Donation protected
For those of you who don't know, a handful of our most loved and admired zouk artists have been deported from the U.S. for sharing their love and passion with us over the past couple years. It's saddening to see this. Every weekend international artists travel to the U.S. with the terrifying thought that they could potentially be detained, jailed and deported because they don't possess the proper documentation, permissions and visas to work here. (It's very expensive, time consuming and carries a huge responsibility that these artists have trouble doing for themselves)
DJ Kakah, our most beloved artist who has single handedly had the biggest influence on Zouk as we know it today, was the most recent victim of immigration interrogation and was caught yesterday returning to Brazil from Denver's Elevation Zouk Congress. LUCKILY, by the Grace of God and whatever good energy and karma was surrounding her, the immigration officers were kind enough to let her go with a mere warning where most of these cases ended up with a few days in jail, being deported and not allowed back in the US for 10 years!
Due to these recent events we have decided to collectively put together this campaign to help DJ Kakah (and other artists) feel safe with their travels here to the US. It can be extremely stressful and draining to experience this every time they travel. We have also decided to include William & Paloma since they are the most sought after and booked artists here in the US. We can't imagine Paloma being detained and put in jail. That's something that is scarring for life!
PLEASE SHARE AND HELP US KEEP THESE ARTISTS SAFE AND APPRECIATED!!
THEY GIVE US SO MUCH OF THEIR ESSENCE, KNOWLEDGE, LOVE AND ENERGY!!
THEY'VE CHANGED OUR LIVES, LET'S HELP THEIRS!!
We have decided to get them the O-1 Artistic visa which would grant them 3 years of unlimited stay and unlimited travel with ability to renew open ended.
https://my.uscis.gov/exploremyoptions/o1_visas
We've searched around with a handful of law firms and resources and have found the following information and prices:
Government filing fees (per person):
- Basic I-129 filing fee: $460 – this fee will be required every time that this petition is filed. This includes extensions and amendments as well.
- Premium Processing Fee: $1,225 - 15 day expedited - normally 6-8 months processing time.
- Attorney fees: TBD but will range from $3k - $4k
We are anticipating it to cost around $5k per artist and will update everyone on exact costs and details as things progress and we settle on an attorney.
Our priorities for the monies are as follows:
1) DJ Kakah
2) Palomita
3) William
PLEASE SHARE AND HELP US KEEP THESE ARTISTS SAFE AND APPRECIATED!!
THEY GIVE US SO MUCH OF THEIR ESSENCE, KNOWLEDGE, LOVE AND ENERGY!!
THEY'VE CHANGED OUR LIVES, LET'S HELP THEIRS!!
DJ Kakah, our most beloved artist who has single handedly had the biggest influence on Zouk as we know it today, was the most recent victim of immigration interrogation and was caught yesterday returning to Brazil from Denver's Elevation Zouk Congress. LUCKILY, by the Grace of God and whatever good energy and karma was surrounding her, the immigration officers were kind enough to let her go with a mere warning where most of these cases ended up with a few days in jail, being deported and not allowed back in the US for 10 years!
Due to these recent events we have decided to collectively put together this campaign to help DJ Kakah (and other artists) feel safe with their travels here to the US. It can be extremely stressful and draining to experience this every time they travel. We have also decided to include William & Paloma since they are the most sought after and booked artists here in the US. We can't imagine Paloma being detained and put in jail. That's something that is scarring for life!
PLEASE SHARE AND HELP US KEEP THESE ARTISTS SAFE AND APPRECIATED!!
THEY GIVE US SO MUCH OF THEIR ESSENCE, KNOWLEDGE, LOVE AND ENERGY!!
THEY'VE CHANGED OUR LIVES, LET'S HELP THEIRS!!
We have decided to get them the O-1 Artistic visa which would grant them 3 years of unlimited stay and unlimited travel with ability to renew open ended.
https://my.uscis.gov/exploremyoptions/o1_visas
We've searched around with a handful of law firms and resources and have found the following information and prices:
Government filing fees (per person):
- Basic I-129 filing fee: $460 – this fee will be required every time that this petition is filed. This includes extensions and amendments as well.
- Premium Processing Fee: $1,225 - 15 day expedited - normally 6-8 months processing time.
- Attorney fees: TBD but will range from $3k - $4k
We are anticipating it to cost around $5k per artist and will update everyone on exact costs and details as things progress and we settle on an attorney.
Our priorities for the monies are as follows:
1) DJ Kakah
2) Palomita
3) William
PLEASE SHARE AND HELP US KEEP THESE ARTISTS SAFE AND APPRECIATED!!
THEY GIVE US SO MUCH OF THEIR ESSENCE, KNOWLEDGE, LOVE AND ENERGY!!
THEY'VE CHANGED OUR LIVES, LET'S HELP THEIRS!!
Co-organizers (4)
Anthony Umina Full
Organizer
Hayward, CA
Fae Olga Hermann
Co-organizer
Sami Ahmed
Co-organizer
Jasmin Sheth
Co-organizer