Nadler: Judiciary Committee Passes Arts Require Timely Service Act

Legislation Would Help Foreign Artists Perform in America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), whose district includes the Broadway theater district, today joined with his colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee to adopt H.R. 1312, the Arts Require Timely Service (ARTS) Act.  The measure would help end the delays and uncertainties in the processing of visa petitions for foreign guest artists coming to the United States.  The bill was adopted on a voice vote and now heads to the full House for its consideration.

“New York City prides itself as being an international center for the arts, yet the current system is failing,” said Rep. Nadler.  “It is becoming increasingly difficult for too many foreign artists to come to America to perform, and we must fix this problem.  Foreign artists bring to America their own unique artistic abilities, and every time they are essentially prevented from performing in America, we do a disservice to the arts and to ourselves.”

Rep. Nadler noted that foreign artists or groups must obtain a visa in order to perform in America.  However, over the last few years, this process has been severely delayed, leading some non-profits to stop planning events that include foreign artists altogether.  Also, these delays not only impact the immediate availability of foreign artists to perform alongside American artists, but also threaten to impede the ability of U.S. artists to perform abroad.

H.R. 1312, the Arts Require Timely Service (ARTS) Act would address these delays by requiring the government to expedite – without any additional fees – visas for foreign artists that are not processed within 30 days of filing, if the visa petition is filed on behalf of a qualified nonprofit organization.  The bill is authored by Congressman Howard Berman (CA-28), and Rep. Nadler is an original co-sponsor.