Good News! USCIS Rolls Back Anti-Artist Visa Rules
For once, we have good news! You may recall that in early 2019, the previous administration announced two deeply anti-artist visa rule changes:
- They cancelled the “traditional expedite,” a service that (occasionally) allowed nonprofit organizations to seek expedited processing of O and P visa petitions without having to pay the $2500 “Premium Processing” fee, and
- They announced that USCIS would no longer be obliged to issue a “Request for Evidence” prior to the denial of a petition, even in situations of good faith clerical errors.
For the last two years, Tamizdat, in collaboration with the League of American Orchestras and other stakeholders in the arts, has worked to roll back these changes. As of Wednesday, we are pleased to announce that we were successful: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced policy changes that, effectively immediately:
- Enact new traditional expedite criteria that restores the ability for a nonprofit organization whose request is “in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States” to request discretionary expedited service, even when premium processing is available, and
- Ensure that petitioners submitting a visa application are given an opportunity to correct innocent mistakes and unintentional omissions before an application is denied. New guidance issued to USCIS petition reviewers emphasizes that visa officers should only issue requests for additional evidence and denials when absolutely necessary.
This is a huge victory for the arts. Tamizdat continues to pursue a wide platform of reforms to the U.S. artist visa process, while playing a critical role in keeping the international arts community informed and educated about artist mobility issues. For up-to-date information about U.S. artist visas, see Tamizdat’s website, or Artists from Abroad. For pro bono legal assistance with U.S. artist visa issues, contact TamizdatAVAIL.
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