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03/03/2005 Entry: "Sukilove tour pt. 2"

Sukilove tour pt. 2

Though the band could have tried to enter the U.S. with tourist visas (like so many bands before them - check out Austin's airport the days before SXSW), Sukilove was determined to have work permits for the tour. I downloaded I-129 forms from the Immigration Service website and set about gathering the materials necessary to submit their petition for non-immigrant worker visas. There was a difficult Catch-22 involved in that I needed to be sure that the band could tour to book the dates, but the government wanted a full itinerary of dates with letters of reference from clubs to process the application (with no guarantee of entry). Though all of the dates weren't booked I submitted an itinerary that included two confirmed dates, plus a wish list of other gigs that on most itineraries would read "TBA." A promoter, a record producer and a U.S.-based artist manager (not Sukilove's) provided me with reference letters proclaiming Sukilove's relevance to the music world. I also included a press kit, a Starbuck's website printout confirming the band's inclusion on a Starbuck's sampler CD that sold 25,000+ copies, plus personal information on each band member including date of birth, country in which the passport was issued, home address, etc. I had to fill out one petition per foreign consulate. Because four of the members are based in Belgium and one member is based in the Netherlands I submitted two petitions at $185 each.

to be continued...