Italian Band Soviet Soviet Denied Entry To The U.S., Jailed And Then Deported
The Italian post-punk group, which had tried to enter the U.S. to play at member station KEXP and then at SXSW, says it was sent back to Italy by authorities after spending the night in jail.
Hasnain says:
While this sucks for the band, as far as I know they do need a proper visa for this (B1 doesn't cut it either).
Honestly disappointed with NPR for this poorly researched article, especially the quote below:
" It was traveling under ESTA (also known as the Visa Waiver Program), which allows citizens of nearly 40 countries to travel to the United States without having to obtain a visa.
Such visas are frequently used by bands coming to the United States when they only are slated to play unpaid showcases, as paid work while traveling on an ESTA is prohibited."
The ESTA is explicitly not a visa, you also state so (so you know that fact), and then you go ahead and call it a visa? Sigh.
Posted on 2017-03-11T21:52:09+0000