Washington, D.C. - Orchestras engaging international guest artists should take note of an upcoming change to the O and P visa filing process. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased the fees for visa petitions filed on or after November 23, 2010.
Petitions mailed, postmarked, or otherwise filed on or after November 23, 2010 must include the new fee. To avoid delays in processing, please note the fee change and plan accordingly. USCIS will likely return any petitions that are filed with the new fee before November 23rd, or with the old fee after November 23rd. See the ArtistsfromAbroad.org site for complete details regarding all fee changes.
USCIS Repeats Promise of Speedy Processing
When the fee increase was proposed earlier this summer, individual arts-related petitioners and the national performing arts community filed comments with USCIS, urging the agency to make much needed improvements to the regular petition process and objecting to the significant increase in the already unaffordable Premium Processing fee. In their September 24 notice regarding the final fees, USCIS reiterated its recent commitment to speed up and improve the quality of regular O and P artist visa processing, with the intent that fewer petitioners would need to resort to the costly Premium Processing Service.
Monitor and Report Your Experience
While USCIS has once again confirmed its intent to process regularly-filed petitions within 14 days, please continue to file arts-related petitions as far in advance of a performance as possible, and closely monitor the level of service you receive:
In the wake of promised improvements by USCIS, it is more important than ever that artist visa petitioners do their part to submit complete and timely visa petitions. Visit the artistsfromabroad.org web site for guidance and contact League government affairs for assistance. Above all, remember to file your visa petition as early as possible and compile your best possible petition. We will continue to update the Artists from Abroad web site to reflect any new policy developments.
Please direct any related questions to Heather Noonan, Vice
President for Advocacy,
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or Najean Lee,
Government Affairs & Education Advocacy Manager,
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The League is a member of the Performing Arts Alliance, a coalition of national performing arts service organizations dedicated to advocating for national policies that recognize, enhance, and foster the contributions the performing arts make to America