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A WARNING TO ALL FILIPINO ENTERTAINERS
WHO WANT TO PERFORM IN THE U.S.
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
On Thursday, March 6, 2003, Regine Velasquez safely
entered the U.S. for her up-coming five-city concert tour with
Martin Nievera. However, another
Filipina entertainer, who apparently attempted to enter a few
weeks earlier, was sent back to the Philippines by INS (BCPB).
Her crime? She attempted to enter the U.S. on a visitor’s
visa in order to perform at a concert. The INS somehow found out
about the concert, and asked her, at the airport, if she was intending
to perform, which she denied. That constituted fraud. So, her
visitor’s visa was cancelled, and she was banned for life
from even visiting the U.S.
Many entertainers are under the mistaken belief
that it is “OK” to come to the U.S. and perform on
a visitor’s visa. That is not the case. If you are coming
to the U.S. to perform, you must get an entertainer visa. If you
perform on a visitor’s visa, you will be violating your
visitor’s status. If you tell the Immigration Officer at
the airport that you are only going to be “visiting”,
but you are actually intending to perform, you are committing
fraud.
Many entertainers are recruited by small-time producers,
who simply do not want to go through the trouble or expense of
obtaining entertainer visas. Indeed, obtaining an entertainer
visa is time-consuming, and can cost thousands of dollars in filing
fees alone. So, these producers, looking to cut corners and save
money, assure the performers that it is “OK” to perform
on a visitor’s visa. They coach the entertainer to tell
the INS, at the airport, that they are just coming for a ‘visit”,
and to deny that they will be performing. In the meantime, the
producer is putting out newspaper ads and fliers promoting the
concert, which is brought to the attention of the INS. So, when
you arrive in the US and say you’re “just visiting”,
INS may already have a flier of your concert at the interview
booth.
Remember, if you, as an entertainer, are caught
by INS, it is you who will
suffer the consequences, not necessarily the producer. The producer
may simply abandon you and look for the next talent to book. You
are then left with a cancelled visitor’s visa, blacklisted,
and perhaps forever barred from coming to the U.S.
Simply put, if a producer does not want to obtain
an entertainer visa for you, you are taking a big chance with
your own future, if you use
your visitor’s visa to perform.
In Regine’s case, she (and her entire entourage)
did get their appropriate entertainer visas, thanks to the U.S.
Embassy, and were able to enter the U.S. without a hitch, thanks
to the INS (BCBP). It goes without saying that the concert would
not be possible without the Embassy and INS\BCBP, and because
of the Embassy and INS, thousands of Filipinos in the US will
be able to have a great time, and a taste of "home"
for a few hours at the concert.
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