Update: This program is sold out, but please join in via Zoom.

Join us for this practical workshop on navigating the artist visa process inspired by Visual Arts Resident Guanyu Xu's personal experience and artistic practice.

In the first section of the workshop, hear from an immigration lawyer and case manager about the realities of O1 artist visas and H1B working visas for those in the creative industry. To close out the workshop, we will hear about the visa process from a more personal lens. The session will end with time for questions and sharing.

Date: This one-time in-person workshop meets on Sunday, 11/19 from 12:15-2pm.

Price: Free ($10 suggested donation)

Audience: Open to all.

Materials: Materials will be provided.

Accessibility: The class will meet in the Science Studios on the 3rd floor, which is not wheelchair accessible. We'll be near located near a single occupant gender neutral bathroom. Masks are encouraged but not required. ASL and CART are available by request (if possible, please email us one week in advance so we have time to coordinate with our access workers). There will be a Zoom presentation with an immigration case manager and lawyer followed by a Q&A. There will be a short wellness break before a presentation by 5 artists about their artist visa process. A recording of the presentation with the immigration case manager and lawyer will be available upon request. For access questions, please contact Christina Daniels, christina@pioneerworks.org. For more information about Pioneer Works' accessibility, visit https://pioneerworks.org/visit.

Linda Lei is the co-founder of Getech Law LLC, a well-known Chicago-based Boutique Law firm with offices across China and the U.S. Lei has a broad and diverse range of both practical and legal experience. She has extensive experience in Intellectual Property, Business Immigration, and Business/ Corporate Law.

Lei leads a team in obtaining employment-based immigration benefits for both giant corporates with 10,000+ employees and start-up companies with few employees, such as nonimmigrant visa classification (H-1B, O-1, L-1, and E-2); permanent residence or "green card" status through Labor Certification or as immigrants of Exceptional or Extraordinary Ability (EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3); investment-based immigration (EB-5). Over the past few years, Lei's team has accumulated 1,000 + H-1B approvals, 500+ O-1 approvals, and 100 + Green Card approvals.

Aurora Y. Chou is the Manager of Immigration Department of Getech Law LLC. She has worked for a couple of law firms before joining Getech Law in 2019. She has accumulated over 10 years of experience in immigration visa service and assisted with almost 5,000 immigration cases of various categories. Chou specializes in student visas, OPT, CPT, H-1B working visas, O-1B artist visas, and EB-1A extraordinary green cards. When she was in graduate school, Chou served as a volunteer translator at the USCIS office in Long Island, NY. Also, she worked for DSO in the International Student Office at St. John's University, helping with student visas and work authorizations.

徐冠宇 Guanyu Xu (b.1993 Beijing) is an artist currently based in Chicago and a lecturer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the recipient of the Chicago DCASE Artist Grant (2022), CENTER Development Grant (2021), Hyéres International Festival Prize (2020), PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai Exposure Award (2020), Philadelphia Photo Arts Center Annual Competition (2019), Lensculture Emerging Talent Award (2019), and Kodak Film Photo Award (2019). He has received artist residencies including ACRE (Chicago, IL), Light Work (Syracuse, NY), and Latitude (Chicago, IL). His works have been exhibited and screened internationally including the Aperture Foundation, New York; International Center of Photography, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; New Orlean Museum of Art, New Orleans; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Wesleyan University, Middletown; Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland; Mint Museum, Charlotte; 36th Kasseler Dokfest, Germany, and others. His work can be found in public collections including San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Harvard Art Museums, Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago, and New Orleans Museum of Art. His works have been featured in numerous publications including The New York Times, ArtAsiaPacific, The New Yorker, W Magazine, Harper's Magazine, Dazed, and China Photographic Publishing House.

Classes at Pioneer Works are made possible by Sandeman Port.

This program is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.