Well I’m back again. Sorry for not posting earlier, tons of stuff to do. The priority was to first get my new phone.
Awesome. Destroying the iPhone anytime baby!
I also recently came across this page (although currently down, it wasn’t a couple of weeks ago). Yes, that seems to be an actual TV Writing/Producing program at UCLA. I unfortunately wasn’t able to contact Student Services whilst I was over there last week but I am currently trying to get more information about it, so if anyone of you readers know what the hell this is, feel free to comment.
Anyway, loads of other stuff to talk about also. Dark Knight in Imax (orgasm-alert), Burn After Reading, Pinneaple Express, the Paley Fall Preview Party (Chuck ftw), etc. Lots and lots of stuff indeed.
Folks, I’m sorry to tell you (but not really to do) that Monday I’ll be leaving you for the Big Apple (and for 2 weeks). How sad (or awesome for me) is that?
So much to do and so little time!
I need to print out my short scripts because I have a little meeting with Tisch next Friday. And I haven’t bought yet my suitcase. Dammit.
Anyway, beyond my awesomely not particularly interesting life I was fortunately able to watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report because me love me some Comedy Central late-night show. I especially loved this little segment that was on last night:
The mixture of an MSNBC implosion coupled with not-so-subtle innuendoes in a Cenac/Bee/Stewart sketch is just…priceless?
You know how I talked about The WB’s online launch on August 27? Well now there’s another, again, new kid on the block. And his name is Strike.TV
Yes, that’s Kristen Wiig.
The idea for Strike.TV, like Whedon’s Dr. Horrible, was thought out during, you’ll never guess this, the writer’s strike. Strike.TV allows for screenwriters to create a content that will be filmed and produced, while still maintaining ownership of their work.
The writers behind the site’s content include writers for The Office, How I Met Your Mother and much more (see the above trailer). Several original series will be available on the website such as Global Warming, with Aasif Mandvi and Kristen Wiig.
The site will be paid, similarly to Hulu, with short ads before the program. Strike.TV is expected to open to everyone later this month.
And what about that “college love”? Well you certainly know that ABC, NBC and Coe like to stream their shows online, and also like to cash in the checks they earn with the ads in them. Fox is soon going to join them with Fringe and The Sarah Connor Chronicles. On September 8 and 9, both premiere will be streamed simultaneously with their TV broadcast. The catch is that this stream will only be available to college students, or rather people surfing the web with .edu domains. Why .edu domains in particular you may wonder. Well Bill Bradford (the VP of “content strategy”) saw that .edu domains were among the top visitors for Fox’s website and came up with the streaming idea. Brilliant. Especially when you know that “.edu people” are also the number one people to download illegally shows, such as, you know, the leaked Fringe pilot.
The hypothesis that will be used in the breakdown is that you are “a writer in Europe or Canada who wants to be able to work as a writer in the U.S.A. and has no immediate relative there”.
I will probably dedicate posts for a couple of these different visas as time goes by, but for now I wanted to give an overall guide to the various options.
All that you see here is from my own research. I am not an immigration lawyer, so if you’re seriously considering any of these options do your own research, don’t hold my word for it! That said, I’m not going to start inventing facts as I’m in the same situation anyway.
Two main categories of Visas can be distinguished: A) Temporary Visas (or non-immigrant) B) Green Cards (or immigrant)
In this post I will talk about the Temporary AKA Non-immigrant Visas.
A) Non-immigrant Visas
For work-related visas, your stay in the US on a non-immigrant visa will primarily be dependant on your job (or lack of). Basically you have to have a job offer before even going to the U.S. which is difficult, to say the least, in our field of work. Your employer must fill tons of forms proving that you are the only one that can be able to do the task at hand instead of one of the other 300+ million Americans. The reason for all that is to show that you won’t become a “burden” to the U.S. The duration of your visa is also dependant on the duration of your job, with each visa having a limitation.
