Yep. Take the World cross country and LA Olympics off them. Place has become a Banana Republic .
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Flat Stanley wrote:
Chris Thompson from GB now not able to compete in the marathon because of Visa issues. Getting ridiculous. Imagine all that work for nothing. US should be banned from hosting another major champs.
But Thompson presumably has a UK passport and thus wouldn't need a visa to enter the USA. People with UK passports are covered by the USA's Visa Waiver Program, which allows entry to the US for up to 90 days "for business or pleasure." Thompson should only need an ESTA. ESTA applications are done online. The fee is $21.00.
ESTA processing is supposed to take no more than 72 hours. I have UK colleagues with British passports who recently traveled to the US for a professional conference followed by vacation and tourist activities; none had a problem or delays getting ESTAs.
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I don't know the full rules around it, but even UK athletes need a P-1 visa to enter the US. It's a complete joke and World Athletics and the LOC need to carry the can. Major international sporting events have been held in the US - F1, golf - and there was no hint of these troubles. Track and field really is still an amateur sport
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High hopes wrote:
I don't know the full rules around it, but even UK athletes need a P-1 visa to enter the US. It's a complete joke and World Athletics and the LOC need to carry the can. Major international sporting events have been held in the US - F1, golf - and there was no hint of these troubles. Track and field really is still an amateur sport
I don’t know the particulars of Chris Thompson’s case, but this is false. Virtually all the British athletes competing in Eugene this week will have arrived via the ESTA and not a P visa. I haven’t a clue why Chris wasn’t set on the ESTA some time ago.
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High hopes wrote:
I don't know the full rules around it, but even UK athletes need a P-1 visa to enter the US. It's a complete joke and World Athletics and the LOC need to carry the can. Major international sporting events have been held in the US - F1, golf - and there was no hint of these troubles. Track and field really is still an amateur sport
Top golfers and F1 drivers come from wealthy Western countries where visas are not required to enter the US, at least as a tourist. I didn't hear of any problems with foreign athletes coming to the US for Pre, including athletes from Kenya.
This is at least partly on the individual athletes and their agents for not planning in advance and assuming they could just get a visa at the last minute.
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High hopes wrote:
I don't know the full rules around it, but even UK athletes need a P-1 visa to enter the US. It's a complete joke and World Athletics and the LOC need to carry the can. Major international sporting events have been held in the US - F1, golf - and there was no hint of these troubles. Track and field really is still an amateur sport
I don't think it's true that UK athletes all need a P-1 visa to enter the US. A P-1 - which lasts for 5 years and allows for very long stays in the US during that time, and can be extended to 10 years in some cases - is an additional option given to elite athletes. But it's not their only option. They are still eligible to enter the US for up to 90 days under the standard VWP with an ESTA.
Maybe it's the case that Thompson had a P-1 visa in the past, and it's expired or is about to expire and he just realized this? Or maybe his own British passport is out of date. A lot of people with busy lives forget that travel documents have expiration dates and only realize that theirs are out of date on the eve of travel. This has happened to a number of people I know from different countries. It's why since the 1980s certain branches of the US passport office have offered the option of same-day renewals of US passports for travelers who've already booked flights.
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dfdfg wrote:
High hopes wrote:
I don't know the full rules around it, but even UK athletes need a P-1 visa to enter the US. It's a complete joke and World Athletics and the LOC need to carry the can. Major international sporting events have been held in the US - F1, golf - and there was no hint of these troubles. Track and field really is still an amateur sport
Top golfers and F1 drivers come from wealthy Western countries where visas are not required to enter the US, at least as a tourist. I didn't hear of any problems with foreign athletes coming to the US for Pre, including athletes from Kenya.
This is at least partly on the individual athletes and their agents for not planning in advance and assuming they could just get a visa at the last minute.
A few years ago, Tim Cheruiyot, on his way to Pre, got yanked off the plane in Nairobi (after he'd already got the visa) by US officials.
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RunRagged wrote:
Flat Stanley wrote:
Chris Thompson from GB now not able to compete in the marathon because of Visa issues. Getting ridiculous. Imagine all that work for nothing. US should be banned from hosting another major champs.
