News Bytes

Miami prosecutors have charged Gustavo “Gus” Dominguez and four alleged accomplices with alien smuggling involving Cuban baseball players. According to the BBC, Dominguez is accused of smuggling 19 ball players in 2004 via a speedboat. Dominguez faces up to ten years in prison if he is convicted. According to the BBC, Dominguez is the first sports agent ever charged with alien smuggling.

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The New York Times reported earlier this month that a number of elite runners have missed major races in the United States due to visa problems and have lost opportunities for prizes in excess of $100,000. The Times noted that Algerian runner Rachid Ziar missed the New York Marathon in 2002 because of security clearance delays.

According to the Times, elite runners only compete in two or three marathons a year and the failure to make a race like the NY Marathon can have a devastating effect on a runner’s annual income since the top American marathons pay prize money often multiple times more than races abroad. The loss of top global competitors also affects the prestige of US races which tout themselves as the best in the world.

Visa concerns have also affected the Detroit Marathon which stages part of its course in Windsor , Ontario . Marathon organizers noted that foreign runners are interviewed ahead of time by immigration officials. According to the Times, “Spotters and timing chips attached to the runners’ shoes kept track of the competitors’ whereabouts on the course. Anyone who jumped into the race unofficially was subject to arrest.”

Security clearances aren’t the only problem. The Times interviewed Derek Froude, the agent of leading Russian runner Galina Aleksandrova who was denied a visa to compete in a series of US summer road races. According to Foude, “They refused to believe she wasn’t coming to the U.S. to find a husband.”

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The Shreveport (LA) Times reports that immigration problems nearly ended the season of Central Hockey League team Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. Twelve players failed to receive their immigration approvals in time to begin the season. Several retired and inactive players were tapped to be emergency replacements on the team’s roster. The team has since secured approvals and the players in waiting have now entered and begun playing with the team.

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USCIS has extended its Premium Processing program to now include many employment-based immigrant visa applications, allowing applicants to have the first stage of their green card applications adjudicated within 15 days. Premium Processing was previously only available for nonimmigrant temporary work visa types, including O and P artists, entertainers, and athletes. While immigrant visa Premium Processing is not yet available for Extraordinary Ability EB-1 applications (which include artists, athletes, and entertainers), it is now available for some professors and researchers, professionals, persons of exceptional ability, and skilled workers. USCIS has commented that if the program expansion is successful, it will soon be further expanded to include all types of employment-based immigrant visas. This will greatly improve the speed (and hopefully the quality) of adjudication of green card applications for artists, athletes, and entertainers.

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The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that area film festivals have been adversely impacted by immigration problems. According to the Sun-Sentinel, “[Visa processing] holdups have been especially taxing in the performing arts, where presenters must publicize plays and concerts, and sell tickets to them, while visa applications are pending. In worst-case scenarios, they're forced to cancel festivals and reshuffle plays.”

The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival recently had to present Iranian film director Bahman Ghobadi’s film “Turtles Can Fly” without Ghobadi since the director was denied a visa. The news story also noted that other arts festivals in the city have had problems as well.

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The Department of Justice announced the conviction of a Romanian national for inducing people to enter the US illegally. Constantan Durbalau pleaded guilty and admitted that he helped as many as twenty-four individuals prepare applications falsely claiming to be circus performers. The aliens were not, in fact, circus performers and were not needed at any of the circuses listed in their applications. Durbalau charged between $2,000 and $3,500 per applicant for his services. He will serve prison time in the US , pay a $50,000 fine and then has agreed to be deported back to Romania .

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According to the State Department, nearly 44,000 visas for artists were granted in Fiscal Year 2005, the last year for which data is currently available. "Consular sections around the world go to great lengths to facilitate travel for visiting entertainers," a DOS media note states. " We often arrange for entertainment groups to appear outside regular processing hours to streamline processing. In addition, performers can apply at any consular section worldwide, not just in their place of legal residence."

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