Heightened visa and immigration enforcement have justifiably raised concerns among international creators and the U.S. comics community alike. Is travel safe? What could lead to detention or denial of entry? Are there options for protecting one’s freedom to create beyond…
Category: Webseries
Visas and Comic-Cons: Trans Creators and U.S. Travel
We continue to get questions about visa issues, and one that was particularly poignant was whether trans creators would be detained or denied when crossing the border into the U.S. As with the rules on work for tourist and business…
Visas and Comic-Cons: Free Speech and Paid Work
Attending a comic-con on a tourist visa or ESTA is a relatively low-risk endeavor for a fan with a hotel room who is just going to enjoy the experience. So long as you limit your activity to seeing panels and…
Visas and Comic-Cons: Visa ABCs
The recent detention of cartoonist Becky Burke and ongoing ICE raids exemplify the importance of understanding U.S. immigration law, which applies both to nonimmigrant temporary visitors and immigrants leaving their home countries to reside here permanently. The heightened degree of…
This Week: Visas and Comic-Cons
Now that convention season is well underway, one of the most frequent questions we’ve been hearing here at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is whether it’s safe for creators from other countries to go to comic-cons in the U.S.…
Stopping ideas at the border (Tariffs pt. 4)
This published and then withdrawn digital poster from ICE illustrates why monitoring border policy is essential. It also highlights why understanding the publications exemption for new reciprocal tariffs is so important, as border agents have the authority to seize goods…
Why Trump’s Tariffs Should Not Apply to Graphic Novels, Manga, and Comics: The Book Ban Connection (pt. 2)
In my previous post, I noted an aspect of Trump’s tariffs that has received little to no media attention: the evident exemption for books and other publications, including graphic novels, comics, and manga. Today we’ll take a more detailed look…
Visas and Comics Creators, Pt. 2: B-1, B-2, Be Careful
Since yesterday’s post, news of Becky Burke’s return to the U.K. has at least signalled the end of her detention by ICE, though in an ideal world she would have been neither detained nor forced to leave. As we now…
Visas and Comic Creators, Pt. 1
The detention of cartoonist Becky Burke by U.S. immigration officials is a potent reminder of the complexity and rigor of U.S. visa laws. We’re relieved to learn that her family has been able to secure legal assistance – we were…
Finale: U.S. v. Comics
The medium is the massacre in the epic finale of U.S v. Comics: The Senate Effort to Censor Comic Books, which examines how televised U.S. Senate comic book hearings in 1954 led to the creation of the infamous Comics Code.…