Integrity Legal - Law Firm in Bangkok | Bangkok Lawyer | Legal Services Thailand Back to
Integrity Legal

Legal Services & Resources 

Up to date legal information pertaining to Thai, American, & International Law.

Contact us: +66 2-266 3698

info@integrity-legal.com

ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawUS Immigration LawUS Visa and Immigration: The P-2 Visa

US Visa and Immigration: The P-2 Visa

Transcript of the above video:

In this video today, we are going to be discussing the P-2 Visa. In other videos on this channel I discussed things like the O Visa for the United States, various other entertainer type category visa classifications, the P-1(A), the P-3 visas. There are various visas which can be issued for those coming to the United States for various entertainment purposes, athletic purposes, essentially, things that don't neatly fit into other various categories, notwithstanding the fact that these are work authorized within these kind of categories if one is doing what's specifically, what the visa has been specifically issued for.

So I have found it is good to go directly to the horse’s mouth so to go to the USCIS's site directly and just quote therefrom. "The P-2 classification applies to you if you are coming temporarily to perform as an artist or an entertainer, individually or as part of a group, who will perform under a reciprocal exchange program between an organization in the United States and an organization in another country.

Eligibility criteria:
You must be an artist entering the United States through a Government recognized reciprocal exchange program. In addition, you must possess skills comparable to those of the United States artists and entertainers taking part in the program outside the United States.

Application Process:
In order to qualify for a P-2 visa, the sponsoring labor organization in the United States or a US employer must file for an I-129 petition for a non-immigrant worker. Pay the appropriate fees etc.

The thing to keep in mind with respect to this visa category is that it is somewhat qualitatively different than the O Visa category which can be issued to entertainers coming to the United States but does not have to be specifically associated with this sort of reciprocal exchange, cultural exchange, type of entertainment. And I guess what I am thinking of here is that there's various sort of cultural, entertainment type of events which can occur which are specific to a given country; things like maybe an Oktoberfest festival in exchange with Germany comes to mind, various entertainers associated with that. Things like maybe a symphony orchestra or the Bolshoi Ballet, something on that level. Those type of entertainers, if it's in a context of like a reciprocal, cultural exchange, this visa may apply. Again, it is somewhat different than those who are coming to the United States to work as say an actor or actress, an entertainer, singer, something like this on say an O type visa category where it might not be so specific exactly what type of work, the exact specific thing that that individual will be doing at the time that they apply for the visa and there is not this kind of Governmental exchange component associated with the O that there is associated with this category. But that being said, for those who fit into the sort of circumstantial criteria of this category, this can be a rather useful way of getting into the United States with work authorizations specifically associated with this type of activity.