Touring the U.S. Just Got 42% More Expensive for Foreign Bands

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced a series of fee increases for immigration applications and petitions. One of those increases applies to petitions for nonimmigrant workers, which are required for musicians, artists, actors, athletes, and others who travel to the United States to work. On December 23, the fee for Form I-129, the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, will go from $325 USD per person to $460 USD per person. That means it will be 42% more expensive for foreign musicians and their teams to work or tour in the United States. The fee applies for every person entering into the United States to perform or work as part of an artist’s crew (tour managers, roadies, etc).

The Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) has responded to the increase, as Billboard reports: “A fee surge of this kind adds an additional and unacceptable financial burden on our members,” said executive director Liana White.

via Noah Yoo