The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS) has announced new rules that will see visa fees increase, including those for artist visas, which will rise by 129% from April onwards. The new schedule marks the first time visa fees have been adjusted since 2016, and the changes are reportedly designed to cover operating costs and enable the processing of applications in a more timely manner. The UCIS first proposed the plans in January 2023 and announced the ‘Final Rule’ last week.
NPR reported in 2023 that musicians were likely to be among the sectors most impacted by the proposed changes. Executive director of Avokafo Artists in Albuquerque, Tom Frouge, commented that it was a “really crazy situation,” adding: “Since the pandemic, things have gotten harder anyway, and this is adding, like, just another little, like, knife stab in the gut, you know?” Frouge said the impact of increased fees would be felt particularly by “lesser-known artists.”
The new legislation will mean that the O Visa, available to people with outstanding ability in areas including art, science, education, business, or athletics, will rise from $460 to $1055, and the P Visa, which is available only to performing groups of international recognition, will rise from $460 to $1015. Additional fees will be increased too, with a $600 Asylum Program Fee for large employers filing for the O and P visas and $300 for small employers. The application’s “expedited processing” service will rise from $2,500 to $2,805, and the processing time will be cut to 15 business days.
The UCIS has taken feedback received in 2023 into account and has made the Final Rule with fee exemptions for special cases, including non-profit organisations, small businesses, fees for those under 14 years old, low-income households, and non-profit organisations. The Chemical Brothers cited the rising costs as one of the reasons they could not play shows in the US at Music Tech last year. In 2023, Mixmag investigated how the cost of living crisis has impacted various areas of the music industry, including nightclubs, DJs, producers, and club-goers
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