ATTENTION A2IM MEMBERS: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has rejected the requests outlined in detailed comments submitted by national nonprofit arts stakeholders in response to the DHS December proposal to impose very steep increases to some of its filing fees, including for O and P artist visas applications filed by U.S. nonprofit arts organizations.
- DHS finalized its artist visa fee increases and policy changes, to take effect beginning October 2, 2020:
- The filing fee for O petitions will increase by 53% from $460 to $705 per petition, utilizing a new Form I-129O
- The filing fee for P petitions will increase by 51% from $460 to $695 per petition, utilizing a new Form I-129MISC
- Beneficiaries will be capped at 25 people per petition
- Premium Processing will lengthen to a window of 15 federal working days rather than calendar days
For complete details, please see the news item on Artists from Abroad. When new forms are available, Artists from Abroad will be updated with new templates and guidance. Please see the response from League of American Orchestras & Tamizdat as they continue to advocate for improved policies and will reiterate the U.S. Performing Arts Sector Request for COVID-Related Flexibility from USCIS and Department of State.
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About A2IM:
A2IM is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization headquartered in New York City that exists to support and strengthen the independent recorded music sector. Membership currently includes a broad coalition of more than 700 Independently-owned American music labels. A2IM represents these independently owned small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) interests in the marketplace, in the media, on Capitol Hill, and as part of the global music community. In doing so, it supports a key segment of America’s creative class that represents America’s diverse musical cultural heritage. Billboard Magazine identified the Independent music label sector as 37.32 percent of the music industry’s U.S. recorded music sales market in 2016 based on copyright ownership, making Independent labels collectively the largest music industry sector.
Learn more about A2IM. To join, contact us at [email protected].