation letter to the artist. Include info on yourself, how you know the person, and that you will be hosting them for the length of their stay.
2) the main reason people get denied is because they need to prove that they have "ties to their country" meaning, money in the bank, a job, a family, school, etc something that will make them return to their country. This can be hard to peove, so bring documents with you.
3) the wait time is different for every country, but plan that it will take at least 2 months to complete. sometime there is a long waiting period to even get an appointment. there is also a visa wait times link at the state dept page linked below.
4) it seems frustrating, and is difficult at times, but if you follow the exact guidelines, most of the time your visa will be approved.
read up on the state departments website.
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/temp_1305.html
goodluck,
peace!
(on a side note, if we invited someone to come play in the usa, and a visa was reqd, we sure would pay for the visa fee, which is about $100 USD. i don't think it should be the artists responsibility...) Bringing Dreams to Life!
www.encantadaproductions.com |
|
|
|
GOAPETE
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
269
Posted : Jan 10, 2006 18:57
|
I wanted to know that if an artist is from commonwealth country, do they still require a visa???? 
Isn't it easy for artists from commonwealth countries to get into a country and not worry about the visas?
Thanks to everybody for all the Info, it really helps.  |
|
|
|
wisp
Started Topics :
6
Posts :
18
Posted : Jan 10, 2006 20:20
|
Thanks for all of the great advice. It also pays to hunt down the consulate website in the country that they are applying for since the FAQ on its site will have all the local phone numbers and specifics. (Thanks Lauryn!)
Now its just the waiting and the paperwork.
*sigh*
|
|
|
|
