jwz
If you're in the US, don't expect to ever see a non-stadium live show by a foreign band ever again, for this amongst other, more obvious reasons:
https://apnews.com/article/state-department-visa-bond-d532b186abf6e39c621d1bd0995d7509
US may require visa applicants to post bond of up to $15,000

The State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to apply to enter the United States. It's a move that may make the process unaffordable for many. In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the department says it will start a 12-month pilot program under which people from countries deemed to have high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls could be required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when they apply for a visa. It says the countries affected will be listed once the program takes effect.

AP News
Aug 4, 2025 at 6:25pmWeb
Show threadMatthew DockreyAug 4, 2025
@jwz Crossing my fingers for the Public Service Broadcasting show in December. =\
Show threadChip UnicornAug 4, 2025

@jwz The State Department really, REALLY wants to make sure that no foreigners ever come to the United States.

The next ten years are REALLY going to suck.

Show threadmastodonphan HAS MOVEDAug 4, 2025
@Chip_Unicorn @jwz Ten? We talkin' four years of *gestures broadly* plus six years to undo the previous four years of *gestures broadly*? Or does it normally take 10 years to undo fuckery caused by regimes similar to *gestures broadly*? Or is there something more insidious that we should be paying attention to?
Show threadChip UnicornAug 4, 2025

@mast0d0nphan @jwz Yes, I'm expecting four years of gestures broadly, whether it is under Donald or JD.

You know the phrase, "Once bitten, twice shy?" I don't expect four years of crap to be solved within four years. If the US works hard to reestablish itself, it might be able to turn around in 10 years.

No -- I don't have any special knowledge of anything insidious.

Show threadEd G.Aug 6, 2025
@mast0d0nphan @Chip_Unicorn @jwz The Democrats are not really into undoing fuckery. Ten years is optimistic.
Show threadbkAug 4, 2025
@jwz
#why
Show threadI AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑‍🔥Aug 4, 2025
@jwz I'd give pretty good odds that the USA will do everything they can to seize those bonds in 100% of the cases.
Show threadMelissa BAug 5, 2025
@xinit @jwz And even if they don't, the fear that they *might* do so - or might simply take 6 months to make the refund - adds another disincentive that will tip the scales even for many people who could afford a payment that's refunded immediately.
Show threadJohn RobinsonAug 4, 2025
@jwz Don’t expect many people to pay that kind of money. Plenty of other countries to visit.
Show threadAlexAug 4, 2025
@jwz extortion will only backfire on these clowns.
Show threadRazvan NicolescuAug 4, 2025
@jwz They really want no tourism in their country.
Show threadxs4me2Aug 4, 2025

@jwz

Why not simply close your borders?

In fact who would want to visit a country like that?

Show threadJohn M. GambleAug 5, 2025

@xs4me2 @jwz

What do you think they're doing?

Just because they haven't said it aloud doesn't mean they aren't doing it.

Show threadxs4me2Aug 5, 2025

@jgamble @jwz

A dead end street to nowhere...

Show threadAtreidesAug 4, 2025
@jwz Wait until there is a disaster in the US. Nobody will come to help. You’re on your own. If you have to pay to enter USA you loose your life. When will the caldera Yellowstone explode?
Show threadNicole ParsonsAug 4, 2025

@jwz

Trump's GOP -- the forever grifters

The libertarian billionaires supporting the MAGA fascist movement want fees on everything.

Show threadNairamtrab 🍋🇪🇺🇺🇦🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈Aug 4, 2025
@jwz I propose to boycot the USA at least as long as this administration is in charge. Do not visit, do not buy their goods if you can avoid it.
Show threadStephen Elliott~BuckleyAug 5, 2025
@Nairamtrab @jwz #elbowsup has been at it for months
Show threadJohn A. WojtowiczAug 4, 2025

@jwz Thank you for your post.
Another stupid idea brought to you by MORONS.

Peace

Show threadJustin DerrickAug 4, 2025

@jwz Not only do they want to imprison you in a concentration camp, where you'll be treated like a slave and used for hard labour... They want you to pay them for the privilege.

#Leadershit

Show threadSpockaramaAug 5, 2025
@JustinDerrick @jwz See John Oliver's episodes on prisons. The business plan is already in action. Slavery never ended. Black folks have been criminalised. They are paid 10 cents per day.
Show threadJonathan AddlemanAug 4, 2025
@jwz
It's been almost unmanageable for years - 6 month delays, thousands of dollars for a visa.... Meanwhile, American musicians just have to sign a paper at the Canadian border and they can come and play, no fees. It's been steadily getting worse for many years, but this new proposal would really make it impossible for just about everyone. The vast majority of musicians aren't wealthy, in case anyone thought otherwise.
Show threadmike805Aug 5, 2025

@jaddle @jwz The government could always offer the alternative of an ankle monitor for those unable to pay.

If you overstay, it would escalate from beeping to shocks to a lethal injection. 😆

Show threadJohn TimaeusAug 4, 2025

@jwz

Well, that's the end of cultural music festivals.
They were already struggling in the wake of covid.
Not being able to get international headliners is cutting the head off after a stake through the heart.

Show threadStephen Elliott~BuckleyAug 5, 2025

@jwz

It is easier for fascists to control a country, when it becomes more and more like North Korea.

#cdnpoli #canada #mexico #fascism #antifa #elbowsup #bcpoli #vancouver #burnabybc #canlab #u2 #coldplay #lorde

Show threadStephen Elliott~BuckleyAug 5, 2025

@jwz

And even if they don't bring in this bond, it will make people feel like $250 for a tourist visa is okay then, I suppose... 🤮

#cdnpoli #canada #mexico #fascism #antifa #elbowsup #bcpoli #vancouver #burnabybc #canlab

Show threadStephen Elliott~BuckleyAug 5, 2025

@jwz

"Visa bonds have been proposed in the past but have not been implemented. The State Department has traditionally discouraged the requirement because of the cumbersome process of posting and discharging a bond and because of a possible misperceptions by the public."

We are wayyyyyy past "possible misperceptions."

#cdnpoli #canada #mexico #fascism #antifa #elbowsup #bcpoli #vancouver #burnabybc #canlab