AFM Works with Allies Toward Border Crossing Solution

December 1, 2025

Ben Kessler  -  Ben Kessler, AFM Director of Government Affairs

Department for Professional Employees (DPE) Assistant to the President and Legislative Director Michael Wasser has long been tracking artist visa issues. Before I started at the AFM, Wasser was ready to get to work. We worked together closely during my time at the National Endowment for the Arts. The essential argument in supporting improving artist travel to the United States and federal arts funding is the same: the arts are an economic engine.

A well-functioning P-2 visa program benefits the US economy. When Canadians plan tours, one-off gigs, and festival appearances, communities across the US thrive. Arts participation and cultural exchange are essential to our democracy, but the benefit exceeds art for art’s sake. When concert halls and festival grounds are full, so are restaurants and hotels. However, as we’ve known for nearly two decades, the P-2 visa system does not work.

We are not giving up on making P-2 better. It is my pleasure to work with Executive Director Liana White and the entire AFM Canadian Office to improve the current system. We must also think creatively about our options. And that’s where Wasser from DPE comes in. For a long time, Wasser has had his eye on the United States-Mexico-Canada trilateral trade agreement (USMCA). The agreement calls for review every six years, and the six years is up in 2026. [With apologies to Canadians, I’ll stick to USMCA, rather than CUSMCA, for consistency.]

For decades, advocates had considered how cultural workers could be part of the TN visa classification in the trade agreement. Simply adding to the list of approved professions was not a viable approach. That approach would strip away the necessary quality control and oversight built into P-2. What is missing from USMCA is the union mobility that’s at the heart of the P-2 system. Such an approach would benefit not only those in the arts, but all working people and the communities in which they work across the US and Canada.

As part of the review process, all parties to the agreement have an open comment period in which stakeholders can petition their government. In the US, the AFM, and specifically AFM International President Tino Gagliardi, has made our position known in lockstep with a total of 25 labor leaders from across professional disciplines. Gagliardi is a member of the Labor Advisory Committee (LAC). Per the LAC website, “the committee advises, consults with, and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Labor and the United States Trade Representative, on issues and general policy matters concerning labor and trade negotiations …” In short, it is the voice for labor on trade policy. With Gagliardi, musicians have a seat at the table.

The official LAC submission on the USMCA advocated for a “rights-based approach to allow people working under collective bargaining agreements or contracts of a labor union with an established presence in more than one USMCA party to travel for work covered by that same union’s collective bargaining agreement [CBA] or contracts.” If adopted, AFM members in Canada and the US working under a union contract or CBA in the other country would be eligible for a TN visa. Notably, TN applicants may receive same-day processing at ports of entry. And the visa is good for up to three years. And thanks to Vice President from Canada Allistair Elliott, the AFM submitted a similar comment to the Canadian government.

One need not read much of the news to understand why this is a significant uphill climb. Accomplishing our goals amid geopolitics is arduous. But we are staking a claim on both sides of the border. For the first time, our fellow unions of considerably more size understand our immigration issues. And this effort is giving us the impetus to have meaningful conversations at all levels of the Canadian and US governments.

With some creative thinking and coalition building, we are making progress.

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