Making independent film in USA when I am a foreigner

[Tape]

I have been making shorts in my country in Europe, and have also sold my first script, also in my country. I have an idea of a feature I would love to do in USA entirely, but would love to hear is it possible at all? Is it work to be done under green card? Should I just try to sell script and try to make it after sale? I would love to hear also of other foreigners experiences making indiemovies...

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

I have been making shorts in my country in Europe, and have also sold my first script, also in my country. I have an idea of a feature I would love to do in USA entirely, but would love to hear is it possible at all? Is it work to be done under green card? Should I just try to sell script and try to make it after sale? I would love to hear also of other foreigners experiences making indiemovies...

If you have the means, you probably should consider taking a 'long vacation', and make a film during that time under a 'visitor' visa. If you need to be employed, then you need to do the 'greencard' process, which is fraught with difficulty, anguish, and sometimes disappointment, or a 'temporary work visa', which is probably hard to get, but you may qualify if you have some 'artistic' standing.

Don't know if Canada is any better on this sort of thing, which is aboot the same thing... sort of... if you want to be somewhere on the North American Continent... Well, I think Mexico is technically considered 'north america', despite their wanting to distance themselves from the US... but not too much...