Applying for a work visa or green card
If you are not a citizen of the United States of America, the only way to work in the U.S. is to have legal permission from the U.S. government in the form of a work visa or green card. To some, the task of obtaining these documents may seem highly unlikely. Don’t worry! With the help of an immigration lawyer, numerous foreign dancers have been granted permission to temporarily stay and work in the United States.
Use this article as a guide, but do not let it be your only point of reference. For information regarding working in the U.S. please consult with a U.S. licensed immigration lawyer.
What is the job of an immigration lawyer?An immigration lawyer will work with you to help you build a case that demonstrates why you are qualified to work in the United States. He or she will provide you with the information you may need to proceed, and will recommend the best ways for you to obtain legal status.
What is the difference between a work visa and a green card? A work visa is temporary and a green card is permanent. Most people will apply for a work visa before they will apply for a green card.
What type of visa should I apply for? There are many different types of visas available, and your lawyer can help you decide which one is best for you. Commonly, dancers apply for an O1 visa. This visa is specifically for those persons with extraordinary ability in the arts.
How do I find an immigration lawyer?I have one for you! Kevin Levine is a highly recommended and reputed immigration lawyer. He is number one in the dance community. Levine has worked with countless foreign professional dancers, whom have danced for all of the major pop artists (Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Celine Dion, Janet Jackson, and the list goes on), and have starring roles in hit Broadway shows. Refer to website for further information.www.horitsu.com (310) 207-8889.
Another great website is titled, AILA InfoNet, the American Immigration Lawyers Association. On its homepage you can click “Find a Lawyer” to be directed to a listing of immigration lawyers in the country. www.aila.org
Questions to ask your potential lawyer• How many O1 visas they have done in their career or recently for dancers? (You do not want to be the first O1 visa case they have done.)• Ask for referrals from prior dancers so you can talk to them.• Inquire about the fees that will be involved in this process.
How long will it take?You must first have a dance job and a dance agent (we will discuss that in the future) to apply for a visa. This in itself can be a very long process. Once your application is complete, your lawyer will submit it to the government. Normal processing for the work visa is several months – very few dancers will apply for normal processing because many dance jobs commence shortly after the audition. The quicker route is to get the premium processing service (costs $1000 extra), because it only takes a few weeks or less to process. Green cards take about 1 year.
How can I learn more? The two websites that I mentioned earlier, www.horitsu.com and www.aila.org are both excellent sources of information regarding immigration to the U.S. Here you will find FAQ’s, the latest immigration news, easy to understand tips, and links to other sites that can provide you with help. USCIS.gov, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website is another one of my favourite sites to visit.
Please send in any questions you have for me; I am looking forward to answering them. For now, I will leave you with this… If you want to work in New York or Los Angeles, you have to do it the right way. Hire a lawyer and follow the rules of immigration! There is a lot of hard work involved in this process, so be prepared, get informed! Best wishes! Until next time, Amanda