The most used and known about work visa is the H-1B visa. Duration of stay: 3 years, extendible to 6 max. A few (complicated) exceptions give an extended year or three at best. What it is about: This visa allows a U.S. employer to employ foreign workers skilled in specialty occupations, but only when qualified U.S. citizens or residents are not available. What’s the problem?: The main point here is that you need a specific job offer from an employer willing to give time to help with the visa process. Not so easy if you want to be a PA right? You must also have at least a bachelor’s degree and if a miracle happens and you get your H-1B visa, you are basically tied to your current job.
A rare visa to obtain (only if you already have somewhat of a carreer) is the O-1 visa. Duration of stay: As long as your job lasts. What it is about: You need to have “extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or extraordinary achievements in the motion picture and television field”. This is mostly proven by “sustained national or international acclaim”. Also, you need a job in the US. What’s the problem?: Again, you need a job before applying for the visa. Not to mention the “international acclaim” thingy. If you indeed have a strong carreer (and acclaim), and intend to move to the U.S., you should look over to the E1/E2 Green Card (cf my next post on the Green Cards).
For Canadians and Mexicans only, there is also the TN-1 visa. I haven’t done much research on this one since I’m neither Canadian nor Mexican but what I know is this: Duration of stay: 1 year, extensible indefinitely as long as the job is alive What it is about: Basically same as a H-1B visa, but with a better “duration of stay” (as long as you have the job). What’s the problem?: Your job must be among those in this list. Also, same as H-1B, you must have a job offer and everything before applying.
There is also another common one, although not work-related. I am talking of the F-1 visa, or student visa. If I get accepted in one of my colleges, I will most probably be applying for one. Duration of stay: It goes without saying that this visa is tied to your education, therefore the duration of an F-1 visa will depend on the duration of your enrolment. What it is about: A student-only visa given through academic institutions. That means that you must first be accepted by a school/college (where you’ll then receive special forms) before applying for an F-1. This visa is only for academic studies (or language training), not for vocational eduction (that is an M visa). What’s the problem?: The main problem is that you are not allowed to work, save for “practical training” (meaning mainly internships) and sometime college work. For this kind of work you need a prior authorization from the USCIS, extra headache. You also can’t apply for Social Security (although this depends on your work-status) nor Medicare.
You could go to a community college (therefore have an F-1 visa) and whilst you are “over there” start looking for work that could fit an H-1B or TN-1 visa, although I’m not sure how useful that would be ultimately.
There are tons of other non-immigrant visas out there but those I thought were the main ones regarding the “writing field” were put here.
Next up tommorow: Green Cards.
If you have questions please feel free to email me or post a comment.
‘Been Thinkin’ ‘Bout the Future… ‘Been lying on my bed awake all night, really. Sometimes I’m that obsessed. I was thinking of “what happens next”. All my life I always planned goals and paths to acheive those goals (no, I’m not a character). Well in reality those goals were only steps to a bigger goal: “The World Wide Jump” (WWJ) of 2010, where Heaven (or is it Hell’A?) and Earth collide. Yeah it’s 2 years away, but a one-way trip from Paris to L.A. is one hell of a ride… I basically gave myself two options. Either get into graduate school (USC or UCLA for example) or if I don’t get in, do the WWJ, although it will seem even wider. Option two is basically gonna happen one way or the other, just that with option one the transition will be smoother. That and I’ll have friends (hopefully) in L.A. Also there’s this “visa” problem I keep hearing about… Anyhow, in order for either options to happen, several other goals need to also happen. This fall I’m going to visit both schools and also take the Graduate Record Exam. If I fail at the latter I can always retake it around February 2009. Also in February ’09 I’ll pass the TOEFL exam, and in the summer should complete all my application requirements, which are comprised of numerous things that go from the basics (transcripts, recommendation letters) to the not-so-basic (essays, “creative challenges”). Parallel to all this I have to get all my visa work going. For instance the 2010 Green Card lottery is this fall and I have to start praying. In case that doesn’t fall through, I have to prepare to alternatives, which are, let’s say, pretty complicated to get.
But why am I rumbling on about all this now? Well it is merely intended to point out what purpose this blog will hopefully achieve. That is to help other struggling (international) writers out there in their daily, and not-so-daily problems. Additionally, I hope my trial and errors, like in the immigration department, will help show that nothing is impossible when you pour your heart and soul into it.
