February 10, 2016
The American Federation of Musicians of the
Currently the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is instructed to process arts-related O and P visas in 14 days. Unfortunately many artists have encountered outrageous delays—with some visas taking six months.
The Arts Require Timely Service (ARTS) Act, introduced by U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), would reduce waiting times by requiring USCIS to treat as a premium processing case (15-day turn around), free of additional charge, any nonprofit arts-related O and P visa petitions that it fails to adjudicate within 14 days.
“I want to thank Senators Hatch and Leahy for their commitment to the arts and for their leadership on this issue. Unfortunately, many Canadian musicians have suffered economically from gig cancellation and job loss in the
AFM has been working with a broad group of organizations including the League of American Orchestras, Performing Arts Alliance, and The Recording Academy to improve the visa process for some time.