For Those Outside the United States
We need to be forthright with those outside the US about how hard it is to get into the US to work. We're giving this from the California perspective. There are other tv and film areas in the US that are far smaller, such as Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and parts of Texas.
A few years ago, we were told by the owner of the largest web site for actors and casting calls, that they had about a million actor profiles (not all were verified to be legitimate, though.) As of when this web page was written, the Screen Actors Guild (which has strict requirements for membership) has around 160,000 members in it. Of those members, only about 25,000 qualified for medical insurance which requires an actor to make at $27,000 or work at least 104 days in the last 365 days.
So, in the big picture, only 25,000 actors out of 1,000,000 actually made enough money in a given year to qualify for medical insurance. $27,000 is far less than one needs to make to pay for basic cost of living in California. So, the vast majority of actors already here work other jobs and do acting part time on the side. Hence the government is strict about who can move here, as like most other countries, we can't have unemployed people just move here randomly.
If you're seeking a career in entertainment and you are not authorized to work in the United States, there's specific ways to pursue working here.
First off, in order to work here, you need one of two things: either a visa (such as an O-1 visa for actors), or a work permit (also called a 'green card'). A green card is much harder to obtain and allows you to live in the US, and it gets renewed periodically.
This web page does not constitute legal advice and may not be accurate. You need to seek the counsel of a US Immigration Attorney for accurate advice.
Obtaining a visa
A visa can apply to one specific project like one or more tv series episodes or a film. It can also work for multiple projects with a time limit.
A visa for an individual project is obtained through the assistance of the production company doing the project. This is because the production has cast you for the role, and the paperwork is done very quickly as a result. When the project is done, you return home.
In order to get cast in a role, where a production company is willing to fly you in, you have to be very, very good as an actor. Roles that get flown in are typically lead roles, so you have to be THAT good. The competition is fierce for lead roles. Typically you need a substantial fan base that follow you on social media, both in your own country as well as elsewhere, including the United States. So, productions will look at your social media and verify followers and individual post views to make sure that you are legitimate. They also look for media coverage both in your own country and abroad.
As a result, you need a fantastic reel (also known in some countries as a 'showreel'), plus have an outstanding EPK (also known as a 'press kit' where the 'E' stands for electronic, such as in a PDF that you can send someone by email, or is on a web site they can view and download from.) The EPK needs to include screen shots of major media coverage - like internationally known major media. It can't be just blogs by film critics, for example.
If you want to get a visa that allows you to come here for a limited time and look for work, the US State Department (which is who you apply to for the visa), will do internet searches to see how big of a star you are in your home country. You have to realize that large numbers of aspiring actors try to come to the US regularly, so you have to stand out above the crowd. So you already need to be a very good, established actor in your home country in order to be allowed to come here to compete with those already in this country.
The Bottom Line
In order to work here, you need to already be well trained, have plenty of experience in film and/or tv, have plenty of media coverage of that which can be found in searches, plus have a substantial social media following of fans.
Don't spend money and time on attorneys unless you have all those happening in your career.
If you have met all the above criteria, please click on the button below to find out more information about applying to Transgender Talent.