Cradle of Filth loses the visa battle....

[Harvester]

Regardless of my opinion of them & not knowing the facts of the case, Dani is absolutely correct about one thing. The more you bitch, the more harm it can do in the faceless, hellish nightmare of a process.

Marc " the visa guy" Gessford has my eternal gratitude.




From Blabbermouth:

British extreme metallers CRADLE OF FILTH were recently forced to cancel their 2013 North American tour with THE FACELESS, DECAPITATED and THE AGONIST due to "immigration issues beyond the band's control."

In a new blog post, CRADLE OF FILTH frontman vocalist Dani "Filth" Davey commented on the cancelation, saying that "there is still no one more pissed off about this than me, over nothing more than a silly visa issue. Still, what can you do, the more you complain about the immigration laws, the less likely we are to get in next time we intend to tour."

He continued: "Unfortunately, there is no way of getting around this problem, whatever anybody says, and believe me, we have tried vigorously through various official channels and at some expense,. It is just a hard, cold fact of entry into the U.S. at the moment. So, better that we postpone/cancel than lead people on any further in the hope that CRADLE will be making at least some of these current dates, including Canada, which comes cost-wise part and parcel of touring North America as a whole. It truly is a royal nightmare, as the tour obviously took a lengthy time to route and organize, plus there are the other bands, booking agents, bus companies, local promoters, venues, venue staff and, of course, our loyal fans in attendance to consider. Still, if it's any consolation at all, it does mean that there is a distinct possibility that when the visas are eventually processed, we will be able to come back to the States on a much longer tour, seeing as there was a huge amount of people on our Facebook page complaining about the band not playing anywhere near where they lived. Believe me when I say this, we hear you, and the next tour will take all these requests into ardent consideration. So, if you want CRADLE to come to your country, town or city, make your sepulchral voice heard now… Fuck it, speak to the local promoters if you have to!

"I'd like to end this section of my blog by offering a massive apology to everybody that has been let down by this cancellation, especially the all-important Crewdle Of Filth, THE AGONIST, DECAPITATED and THE FACELESS. If there was any way we could change this, we indefatigably would. Without question. Our friends and fans are the most important thing to this band. Period."

 

[Mardoch]

Maybe if we get immigration reform in the near future they may address the excessively arcane and universally hated visa process?

One can but hope.

 

[Harvester]

Honestly, I can deal with the paperwork and documentation request. I can deal with the slow process. My biggest complaint is if there is a problem. You are not allowed to speak to anyone to clarify or ask questions. You are simply Number Six.

 

[Azrael LenGraden]

Honestly, I can deal with the paperwork and documentation request. I can deal with the slow process. My biggest complaint is if there is a problem. You are not allowed to speak to anyone to clarify or ask questions. You are simply Number Six.

I am not a number...I am a FREE MAN!

 

[Harvester]

I am not a number...I am a FREE MAN!

Nice catch. :Smug:

 

[AngraRULES]

*sigh*

 

[freakchylde]

It's the same problem for immigration, too. If you call in to ask a question, their call center person says they can't answer and you have to talk to a lawyer. Or, if you have a question on why paperwork you turned in is being requested again, they say, "Well, it might have gotten lost." They don't keep a file on an individual for the whole process, just parts of the process, so when you go on to the next step you end up with missing paperwork. It's an all-over nightmare, and there's a reason that dept has $35b in budget missing and unaccounted for. Folks that regularly have to go through this mess have my highest regard, since I could barely take the one time I've had to deal with it. And there's nothing you can do but hit your head against a desk or a wall (and then go talk to your Senators and Representative about how fucked up the process was).

 

[Wayniac]

It will get more interesting when sequestration hits... aye aye aye

 

[orcslayr23]

I was so pissed when Scar Symmetry had a similar problem towards the end of last year.

 

[metalprof]

I am not a number...I am a FREE MAN!

Be seeing you!

 

[The Fiddler]

Obviously visas are a huge issue right now for bands, so why don't bands apply for visas and see it they are approved before starting the extensive planning process of touring? Are visas only good for such a short period of time that if a band did get approval, the visas would be expired before all the tour planning has been finalized? I claim to know nothing about the process, but from the outside, it would seem that a lot of time (and time is money) could have been saved had the visas been secured before the tour planning started.

 

[adaher]

Visa reform is a relatively minor issue in immigration reform that is very unlikely to be resolved satisfactorily because there's just not that much attention being given to it. It's just not a priority to the big players.

 

[Stingray11214]

Honestly, I can deal with the paperwork and documentation request. I can deal with the slow process. My biggest complaint is if there is a problem. You are not allowed to speak to anyone to clarify or ask questions. You are simply Number Six.

Who's Number One?

It's the same problem for immigration, too. If you call in to ask a question, their call center person says they can't answer and you have to talk to a lawyer. Or, if you have a question on why paperwork you turned in is being requested again, they say, "Well, it might have gotten lost." They don't keep a file on an individual for the whole process, just parts of the process, so when you go on to the next step you end up with missing paperwork. It's an all-over nightmare, and there's a reason that dept has $35b in budget missing and unaccounted for. Folks that regularly have to go through this mess have my highest regard, since I could barely take the one time I've had to deal with it. And there's nothing you can do but hit your head against a desk or a wall (and then go talk to your Senators and Representative about how fucked up the process was).

