Mr. President. I would now like to take this opportunity to review in more detail the reforms this amendment brings to the 0 and P visa provisions on the temporary admission of artists. entertainers and athletes to the United States. As I indicated. this section reflects the provisions of the bill . which Senator SIMPSON and Senator SIMON joined me In introducing last September. and which has been reported favorably by both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. One of the more controversial provisions of the Immigration Act of 1990 has turned out to be the creation of these new 0 and P nonimmigrant visas for performing artists and athletes. In the final drafting of the conference report on this section of the bill. the terms governing the issuance of these visas went considerably beyond what was understood during our discussions at the time. To correct this. Mr. President. we have met over the last several months with representatives of organized labor and those representing the fields of the arts. culture. entertainment. and athletics. The arts community had expressed alarm over the the new 0 and P visa provisions. They perceived last years changes as being not only a major departure from current practice. but a serious threat to their artistic programs. To provide remedial changes while we study this issue further. over the past several months. our subcommittee staff have undertaken lengthy consultations with all parties to reach a compromise.
Keywords matched
Immigration visas visa