20/09/2021
This update just in from CoveyLaw
The Biden/Harris administration announced this morning that it will ease travel restrictions to the U.S. in “early November;” no specific date has been announced yet. The new rules will allow vaccinated foreign nationals to travel, provided they can show proof of begging fully vaccinated, take a pre-departure Covid-19 test within three days of their flight, and show proof of a negative result before boarding. This forthcoming policy will likely replace the current need for National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) for most fully vaccinated travelers from the UK, Ireland, Schengen Area, China, Brazil, Iran, South Africa, and India. This is incredibly good news for the performing arts, because many more international artists will now be able to begin touring again in the U.S. In recent months, as U.S. venues have opened, international artists have struggled to get to the U.S.
So that’s good news. But we are not totally out of the woods yet:
We don’t know yet which vaccines will be accepted: It is likely that only people with the full series of CDC-approved vaccines will be allowed to travel freely to the U.S.: Moderna (two doses), Pfizer-BioNTech (two doses), and Johnson & Johnson / Janssen (one dose). It is unclear what will be required of the millions of people who have received AstraZeneca and other vaccines, or have only received a partial dose.
U.S. consulates will continue to struggle with delays. U.S. consulates and embassies around the world continue to function at reduced capacities due to staff shortages and the crisis in Afghanistan. Many consulates are not scheduling regular visa interviews until spring 2022, so while contracted touring artists may be able to schedule expedited appointments, artists should anticipate visa interview delays of as much as three months.
U.S. consulates may continue to enforce the “Extreme Vetting” DS-5535 form. Created by the prior administration, the “extreme vetting” protocols have not been rescinded by the new administration and continue to be applied in arbitrary fashion, primarily against individuals from the Global South. Artists who fit within its profile demographic—young, male, from the Global South—should anticipate significant delays of as much as two months in the issuing of visas.
O and P petition processing may experience significant delays. While the petition part of the U.S. visa process has been largely unaffected by the COVID crisis—it is no worse and no better than it was pre-pandemic—it is very likely that the current 1-2 month processing time may increase significantly as demand for O and P visas increases in coming months. It is also important to remember that the Premium Processing fee for expedited processing was increased from $1440 to $2500, which makes it all the more important to file petitions early.
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FAQ for artists traveling to the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. CoveyLaw is a Brooklyn-based law firm that serves the legal needs of the domestic and international arts, nonprofit, and business communities. We handle immigration, entertainment, nonprofit, and business matters for musicians, acto...
