Tamizdat supports artists at risk under new public charge rules.

Last February the U.S. government implemented new rules expanding the its power to deny visas to foreign nationals who have used or whom they think are likely to become reliant on public support services in the U.S. These policy changes put at risk many international artists working in the U.S., and that risk has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as out-of-work artists resort to services like unemployment insurance and Medicaid.

In response, Tamizdat is providing two new resources to aid international artists who have questions about how their use of U.S. public services could impact their visa status:

• Tamizdat has just published an advisory, What Artists Need to Know About The New Public Charge Rules.

• Tamizdat has broadened the scope of our TamizdatAVAIL pro bono legal assistance program, allowing us to help artists or arts professionals with questions or concerns about public charge rules and their immigration status.