Many performers are interested in two questions:
- 1What visa is appropriate to make a recording or shoot a video in the US?
- Is it possible while on a P visa?
First, it should be mentioned that to shoot a video or make
a recording using US recording and video studios is possible even while on a
tourist visa. An exception applies to the general ban on business activities
while in the US. The video or music production must not be made distributable
to the US audience. In other words, if an artist comes to US on a tourist visa,
he can film a video and do recordings.
However, the final product must be aimed towards foreign audience
outside the US. The artist can obtain a
visitor’s visa if he enters the US to use a recording studio to record or film
something that will not be sold in the US.
If the final product will include the US audience and the
album/video will be distributed in the US, a simple tourist visa will not work.
For such activities an O visa, P visa or an H visa must be filed. The most
common and appropriate category is the P visa (P1 visa, P2 visa or P3visa).
Making television shows, contrived and staged events, documentaries,
music and other video recordings will fall under the P visa category. When filing for a P visa, the company must
explicitly state that such activities will take place.
Now, what if a P visa has been approved, the band entered to
US to perform concerts and decided to make recordings in the US afterwards? The recording activities were not reported in
the P visa petition. The band management decided to do it after the approval
and will retain a US production company.
To comply with the US law a sponsoring organization will have to file an
amendment or even an extension to reflect the change in employment. If the
sponsoring organization is no longer involved in the production, a change of
employer may be required. The record label or an appointed agent will become an
employer for the visa purposes.
The most important factor to consider is a timeline. The
P-1, P-2 and P-3 visa artists must exist the US upon expiration of their I-94,
i.e. end dates of the underlying P visa petitions.
Everything an entertainment company needs to know about visa
and tax issues for foreign artists performing in the US can be found on
www.ilexlaw.com
There are some things that most companies didn’t even know
they need to consider. Bringing an artist from abroad is very different from
hiring a US entertainer
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