Fresh Risks To Foreign Comic Creators Doing Comic Cons In The USA & Canada Emerge

Last week, we had the news of the detention at the US/Canadian border of Welsh comic maker Becky Burke (see here for that story). But what about the wider implications for comic makers travelling to the US or Canada? Well, it’s not good.

Burke’s case was all about her travelling through the USA and into Canada on a vacation. Like so many young people before her, she’d arranged to stay with families in return for doing basic chores. Well, that would appear to be a problem now. First the Canadian authorities turned her away due to her visa not being correct. Then US authorities detained her, placing her into an ICE detention centre.

The good news is that her family have now raised enough funds through a GoFundMe campaign that they’ve closed the campaign. This will be funding legal costs, a return flight, and essentials. Her father has also advised that the family were being helped on a pro-bono basis by an immigration lawyer who previously worked for ICE. Hopefully, we’ll see her home soon. UPDATE 3/18: she will soon be released.

But, what does this mean for comic creators flying in to the USA and Canada going forward? Well, it doesn’t look good at all. And there’s a very real risk of many foreign comic creators either boycotting North America entirely in fear of being refused entry or, in the worst case, being detained by ICE in the USA for working on a non-work tourist visa.

Here’s what one very high-profile British comics writer who wanted their name left off this had to say…

Basically, people have been treating it as a grey area, and it’s never been a grey area — it’s just been stuff people have mostly got away with. The stakes are much higher now. I would advise against anyone doing a US con until things changes. (I mean, even if you got a visa, I’d advise against it.)

The problem: like Becky’s situation of staying with families for board and lodging for chores, what used to be generally ignored in the past looks like it won’t be in this new regime.

Because the standard format for visiting comic creators at a comics show is that they may appear and, as guests, get their accommodation provided by the show, possibly even flights.

Additionally, once they’re at the show, there’s the opportunity to sell their wares. This is obviously more likely with artists, who can sell commissions and sketches at shows to punters for cash. But both writers and artists can be involved in the selling of their books at shows. It could be that the publisher will sell them a number of copies and ship them to the show for the creators to sell. Or it may be that the creator will appear at the tables for the publisher and books will be sold in their presence.

And you can obviously see where this is going, can’t you? All of that is very much illegal on as a visiting alien on a tourist visa in the USA and Canada.

I don’t know precisely how it works for all countries, but I can speak about what happens when comic creators from the UK head to the USA and Canada for promotional events and comic conventions. In fact, I reached out to a few big name comic creators who’ve all been involved with huge books in their time.

Interestingly — and scarily — none of them wanted to be named. Well, if you were in their positions, you’d probably not want your name out there for US Immigration to see, would you? Especially as there’s always that fear of US Border Control going through your phones and your online presence. For example — “No names even for something as bland as this reply Richard, I will think twice about going to the US at all now.”

But they were all of the same thinking; they’re going to have to think very carefully about travelling to US and Canadian events until things change.

First of all, they all confirmed what I thought. The majority of comics creators travel to the USA on an ESTA — “The short is that almost everyone just goes in on a ESTA.” That’s the electronic tourist visa, easy to apply for, valid for two years. Things are slightly different for Canada, they have their own version of an ESTA, and anecdotal reports say that some Canadian shows implicitly include visa requirements in the guest information.

But when you’re going in on a tourist visa like the ESTA, the Immigration and Border Control can and will interrogate you about what you’re visiting for. And if they have even the slightest idea that you’re working whilst you’re there, they can and will deny you entry and/or detain you.

The problem now is that all those previously accepted and overlooked things that can be classed as ‘working’, such as Becky’s chores for board or a hotel room for a comics convention in return for your appearance, could well see you denied and/or detained.

And if they get the whiff that anything you are doing will involve some payment, such as con sketches, payments for commissions, book sales — well, that’s for sure going to be trouble.

Things have changed. We’re living in a world where what used to be ignored or tolerated just isn’t any more. And that may well mean a lot of trouble for travelling comic creators.

UPDATE 3/19: Apologies, I failed to mention that you can use an ESTA for ‘travel to the US to conduct temporary business’. But this has its limitations — effectively you can conduct business but you cannot work. The examples the US immigration site uses are ‘Attending business meetings or consultations, attending a business convention or conference, and negotiating contracts.’

Are what comic creators do at conventions allowable business or are they work? Well, you could make an argument either way due to a whatever reading of ‘conduct temporary business’ you adopt.

But in the end, it doesn’t matter. The biggest problem with the business ESTA comes at border security, where the person dealing with you has absolute authority to allow you in or to deny entry or even detain you. And it’s their understanding of the rules and of what you’ve told them you’re doing that matters. It doesn’t matter what the US Embassy have told you, doesn’t matter if it’s meant to be legal on an ESTA, if they don’t understand that, if they think it’s not allowed, you could be in trouble.