I can relate because I had to petition for my wife to get permanent residency. To talk to them was like talking to a wall. Fortunately, I used a favor, and the staff of then Rep. Vito Fossella made some calls on our behalf. My wife got her Green Card two weeks later. Oh, to tell how much I am indebted to that man, his staff did this after his "second family" scandal exploded.

 

[No Username]

Was this such a huge problem before 9-11? I was not clued into bands and Visas before ProgPower.

Since it is impossible to get anything done in Congress, don't expect the laws to change anytime soon.
Sigh.

 

[Harvester]

it would seem that a lot of time (and time is money) could have been saved had the visas been secured before the tour planning started.

This is where it gets awesome. The petition requires you to list all shows & wages to be received for the tour/appearance. You cannot just apply for the visa and book your shows afterwards. That's why there is often a delay in actually filing for the visas by the bands...they don't have the tour finalized.

The exception would be those bands that get the extended visas for more than a single year. In that case, those bands register differently with the IRS for the cut that is held out after the first year the visa is valid.

 

[Harvester]

Was this such a huge problem before 9-11? I was not clued into bands and Visas before ProgPower..

For festival/individual appearances, it was not. The bands could carry over their gear, have a letter from the record label that says we are doing a promotional appearance from the record label and not getting paid. "No problem..enjoy your stay."

Koshick did this for years with Metalfest. I did this for the first two festivals because I didn't know any better. Hell, all the festivals that are over a decade old did it that way.

The reform hit about 6 months after 9-11 and affected things starting with PP III. Still, we didn't really start having application rejections for bullshit reasons until about 5 years ago.

 

[AngraRULES]

It's the same problem for immigration, too. If you call in to ask a question, their call center person says they can't answer and you have to talk to a lawyer. Or, if you have a question on why paperwork you turned in is being requested again, they say, "Well, it might have gotten lost." They don't keep a file on an individual for the whole process, just parts of the process, so when you go on to the next step you end up with missing paperwork. It's an all-over nightmare, and there's a reason that dept has $35b in budget missing and unaccounted for. Folks that regularly have to go through this mess have my highest regard, since I could barely take the one time I've had to deal with it. And there's nothing you can do but hit your head against a desk or a wall (and then go talk to your Senators and Representative about how fucked up the process was).

Seriously. The way they treat you while your process is ongoing is a bit annoying. As you said, they simply refuse to give you any valuable information (the best I ever got was "Please check our website for all questions"). They lost paperwork of mine as well, thus delaying my process in over a month.... but they didn't lose the check I mailed.

 

[freakchylde]

I can relate because I had to petition for my wife to get permanent residency. To talk to them was like talking to a wall. Fortunately, I used a favor, and the staff of then Rep. Vito Fossella made some calls on our behalf. My wife got her Green Card two weeks later. Oh, to tell how much I am indebted to that man, his staff did this after his "second family" scandal exploded.

Tom Price's office offered to help, and I'm still going to talk to them about the whole process (we were on the last step and I made an executive decision, since I didn't have time). They need to hear from folks going through it legally to actually do something about it, otherwise, it's just talking heads trying to keep their jobs by saying how awesome they are at it.

Seriously. The way they treat you while your process is ongoing is a bit annoying. As you said, they simply refuse to give you any valuable information (the best I ever got was "Please check our website for all questions"). They lost paperwork of mine as well, thus delaying my process in over a month.... but they didn't lose the check I mailed.

Yeah, they cashed both J's checks, for his gc and his work permit (for whatever reason he decided to file for work online). So they got an extra $300 from us and that is still listed as "waiting for evidence". His Soc. Sec. card arrived today, after we called and talked to a useful person (and I told her that) who said that we could apply for his Soc. Sec. with his gc in hand. They cashed those checks the moment they arrived. Total waste of money. And don't get me started on the translator....damned Frenchies and their laissez-faire work ethic.

 

[DADRocks]

Seriously. The way they treat you while your process is ongoing is a bit annoying. As you said, they simply refuse to give you any valuable information (the best I ever got was "Please check our website for all questions"). They lost paperwork of mine as well, thus delaying my process in over a month.... but they didn't lose the check I mailed.

Hopefully Kingcrow is still OK with their Visa's!!!!! So looking forward to that tour.

 

[No Username]

For festival/individual appearances, it was not. The bands could carry over their gear, have a letter from the record label that says we are doing a promotional appearance from the record label and not getting paid. "No problem..enjoy your stay."

Koshick did this for years with Metalfest. I did this for the first two festivals because I didn't know any better. Hell, all the festivals that are over a decade old did it that way.

The reform hit about 6 months after 9-11 and affected things starting with PP III. Still, we didn't really start having application rejections for bullshit reasons until about 5 years ago.

Free VIP pass for the son or daughter of a senator?