On Thursday (2/20) on the Grammy.com site, Bryan Reesman reports, “The rigors of international touring can often take a toll on musicians.… But one aspect that gets less attention is the essential administrative task of obtaining work visas.… In our post-Sept. 11 world, the issue of work visas has deeply affected many international artists trying to perform in the United States. ‘There are several steps involved in the process,’ explains Heather Noonan, vice president of advocacy for the League of American Orchestras. Among others working on this issue, the article quotes Todd Dupler, director of government relations at the Recording Academy’s Advocacy and Industry Relations department, who says, “What we’ve done on the legislative front for the last few years working with our allies is a proposal called the ARTS Act—Arts Require Timely Service.” Noonan comments, “In summer 2010, USCIS leadership made a public commitment to reduce the processing time to [a] 14-day mandate, and we’ve seen real progress in bringing processing time down. But our concern is that these positive trends not be episodic and that they be consistent, so we can rebuild trust in the system over time.”
Posted February 24, 2014