But Thompson presumably has a UK passport and thus wouldn't need a visa to enter the USA. People with UK passports are covered by the USA's Visa Waiver Program, which allows entry to the US for up to 90 days "for business or pleasure." Thompson should only need an ESTA. ESTA applications are done online. The fee is $21.00.
ESTA processing is supposed to take no more than 72 hours. I have UK colleagues with British passports who recently traveled to the US for a professional conference followed by vacation and tourist activities; none had a problem or delays getting ESTAs.
Probably something to do with he used to live in the US and has an expired visa or something.
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Update from BBC Sport Africa on the visa problems published Friday July 15:
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RunRagged wrote:
High hopes wrote:
I don't know the full rules around it, but even UK athletes need a P-1 visa to enter the US. It's a complete joke and World Athletics and the LOC need to carry the can. Major international sporting events have been held in the US - F1, golf - and there was no hint of these troubles. Track and field really is still an amateur sport
I don't think it's true that UK athletes all need a P-1 visa to enter the US. A P-1 - which lasts for 5 years and allows for very long stays in the US during that time, and can be extended to 10 years in some cases - is an additional option given to elite athletes. But it's not their only option. They are still eligible to enter the US for up to 90 days under the standard VWP with an ESTA.
Maybe it's the case that Thompson had a P-1 visa in the past, and it's expired or is about to expire and he just realized this? Or maybe his own British passport is out of date. A lot of people with busy lives forget that travel documents have expiration dates and only realize that theirs are out of date on the eve of travel. This has happened to a number of people I know from different countries. It's why since the 1980s certain branches of the US passport office have offered the option of same-day renewals of US passports for travelers who've already booked flights.
The ESTA program covers business or pleasure, however you need a P-1A visa to enter to participate in a sports event as a professional. It doesn't allow 5 years of continuous residency, that's the upper limit for the application and you're allowed to extend to 10 years if necessary once your 5 years has expired. Applications are only approved for the time it takes to complete the activity in the US and as the championship is for 10 days you would only expect the visa to cover a brief period either side of this.
Visa applications typically take 3-6 months however this can be expidited to 15 days on payment of $1225. Most trials took place 3 weeks prior and some teams finalized just 2 weeks ago so there isn't much time for any of these applications to be done.
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@eusebio wrote:
Cool Colorado Rain wrote:
Flew in today from Germany. No you don't. Didn't need it to go there or coming back. Not US citizens and not German citizens. Your link is not up to date.
It's current.
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Durban wrote:
RunRagged wrote:
I don't think it's true that UK athletes all need a P-1 visa to enter the US. A P-1 - which lasts for 5 years and allows for very long stays in the US during that time, and can be extended to 10 years in some cases - is an additional option given to elite athletes. But it's not their only option. They are still eligible to enter the US for up to 90 days under the standard VWP with an ESTA.
Maybe it's the case that Thompson had a P-1 visa in the past, and it's expired or is about to expire and he just realized this? Or maybe his own British passport is out of date. A lot of people with busy lives forget that travel documents have expiration dates and only realize that theirs are out of date on the eve of travel. This has happened to a number of people I know from different countries. It's why since the 1980s certain branches of the US passport office have offered the option of same-day renewals of US passports for travelers who've already booked flights.
The ESTA program covers business or pleasure, however you need a P-1A visa to enter to participate in a sports event as a professional. It doesn't allow 5 years of continuous residency, that's the upper limit for the application and you're allowed to extend to 10 years if necessary once your 5 years has expired. Applications are only approved for the time it takes to complete the activity in the US and as the championship is for 10 days you would only expect the visa to cover a brief period either side of this.
Visa applications typically take 3-6 months however this can be expidited to 15 days on payment of $1225. Most trials took place 3 weeks prior and some teams finalized just 2 weeks ago so there isn't much time for any of these applications to be done.
Right, but in practice, if you qualify for the ESTA, you will have no problem to fly to America, win your prize money, fill out the tax form, have 30% withheld by the American government and then go home. Yes, strictly speaking, you’re meant to have a P-1 visa to earn money as an athlete, however, I can tell you that the vast majority of athletes eligible for the ESTA operate in this fashion.
