There are various situations in which an individual/group from a foreign country may want to come to the U.S. temporarily in relation to their career. For example, a foreign band may want to come to the U.S. to tour or to play at a big music event.
Many things can have major impacts on individuals or groups in this situation. One is how their efforts to get a visa to temporarily work in America go. There are a variety of different types of nonimmigrant worker visas here in the United States. These visas vary greatly in what situations they cover, what requirements have to be met to be eligible for them and what kinds of factors and concerns can be big ones when applying for them. Foreign individuals looking to temporarily come to the U.S. for work can seek out guidance on their visa options and on the issues related to their specific immigration situation from lawyers experienced in employment immigration.
Another thing that can greatly impact individuals looking to temporarily come to the U.S. for work reasons are the costs related to coming to United States. These costs could impact how economically viable a given business endeavor in the U.S. would be for the worker and the organization they would be working for. One of the things that could impact the costs of such an endeavor are the fees associated with petitioning for a work visa.
The general fee for petitions for nonimmigrant worker visas will soon be going up here in the United States. Specifically, the fee for such a petition will be rising to $460. The current level of this fee level is $325. So, the fee will be increasing by around 42 percent. The increased fee will be coming into force on Dec. 23.
A recent Pitchfork article discussed the effects this increase could have on foreign bands who tour in the United States. The increase could potentially have significant impacts on the costs of touring for such bands, as the petition fee generally needs to be paid for all members of the touring crew who are travelling to the U.S. as part of the tour.
One wonders if the fee increase will have any impacts on how likely foreign bands are to come and tour in America.
Source: Pitchfork, “Touring the U.S. Just Got 42% More Expensive for Foreign Bands,” Noah Yoo, Oct. 31, 2016