US Work Permit - Advice needed

Robyn West started this discussion · 2/12/2014

Hello! I have a dear friend who is an burlesque and aerial performer and had, for years, crossed the border into the states to perform and produce shows, sometimes for payment and sometimes for honorarium. Just last weekend, she was flagged by border patrol and is no longer able to enter the US for anything other than leisure. As there is currently zero opportunities to perform and make a living where she lives (and in most of Canada, unfortunately), she needs help acquiring a work permit. Does anyone have any advice or tips that I can pass along? She is truly gifted and has won numerous awards (in the US especially) for her talent. Any help would be appreciated!

2 replies

Webmaster · 2/12/2014
Generally work related visas have several requirements. 1) You must be resident in the US 2) You must be sponsored by a company you work for 3) You must work for the sponsoring company and no one else 4) You must pay US income tax There are a few other options as well. She could explore using a student Visa but I believe there are significant work restrictions with them. It's a sticky situation in North America to work in one country and live in another.
poledanceromance · 2/12/2014
There are free legal clinics out there specifically for helping people with this because it can be a bit of a complex process depending on the best option for your friend. I suggest googling for example "Illinois immigration law clinic" or "Cook county immigration law clinic," obviously substituting your state or county for the search. You can also look up what law schools are in your state. Law schools have free legal clinics, very commonly ones which deal with immigration law. If you get legal help from a clinic, it will either be free or greatly reduced cost. (This is because there is a structure in many states which takes interest from law offices' checking accounts to fund the legal clinics, so it's already been paid for when you walk in the door.)