Thread: Bringing in a foreign dance teacher. HELP!

I have never imported a dance teacher for workshops before. Can anyone give me some pointers on Visas, fees, etc from Egypt?
Additionally, if someone gets a Visa specifically to teach workshop, what is the time limit on how long they can be here?

Thanks!

this site should help you:

Visitor Visas - Business and Pleasure

my hubby is egyptian and has a b1/b2 visa (since before our marriage).... pretty straightforward stuff.

A couple of years ago, Miles Copeland wrote an article for the Gilded Serpent about bringing in Foreign Nationals.

Dance Workshops with Foreign Nationals

I'm assuming he is talking about a work visa. I'm trying to figure out why you couldn't sponsor a foreign dance teacher under a Business Visitors Visa (B1). Business Visa PDF

It says that an individual coming to the US as a lecturer or speaker would qualify under the following conditions:

No salary or income from a U.S. based company/entity, other than expenses incidental to the visit. If honorarium will be received, activities can last no longer than nine days at any single institution or organization; payment must be offered by an institution or organization described in INA 212(q); honorarium is for services conducted for the benefit of the institution or entity; and visa applicant will not have accepted such payment or expenses from more than five institutions or organizations over the last six months.

Seems like an "honorarium" would cover their payment for their services.

According to wikipedia: An honorarium is an ex gratia payment (i.e., a payment made without the giver recognizing themselves as having any liability or legal obligation) made to a person for their services in a volunteer capacity or for services for which fees are not traditionally required. This is used by groups such as schools or sporting clubs to pay coaches for their costs.[1][2] Another example includes the payment to a guest speaker at a conference to cover their travel, accommodation, or preparation time.

I get requests from international teachers all the time, and I'd love to find a way to be able to have them involved. I've had a couple that have taught, but I didn't pay them directly (I covered expenses). But I don't want to put myself or the event at risk.

The problem with the business visa is it's about $400 altogether if I'm reading it correctly. There's no way any visiting foreign teacher could make enough at a workshop to cover that, the price of a flight, hotel, etc. My goodness...how do other places bring in foreign teachers???

Originally Posted by Rya_of_Indiana

The problem with the business visa is it's about $400 altogether if I'm reading it correctly. There's no way any visiting foreign teacher could make enough at a workshop to cover that, the price of a flight, hotel, etc. My goodness...how do other places bring in foreign teachers???

$400 is cheap compared to the $3,000-$3,500 for each application that Miles cites in his articles.

It seems to me that it's usually done in a circuit/tour of some sort, where the overall cost of the visa and travel expenses is shared among several sponsors in various cities across the USA. For example, the Leyla and Jouvanna tour that is happening this year.

And truthfully, it's not unworkable, you just need to do your math.

Calculate all your potential expenses including a cushion & what you want to make for a profit. Divided this number by the people you reasonably expect to attend. If it's a number that is reasonable, you can probably do it.

It really just takes experience in your own market to know what it can handle.

If you can secure 50 people all paying $200 for 8 hours of workshop, you have a $10,000 budget to work with. That doesn't account for any revenue you might bring in by selling vending booths or advertising in a program.

...if you've never sponsored a workshop teacher before, I highly recommend starting small and working up as you get more experience. Sponsor a regional instructor first and see what sort of turn out you get. And then sponsor someone a little more well known. Walk before you run.

And join the Professional Belly Dance Promoter's Facebook Group. There are a lot of organizers there that can help on many levels.

Rya -- who are looking to bring? Depending upon the "name" you may well get help from Indianapolis/Bloomington, Nashville, Ohio, etc.

Also, see if that instructor has toured here before and who worked with them. It's possible that some of the same sponsors would be willing to do it again.

Let me know if you need any help. I'm happy to do what I can to bring good instruction to the midwest :)