Immigration Visas for Media Teams, Bloggers, Production Teams And Creators
With the entire landscape of media being transformed and redefined within the last two decades, our immigration lawyers have followed the trends. Our clients include individual creatives, social media teams and traditional production companies who provide informational and/or entertainment content to the public.
However, a media company or creator can quickly become lost and confused in what it takes to successfully receive a temporary visa to enter the United States to create, produce, film, or do business in a timely manner to meet production deadlines.
In this article post we briefly discuss different visas that must be matched to the ‘exact intent and purpose’ for ones visit. We will explore the L visa, B-1 business visa, H-3, and the I visa.
Transferring media team to the United States. The L visa is an intra-company transfer visa. (Please note: We have other posts that discuss the details of all visas mentioned here).
If you or your media team have an established office in your home country, and you seek to transfer members of the team for projects in the U.S. from time to time, an L visa is ideal, if you are prepared to open a new office in the United States, or already have an existing one. The visa can be used for multiple entries by you and your team for a three-to-six-year period.
Also, an entire team is able to travel at the same time through a Blanket L visa. An immigration attorney is essential to utilize this strategy of ‘transferring’ your media team periodically to the United States for ongoing projects. You may also expedite this visa using premium processing.
Attend Events and Conferences. If your intent is to have you or your team enter the United States to attend events, conduct promotions or attend conferences, then a B-1 business visitor visa may be the ‘way to go’. Here the media team from abroad cannot enter the U.S. for the purpose of film, production or work in any way.
Work-Study Training in the United States. A media team may want to train with U.S. professionals in the United States because the training sought is not available in his or her own home country. The H-3 training visa allows a media team to travel to the United States for a period of up to two years, where a U.S. media company, for instance, can provide industry training not available in one’s home country.
Traditional Media Visa. The most obvious visa, called the “Media Visa or I visa”, has been saved for last here. A media visa could also be called a ‘press or journalist visa. This visa is often not broad enough for media creators, as it is very limited in purpose and has special requirements.
Eligibility for an “I” visa requires the media team or individual be a bona-fide member of foreign press, radio, TV, cable, print, film or other foreign information media, including electronic media. Crew may be included if they hold a credential issued by a professional journalistic association. The exclusive purpose of this visa is solely for the purpose of attending competitions, events or performances.
Well, I hope content creators, social media and traditional media organizations alike find this quick visa run down helpful. There is no need to get caught in a tangle of multiple visa options that may or may not work. All visa options require time and careful planning. Our lawyers are here to assist and have over 25 years’ experience working with media organizations and creators globally. You may contact us for a detailed consultation on what strategy would work best for you.
We have successfully processed these U.S. immigration matters for over 25 years. To schedule a consultation, you may email us at info@becapitallaw.com or call / text (703)966-0907. B&E Capital – Vassell Law Group,PC | http://www.vasselllaw.com | http://www.becapitallaw.com | Members of the American Immigration Lawyers (AILA).