STATEMENT
Alan Sands is not a lawyer and is not a Legal Aid. Anything stated here is only Alan's current personal knowledge. If you have questions, call the USCIS at: (800) 375-5283
This blog only covers the P-1B Entertainment Group Application Process.
Alan Sands does not know anything about any other applications other than P-1B for Entertainment Groups. For all other applications, read the forms listed below or call the USCIS at: (800) 375-5283
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INTRODUCTION
Since 1997, Alan Sands Entertainment (ASE) has sponsored a P-1 Work Permit for a number of cream de la crème’ Canadian Entertainers. There are currently (2014) ten acts on this P-1; a six-member acrobatic troupe; three juggling solo and duo acts; six acts are magicians, solo, duo and a troupe of five.
For a list of the Canadian Acts on my current permit and those that have been on my permit in the past, please visit http://alansands.com/tesseract
ASE chooses not to add other acts to the current P-1-B Permit. Please do not ask. Many of these acts have been working together for 17 or more years. All others have been members for over five years. There are no openings in this P-1-B Visa.
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DEFINITIONS
The United States Department of Homeland Security (USDHS or DHS) is the US Office that watches over all things immigration related.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Department (USCIS or CIS) is the department that oversees Work, Visa and Immigration Applications.
A P-1B is the Specific Petition for Entertainment Groups
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READ THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS:
If you read them first, you do not need to print all 59 pages
Form I-129 Instructions (24 Pages – only 10 pages pertain to you)
http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-129instr.pdf
FORM I-129 (35 Pages – Pages 1, 2, 11, 12 & 13)
http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-129.pdf
I-129 (Page 1-7) is the general form for Nonimmigrant Workers, or people who retain their non-US Citizenship and live outside the USA but want to work in the USA on a temporary basis.
Page 24-25 is for P-1B applicants that are Entertainers and members of an Entertainment Group.
Pages 33-35 – part of the I-129 All persons applying for a nonimmigrant work visa must fill out one of these pages. It is attached to the I-129.
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I will consider creating another permit if the following are met:
MONEY
It costs approx. $6000.00 the first year to create a permit, and $5,000 each additional year after that to maintain the permit.
TOUR
If someone approaches me and says, "I have a tour …" this would increase your odds exponentially. The USA does not let people in on speculation that they ‘might’ get work. You need contractable dates or solid offers.
LEADER
ASE needs an organizer (leader) to do a lot of the work. ASE does not gather and keep track of everything.
CREDITS
A P-1-B permit states emphatically that the people coming into the USA using this permit must be (a.) award winning, (b.) have amazing credits, (c.) have the documents to support this. In the application it specifically says, "IN DEMAND." Up and Coming artists are included, but you must have solid dates that can be booked, not just speculative dates.
Creating a P-1-B Visa is a large project and takes weeks to complete. It is an exercise in law, federal applications and creative writing.
The current permit ASE sponsor spreads the cost out over a large number of people to make it happen economically. The current ten acts pay $400 for the first member of the act and $200 each additional member of the act. These acts then also pay commissions to ASE for all gigs performed in the USA.
MONEY IS NON-REFUNDABLE
If we had a half dozen or more acts to go in on another permit, the money gets spent creating this permit and fees paid to a number of agencies to make the permit happen (Application fees - $325, union approval letter - $250, multiple FedEx packages sent to accomplish all this) and if the permit is rejected, none of the money is recoverable.
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If a group of people approached ASE, all of who had the credentials to make it viable (award winning, amazing credits, promo and documents to support this, "IN DEMAND" a calendar of invitations and events in the USA [not just a wish to perform in the USA - but actual invitations, or strong potential invitations] and - very important - a responsible leader who is willing to take on the leadership of the group, then this all becomes possible.
NOTE: The Leader or Organizer does not pay the requested application fees. We spread this leaders fees over the other members of the application, but they do have to do a lot of work.
It is a daunting job to create a P-1 Visa. Alan Sands is not a lawyer. He is a performer. ASE does operate a talent agency, so Alan is capable of shuffling paper. If you feel you have the Financial Resources, the Credits and the Job Offerings, then contact me and we can get started.
Permits last one year from the time they are accepted and must be renewed annually 6-8 weeks in advance.