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Left Said Fred wrote:
High hopes wrote:
I don't know the full rules around it, but even UK athletes need a P-1 visa to enter the US. It's a complete joke and World Athletics and the LOC need to carry the can. Major international sporting events have been held in the US - F1, golf - and there was no hint of these troubles. Track and field really is still an amateur sport
I don’t know the particulars of Chris Thompson’s case, but this is false. Virtually all the British athletes competing in Eugene this week will have arrived via the ESTA and not a P visa. I haven’t a clue why Chris wasn’t set on the ESTA some time ago.
If you have a criminal record you can't do an ESTA online....
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Left Said Fred wrote:
High hopes wrote:
I don't know the full rules around it, but even UK athletes need a P-1 visa to enter the US. It's a complete joke and World Athletics and the LOC need to carry the can. Major international sporting events have been held in the US - F1, golf - and there was no hint of these troubles. Track and field really is still an amateur sport
I don’t know the particulars of Chris Thompson’s case, but this is false. Virtually all the British athletes competing in Eugene this week will have arrived via the ESTA and not a P visa. I haven’t a clue why Chris wasn’t set on the ESTA some time ago.
According to this website, you can't enter the US via ESTA if you are undertaking paid employment. You can travel for business reasons, like negotiations, contract discussions, etc, but not if you are being paid. I don't know the arrangements for individual athletes, but there is prize money down to 8th place which, I'm guessing, would be classed as paid labour
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High hopes wrote:
Left Said Fred wrote:
I don’t know the particulars of Chris Thompson’s case, but this is false. Virtually all the British athletes competing in Eugene this week will have arrived via the ESTA and not a P visa. I haven’t a clue why Chris wasn’t set on the ESTA some time ago.
According to this website, you can't enter the US via ESTA if you are undertaking paid employment. You can travel for business reasons, like negotiations, contract discussions, etc, but not if you are being paid. I don't know the arrangements for individual athletes, but there is prize money down to 8th place which, I'm guessing, would be classed as paid labour
Wouldn't the same apply to Pre or any other pro meet an athlete travels to the US to compete in? Athletes are not traveling to the US for employment because they are not working for an American employer. It seems like since competing in meets is their job it would be classified as business travel. It's more like a consultant based in the UK that travels to the US for a client meeting but gets paid via a wire transfer to a foreign bank.
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SMH
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High hopes wrote:
Left Said Fred wrote:
I don’t know the particulars of Chris Thompson’s case, but this is false. Virtually all the British athletes competing in Eugene this week will have arrived via the ESTA and not a P visa. I haven’t a clue why Chris wasn’t set on the ESTA some time ago.
According to this website, you can't enter the US via ESTA if you are undertaking paid employment. You can travel for business reasons, like negotiations, contract discussions, etc, but not if you are being paid. I don't know the arrangements for individual athletes, but there is prize money down to 8th place which, I'm guessing, would be classed as paid labour
From a regulations standpoint, the P visa is required to earn income as an athlete, however, the reality is different in practice. Virtually all will enter on the ESTA. It’s of no major issue to the Americans as they will automatically withhold their taxes from any income earned.
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El Keniano wrote:
dfdfg wrote:
Top golfers and F1 drivers come from wealthy Western countries where visas are not required to enter the US, at least as a tourist. I didn't hear of any problems with foreign athletes coming to the US for Pre, including athletes from Kenya.
This is at least partly on the individual athletes and their agents for not planning in advance and assuming they could just get a visa at the last minute.
A few years ago, Tim Cheruiyot, on his way to Pre, got yanked off the plane in Nairobi (after he'd already got the visa) by US officials.
This sounds very unlikely. What were US officials doing in Nairobi? What authority do they have to remove someone from a plane in Kenya?
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There were a few Formula 1 races full of foreign athletes and I heard of no Visa issues. There is a Canadian baseball team and soccer teams that play in the US often, and there are soccer teams from other CONCACAF countries that come in to play at club and country level. All this happens with no Visa issues. How did T&F s rew this up so badly?
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USCIS is a broken system. Staffing, covid, they are overwhelmed. https://immigranttravels.com/index.php/2022/02/10/us-consulate-visa-backlog-reduction-state-dept-hiring-consular-officers-virtual-interviews-etc/#:~:text=6%20months%20wait%20or%20longer%20for%20some%20nonimmigrant,category,%20ending%20with%20Tourist%20B1%20%26%20B2%20visa).
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