US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that the agency will resume premium processing for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, in phases over the next month. On March 20, USCIS previously announced the temporary suspension of premium processing for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Read moreDance Magazine: “Is the US Government Cracking Down on Artists’ Visas?”
Throughout the past year, dancers and US-based theatre companies have been experiencing delays and denials in attempts to obtain approvals for performances in the US. In late March, the Joyce Theater's annual gala performance had to include a last-minute substitution after two Paris Opéra Ballet dancers were unable to obtain visas. "It was a shock," Linda Shelton, executive director at The Joyce Theater, tells Dance Magazine. "In all 25 of my years here, I think we'd only been turned down once before. That was ages ago and we already had a feeling that dancer wouldn't be approved anyway, because of an issue with their passport. This was just a big, big surprise." Then, less than a month later, visa petitions for Bolshoi Ballet stars Olga Smirnova and Jacopo Tissi to perform at the Youth America Grand Prix gala were denied. Last year, South Korea's Bereishit Dance Company had to cancel a performance because of similar issues.
Read moreP-1 Fact Pattern: The Hungarian Dolls
This is a fictional fact pattern case study for the purposes of providing general legal information. No Daryanani & Bland client information is used or revealed and any similarity to real people is entirely coincidental.
MICKEY: Hi, Sienna. It’s Mickey. If you remember, I’m a manager with the Heater Group, a talent agency in LA. You helped one of our artists get a work visa before, and now I just signed on to manage a fantastic girl group from London. We want to bring them over here to the US to start touring as soon as possible.
MICKEY: They’re called The Hungarian Dolls, and it’s five women: Allison is the best singer and the face of the group, known as Hot Doll. Katrina is the youngest member. She's quiet so we named her Shy Doll. Tara is our best dancer. She’s called Fierce Doll. Samantha is originally from Russia and exudes self-confidence so she’s referred to as Vixen Doll. Then there’s Anka, the oldest member of the group. She has truly seen it all. She's Crazy Doll. Can they just come to the US under the visa waiver program to perform?
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