When Zach Hamilton-Reeves,lead singer of five-piece Northeast Party House,travelled to the US this month,he was shocked to discover the overall cost of obtaining visas.
Melbourne band Northeast Party House recently spent around $20,000 in fees and administration to travel to the US.Supplied
It wasn’t just the application fee,which has jumped from $US460 to as much as $US1655,but also the legal representation to lodge it and administrative tolls like the premium processing fee ($US2805) to expedite it in time to make your booked events.
“It was literally $20,000 for the privilege of going and playing three shows,” he says.
Esti Zilber,executive producer at Sounds Australia,which helps local acts export their music and is lobbying the government on this issue,says she’s receiving constant emails from artists who are struggling with these financial and logical stresses.
“People have the funding to get themselves over there and back ... but they haven’t factored in a $15,000 allowance for visa processing. It was never that exorbitant before,” she says.
Will rising costs “close the door” on the next Kylie or Troye Sivan?Mackenzie Sweetnam/Erik Melvin
“These visas are throwing a real spanner in the works for our artists to be able to access one of the most important trade markets in the world … The Australian market is too small for the most part for a local artist to succeed in it alone.”
The increase in fees came into effect from April 1 and is ostensibly about covering costs for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
“USCIS is self-funded,so its fees must cover the costs of the work done,” says Matthew Covey,a US lawyer and advocate who specialises in arts immigration.
“These fees represent the first major increase in some time,and also include a much-debated fee[$US600 per application] that covers the costs of processing the cases of asylum seekers.”
Covey says you don’t technically need an attorney “but it is a difficult process to navigate without one”.
“You must have some US entity acting as your petitioner”.
It’s a tough pill to swallow for Australian artists,already facing challenges at home. The rising cost of living has and – critical launching pads for emerging acts – have shut up shop.
“With the way the Australian market is right now,artists are definitely struggling,” Hamilton-Reeves says.
Northeast Party House performs at the Sounds Australia x THE AUSSIE BBQ SummerStage in Central Park.Paigge Warton/Supplied
“But for us,the US was part of the game plan. We’re 14 years in. I think we’ve got a sound that could work over there.
“We were feeling like now is the time or maybe there is no other time.”
Zilber agrees it’s a great time for Australian music.
“We just want to make sure that the same opportunities that were afforded to[artists historically] can still be taken up. We don’t want to close the door on the next Kylie or Troye Sivan,” she says.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade declined to comment. Arts Minister Tony Burke was contacted for comment but did not respond by deadline.
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