Visa delays turn London, Ont. singer-songwriter's big break in the U.S. to heartbreak

CTV News

21 hours ago

A local singer-songwriter had to cancel her New York state performance due to delays obtaining a visa. With more, here's CTV London's Daryl Newcombe.
A local singer-songwriter had to cancel her New York state performance due to delays obtaining a visa. With more, here's CTV London's Daryl Newcombe.
Rather than opening for a multi-platinum band in upstate New York, a local singer-songwriter stayed in London because of recent delays processing visas to perform in the United States.
'Today was the day, and we are going to miss out,' country singer and songwriter Amanda Keeles told CTV News.
On Friday, Keeles was scheduled to perform with her band immediately before headliner Parmalee takes the stage at HarborFest 2025 in Oswego, New York.
'This was our first step into the U.S.,' she explained. 'We could have had an incredible band like Parmalee on our resume, that we opened for them at a music festival in the United States.'
However, the P-2 Visa application for Keeles and her band to perform in the U.S. is stuck in a processing backlog.
'We sent the applications in plenty of time,' she explained. 'The fee was processed, [but] we kept getting notifications that there were delays.'
Amanda Keeles
London-based country singer-songwriter Amanda Keeles. (Source: Submitted)
Musical artists across Canada have recently experienced much longer delays getting the required visa from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
A three-to-six-month processing period for Canadian artists has recently jumped to a year.
'Wait times have increased in both service centers in the U.S. now,' said Liana White, executive director – Canadian Office of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada. 'The Vermont Service Center that we deal with, they just increased their processing times last month. So, it was quite a blindside for us.'
Keeles was recently told she could try expediting her visa application for $2,800 dollars U.S.—but there was no guarantee.
Instead, she had to cancel her first opportunity to perform songs to an American audience.
'This is the world we're living in, unfortunately,' she said. 'Artists are getting caught up in this red tape of politics and delays.'
White says a lobbying effort is underway to convince U.S. officials to address the backlog facing Canadian artists.
'The message that is being delivered back to us is that we need examples and data from the U.S. venues, which are impacted by these last minute cancellations,' she said.
Keeles added, 'It is so unfortunate because musicians just love to play their music. And this is what is happening.'
Undeterred by the setback, Keeles is choosing to cowgirl up— focusing on her current tour including stops in Collingwood, Thunder Bay, and Canada's east coast.