Visa Peer Consultation Letters are a benefit of organizational membership. Any professional company, associate, educational or business member may request a letter of support at no charge. All non-member requests are subject to a $250 processing fee.
Typically, requests are fulfilled within one week. Once a letter is completed, the original will be sent by mail and a PDF copy will be sent by e-mail to the requesting company.
To request a Peer Consultation Letter from OPERA America, please submit the following:
A cover letter stating:
- Name, e-mail and mailing address of the contact person at your company
- Artist's name (and, if different, the name stated on the USCIS petition)
- Title of the production
- Artist's function or role in the opera
- Name and/or address of the USCIS service center to which the letter should be addressed
- Note clearly if the request is for a rush visa petition requiring immediate attention. The normal lead time is one week.
A bio or resume outlining:
- Any awards or honors won by the artist
- A list of companies or cities in which the artist has performed
- Operatic roles the artist has performed
- Any recordings, television appearances or other areas in which the artist is in demand (e.g., the artist is also in demand as a recitalist)
- Information regarding training may be helpful, particularly for young artists
- In some cases, it may be necessary to state why this particular artist is crucial to your company's production (e.g., a lighting designer who works exclusively with your stage director)
- Include critical reviews documenting recent public performances by the artist. If reviews are unavailable, include evidence of how the artist is regarded in the press or by colleagues or employers. (If the reviews are foreign, include translations for both OPERA America and USCIS.)
Please e-mail, mail or fax copies of materials — not your originals — to the attention of:
Artistic Services Associate
OPERA America
330 Seventh Avenue, 18th floor
New York, NY 10001
Fax: 212-796-8631
LWerking@operaamerica.org
Questions? Contact Lyndsay Werking, Artistic Services Associate, at
LWerking@operaamerica.org.
Itinerary-Based or Multiple Venue Visa Petitions
Opera companies often use itinerary-based or multiple venue visa petitions to engage foreign guest artists. For this purpose, please use the following
itinerary-based standard cover letter and
itinerary-based standard authorization and intent to engage letter.
For more information on itinerary-based petitions, please visit the itinerary-based petition online at
Artists from Abroad.