Forum - View topicNEWS: Loverin Tamburin Band Barred From Entering United States
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CCTakato
Posts: 514 |
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And now Japan knows how messed up the American immigration system is.
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Grand_Adm1ral
Posts: 3 Location: USA |
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Or, rather, the competence level of GS employees. I have learned to generally expect these types of results. Just another day in our wonderful bureaucracy. |
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Aquaregia99
Posts: 33 |
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I'm not terribly familiar with visa issuance, but it sounds like a miscommunication about the requirements for working in the United States (maybe the embassy thought it was a non-work related visit).
Feel bad for the performers having to fly here and back in such a short time period and the people who wanted to attend their performance. |
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Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1775 |
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..and both of you have no idea as to how the immigration system in the US works. I do.
While there are many incompetent and lazy government employees (I work with many of them), this is not the fault of the officers working at the airport. This is the consular office's fault and Loverin's management. The U.S. Consulate could have issued the entire band a P (Performer) visa, which would apply to the entire group and for this performance. I'm curious to know how the band's management applied to the US consulate in Japan. Did they say "We are going to perform a concert for which we will receive monetary compensation" or did they merely state that they were going to attend AWA? The key factor in this case is "Is the band receiving payment and, if so, is that from a US or foreign source"? If the band was performing for free, they would have likely have been admitted. If they were receiving payment from a foreign source, while questionable, I could see a waiver being granted. But as it sounds as if the convention is the one paying for them to perform, they're inadmissible without a visa. The interesting thing is that most foreign guests, including those performing at conventions, usually come in under the visa waiver program. This is just one of those cases where they were caught. Note to conventions - Get your ducks in a row when it comes to foreign guests. You. Should. Know. Better. |
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Grand_Adm1ral
Posts: 3 Location: USA |
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Well said. I apologize - I am unfamiliar with the intricacies of our immigration system. I am, however, quite familiar with the general incompetence of GS...
Good point, they should have communicated with their guests. |
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rankothefiremage
 Posts: 524 Location: Michigan |
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Wouldn't this be the fault of the people running the con?
For not making sure that everyone has their paperwork in order to have the show go on? |
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championferret
 Posts: 765 |
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These guys managed to come to SMASH in Australia last month just fine, too. I dont think our security has reached the extremity of the US yet but it's still pretty draconian.
Must be disappointing for them...I wonder if they'd been to the US before, because that would be a hell of a bad first impression otherwise. 
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13641 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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This is why it is important to have a visa when you can.
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sakurablossom143
 Posts: 203 Location: Ewa Beach, Hawaii |
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Hmm...and they are supposed to appear at my local convention next year... I wonder how things are going to work out.
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SaitoHajime101
 Posts: 286 |
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Let's keep in mind that they were turned back in Toronto, not the US. I'm pretty sure there's a different set of rules and red-tape when passing through another country before their final destination.
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SquadmemberRitsu
 Posts: 1391 |
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Wow, that's a shame. I saw them play live at SMASH last month (And back in 2013 when they last came to Australia) and they were really good. They're one of those bands whose live performances sound way better than the actual recordings.
I feel bad for them. Plus I know they're not the most popular band on Earth, but having seen them play live I feel bad for all the people missing out on seeing them because of this. I assume it'll be okay since they didn't run into any trouble when they came to Australia, but here's hoping that they don't hit any snags while travelling to other countries. |
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Mr. Oshawott
 Posts: 6773 |
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Had the conventions took time to inform Loverin Tamburin about how they needed a visa to enter the U.S., this mishap could have been avoided.
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Kadmos1
Posts: 13641 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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Even if that's the case, sometimes foreign celebrities might think that visas don't apply to them. |
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Cutiebunny
Posts: 1775 |
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They were turned around by the US, actually. It's no secret that most flights coming directly from Canada to the US are cleared by US Authorities in Canada. That means that all passengers are examined by both immigration and customs officials, also known as Customs and Border Protection, prior to their arrival in the US. As the article states, it was the US that decided to not let them in, not Canada. In order to make it to their connecting flight from Canada to the US, the band would have already have been granted entry to Canada. Canada would have no reason to deny them entry as they were solely in transit through Canada, and that's something you can use the visa waiver program to accomplish as long as both countries are a member of that program. As for the convention's management fault in all this - Someone, somewhere along the way, was aware that a visa needed to be issued. I'd be more inclined to believe that Loverin's management knew about it as the band had visited other countries in the past and likely had to obtain the proper documentation prior to performing. Many US conventions are not aware of the legal requirements either because they have no one who is familiar with the law on staff, don't want the additional expense of hiring a lawyer to navigate the system for a couple guests or they don't want the additional expense paying for a visa. Perhaps this will serve as a wake-up call for conventions to be more attuned to these matters instead of constantly skirting the law by relying on the visa waiver program. Either way, this looks bad for AWA and may affect their chances of bringing over other Japanese guests in the future. |
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nhat
Posts: 922 |
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This have nothing to do with immigration. If you think the US immigration is messed up, look at JP or some EU nations |
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