NEWS & EVENTS
LOCAL 390
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P2 VISA — WORKING IN THE U.S.
To travel to the United States and work as a visiting musician legally,
you will have to get a P2 Visa from the US Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS).
Due to recent security related measures at the border, this is getting to
be much harder than it used to be. Make sure you allow a lot of time for
the application to go through.
Although this checklist will help you prepare your P2 Visa Application, it is only a guide. Please get in touch with Edith Stacey at the EMA office for the most current forms and information.
P2 Visa Application Checklist
- You may apply for a P2 Work permit for up to and including 365 days
providing you have a confirmed engagement
for every 30 days applied for.
- P2 Work Visa permits are now taking an average of 100 to 120
days due
to post 9/11 background checks. With regards to "showcase" letters,
AFM members must now apply for a P2 permit when seeking to do a showcase
gig in the USA. Finally, it is important that members applying for
a P2 permit realize that this permit is not an OPEN permit. Should a member
apply for a year-long permit and wish to add extra gigs, US INS must
be informed of these extra days with the new fee. The revised itinerary
and contracts are then updated in the INS system.
- Ensure that you have
completed an application for each and every
musician and/or technician that is entering the U.S. Ensure that
you have designated a Port of Entry. It
is very difficult to change your
Port of Entry once sent to INS. For further clarification, please
call the Canadian Head Office at (416) 391-5161.
- Ensure that the musicians you are
applying for are all AFM Members.
- Ensure that the AFM's Policy of Indemnity
(back of application) is signed (for groups of 2 or more, only one Policy
has to be signed
on behalf of the group).
- Please ensure your union dues are paid up to
and including the dates you are applying for. Copies of your union cards
should be
included when applying.
- Contracts or Itineraries: As stated
in Section 1, you must have a contracted engagement for every 30 days in
the
U.S.
INS
will accept an itinerary (without contracts) providing it specifies
date of engagement, exact place of engagement and compensation. Attach
as many signed contracts to the itinerary as possible.
Contracts and itinerary
MUST be specific.
INS will not accept an itinerary based on tentative engagements,
nor will they accept 'general' employment letters.
- Fees:
Contact the EMA office for the current fees
Please be advised that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is increasing the Petition fee for regular processing from US$190.00 to US$320.00 effective July 30, 2007.
The AFM strenuously attempted to prevent this increase through the efforts of Hal Ponder/AFM who was active on the Performing Arts Visa Task Force.
If you know that you have an upcoming tour in the US, it would be advisable to apply for the P2 BEFORE the increase takes effect.
Processing Fees:
C$20 made payable
to the AFM, Canadian Head Office for processing fees if
you are allowing the required time of 90 days.
Premium Processing:
Additional US$1000 for Premium
Processing (e.g.
total US$1130). This will get a response within 15 calendar
days of receipt
by
INS. Please note: Should you require
an expedite for musicians and technicians, please be
advised that there is an additional
fee of US$1000
for U.S. immigration. The total fee would be US$260
for the petitions, and US$2000 for premium processing. Please
ensure that separate money orders
are provided.
-
If you are bringing merchandise into the U.S., please
call Lidia McGeown at AFM's Canadian Head Office (416)
391-5161 for further information.
-
Once you have filled out the required documentation,
please send to:
American Federation of Musicians
75 The Donway West, Suite 1010
Don Mills, ON M3C 2E9
ATTENTION: Lidia McGeown
- Once your application is received in this
office, it will be sent to INS, Vermont Service Centre. Within
3 to 4 weeks this office
will
be issued a 1-797B Notice of Action from the Department of Homeland Security.
If you have any questions or if you are unsure of any procedures, please
call Lidia McGeown at (416) 391-5161 or 1-800-463-6333 before
submitting a request.
For requests involving an 'extension', please call for information.
For
the most up-to-date information, please contact the EMA office.
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