Canadians touring the US ???

[jmingo]

What do I need to know if I were going to play some one off shows in the states?? I'm a Canadian, do I need a green card? Work Visa? Or anything at all?

[BlueStrat]

 

Originally posted by jmingo What do I need to know if I were going to play some one off shows in the states?? I'm a Canadian, do I need a green card? Work Visa? Or anything at all?

 

 

You'll need everyone in the band to have a work visa, probably a passport (very soon, anyway), a social security number, and probably post a bond at the border somewhere in the order of 1,000 dollars (at least it was when I played in Canada). You have to have every piece of gear you take with you itemized and catalogued with serial numbers, and present the list to both sides of the border when you cross, and they may want you to show them certain things at random (this happened to us twice; we had to unload the entire van and show the border agent random things he read off our list). You also have to make sure you don't have any felonies or imprisonable offenses.

 

It was a pain in the ass before 9-11; God only knows what you have to do now. Good luck!

[jmingo]

 

Originally posted by BlueStrat You'll need everyone in the band to have a work visa, probably a passport (very soon, anyway), a social security number, and probably post a bond at the border somewhere in the order of 1,000 dollars (at least it was when I played in Canada). You have to have every piece of gear you take with you itemized and catalogued with serial numbers, and present the list to both sides of the border when you cross, and they may want you to show them certain things at random (this happened to us twice; we had to unload the entire van and show the border agent random things he read off our list). You also have to make sure you don't have any felonies or imprisonable offenses. It was a pain in the ass before 9-11; God only knows what you have to do now. Good luck!

 

 

wow, that's a lot.. might have to look into a work visa then.

 

thanks for the response...

 

anybody else with experiences please let me know.

[megadan]

It's a lot of work.

 

 

You'll need Visas, which you should be able to get through your local musicians union/league/association/organization. They can hopefully also help you with grants, because it's expensive.

 

Do it the right way, which takes a long time and a lot of paper work.

 

Don't try and sneak it in.

Border guards are internet savy and will google your band, your label, find out about your tour plans, and bust your ass.

 

 

Have 70% of your tour booked and confirmed before you go. Don't leave too many TBA's.

 

Catalog all your merch and gear.

 

Use internet resources. A pair of local punk/noise rock bands around here just booked a two week US tour almost entirely through the dreaded myspace!

 

Lastly, have fun!

[ihateyouguys]

If you want to do it an easier way, just head to mexico and walk across the southern border.

[JeffFlowerday]

 

Originally posted by ihateyouguys If you want to do it an easier way, just head to mexico and walk across the southern border.

 

 

 

LOL, but a guy might get caught dragging 4x12s and Drum kits across the border. They tend to slow a guy down.

[ihateyouguys]

 

Originally posted by JeffFlowerday LOL, but a guy might get caught dragging 4x12s and Drum kits across the border. They tend to slow a guy down.

 

 

Just go along with a group of other 'guests' and pay each one $5 to lug your gear across the border.

[mcloopie]

if you get your work Visas in place 90 days before you cross the border it'll cost you around $150 otherwise it'll cost you $1000 plus the $150 to fast track it. Every band member needs to be a member of the AF of M (musician's union) and every member now needs to have a passport. You will also need to declare any merch you bring over the border and they'll charge you a brokerage fee. Basically for one off shows it's not worth it unless it's a really important one.

 

Good news though, the $1000 fast track fee may be dropped soon. I read this in the summer:

Included in last week's comprehensive immigration reform legislation passed in the Senate was an amendment offered by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) regarding visa reform. The amendment reforms the P-2 visa process allowing Canadian members to come into the United States to work much quicker than before. It compels Citizenship and Immigration Services to process all O and P visas within thirty days. If they are not processed in that time, they are put into the Premium Processing Service, which has a fifteen day maximum for visa processing. The amendment also waives the $1,000 fee for the Premium Processing Services. The maximum time for an O or P visa to be processed would be forty-five days.

 

 

The Senate version of the bill still has to go into conference with representatives from the House who have a completely different version of the immigration bill that does not feature this amendment. As the two sides go into conference to work out a final agreement on immigration legislation before it is signed by the President, we will continue to work on seeing that the O and P visa reform is included in the final version of the bill.