Work Visa Issues Threatening Music Artist Careers, Support Networks

Just a day before his sold-out show at the AT&T Stadium in Texas, regional Mexican star Julión Álvarez posted an “urgent” announcement on his social media, informing the 50,000 fans who purchased a ticket to the May 24-dated show that it was cancelled.  

The reason: Álvarez’s work visa had been revoked and the artist could no longer legally enter the United States. The last-minute cancellation not only led to a total loss of over $2 million that went into the production of the event, but it also derailed an entire promotional plan that had successfully launched a month before with three sold-out dates at SoFi Stadium in L.A., marking the long-awaited return of the norteño artist. The “Box Office King,” who hadn’t performed in the U.S. since 2017, was once again sidelined by visa issues. To this day, his highly anticipated 4218 Tour USA 2025 remains in limbo.  

Over the past few months, an increasing number of acts — from Mexico, Cuba and other Latin American countries — have publicly or privately dealt with visa hurdles that have led to tour or show cancellations in the U.S. For some, their O-1 or P-1B visas, generally reserved for artists and musicians, have been suddenly revoked. Others have found their applications under stricter vetting by multiple U.S. government agencies who, under the Trump administration, have only made an already complex process even more complicated.  

The impact a denied or revoked visa can have on an artist varies case by case, taking into consideration where a particular artist is in their career. But either way, the recent cases have shaken up the Latin music industry. “Touring the U.S. is an important part of a release plan, whether it’s a bar with 600 capacity or an arena,” says Tomas Cookman, founder of Nacional Records and the LAMC, and partner at Magnus Talent Agency. “Many musicians feel that touring here is an important part of their process and trajectory as a global artist. It’s difficult to be at a certain level and not have toured the U.S., especially as a Latin artist who can visit so many Latino-populated hubs within the country that historically has always supported tons of live shows.” 

Nonimmigrant visas are not an indefinite type of visa; they offer a temporary stay in the United States for a specific purpose, as opposed to, for example, a green card or a permanent resident card that grants the holder the status of a lawful permanent resident. While visa revocations are not common, they can happen to anyone, at any time, holding a nonimmigrant visa and can occur for multiple reasons, including criminal activity, security concerns or violation of visa terms, to name a few factors.  

The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs generally does not publish statistics on revocations. But since Trump took office in January, the State Department has revoked over 6,000 student visas, to name one classification, according to news reports. “No one knows how it’s being brought to the attention of those who are in the position to make these revocation decisions, or why they are deciding to do this now,” immigration attorney Daniel Hanlon previously told Billboard. “It could be completely politically motivated.” 

Regional Mexican artists have mainly borne the brunt of this situation with publicly known cases for Álvarez; Los Alegres del Barranco, who lost their visa after the group portrayed images “glorifying” drug kingpin “El Mencho” at a concert in Mexico in March; and Grupo Firme, which canceled its participation at La Onda Fest in June over visas delayed in administrative processing.  

For one executive at a regional Mexican indie label, who prefers to remain anonymous and is not associated with the aforementioned acts, their marquee artist suddenly having to cancel shows in the U.S. over visa uncertainty led to higher-than-usual stress levels, to the point where they questioned if the company could survive those cancelations. “When our main source of income loses a large percentage of that income, you enter a moment of uncertainty because we didn’t know if this would be remedied quickly or if there was a bigger problem than just losing a visa,” the executive explains.  

Even today, when Latin music has gone global and there’s a huge number of Latin artists touring in other markets, including Europe, the U.S. remains the No. 1 market for any artist, and losing a gig here is a major financial blow. “You get guys like Firme and Julión who gross $10 million in one night [in the U.S.],” CMN’s Henry Cárdenas previously told Billboard. “This is where you make the big money — you don’t make that money in Mexico, with all due respect.”  

Besides touring in the U.S., promoting their work here — from radio shows to making the rounds at DSPs and attending major award shows that take place in the U.S. like the Billboard Latin Music Awards and Latin Grammys — remains crucial for any artist. The country continues to be the No. 1 global music market, with music revenue growing 2.2% year-on-year, according to the IFPI Global Music Report 2025, powered by streaming revenue that is greater than in any other country.  

The per-stream rate varies from country to country, but a stream coming from Mexico is worth about 2% of a stream coming from the U.S., Josh Norek, president of Regalias Digitales, previously explained to Billboard. For a DSP like Spotify, a premium account is worth more on a per-stream basis than a free account. “You go from paying like $10 a month for Spotify Premium here to the [more common] free ad-supported tier in Mexico, Guatemala or Venezuela and it will generate almost nothing,” added Norek. That makes it even more important for Latin artists to build fan bases in the U.S., given how dominant streaming is in the current music business. 

For Cuban artists — who have another set of challenges to deal with due to the ever-shifting diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, and sanctions that have cut off the island from Spotify or Amazon Music (YouTube is available but it’s not monetized) — the impact goes beyond just financial. “There’s a toll on their mental health as well,” says Collin Laverty, whose expertise on U.S.-Cuba relations has led him to work closely with several Cuban artists, including Cimafunk. “Being able to travel to the U.S. and tour is an important outlet economically and psychologically, so complicating that on the immigration front is so detrimental to a career but also the psyche.”   

The most common issue for Cuban artists under President Trump is approval delays and extreme vetting at U.S. embassies and consulates following the Trump-imposed travel ban on several countries, including Venezuela and Cuba. The ban partially restricts and limits the entry of both immigrants and nonimmigrants from those nations. “There’s still a legal avenue but it’s hard to meet the threshold to get approval for a visa and root out the politics,” Laverty says. Because Cuba is on the state sponsors of terrorism list under the Trump-imposed travel ban, “90% of visa applicants get sent to admin review status, which is a multi-agency review that can take months,” he adds. “They are almost always approved but almost always delayed, so that makes it difficult for promoters and festivals to even book Cuban artists.” 

Travel restrictions for Cuban artists already existed pre-Trump. In the early 2000s, U.S. visa restrictions tightened under the Bush administration, which made it difficult to get permission to travel to the U.S. During that time, the U.S. State Department’s crackdown on Cuban visitors impacted Latin Grammy-nominated artists who secured visas just days before the event, while others, for lack of visas, were forced to miss the Latin Grammys ceremony in Miami in 2003. That was reversed during the Obama administration which, like the Biden administration, facilitated visas as much as possible, allowing for more cultural exchange between the two countries, albeit with some challenges created outside of the executive branch.  

Trump’s latest administration overturned that policy just as a burgeoning new urban movement, led by a new generation of reparto artists, has gained momentum outside of Cuba, including in Miami, home to the largest Cuban population outside of Cuba.  

“It’s more essential now than ever for an artist to be able to promote their music in the U.S.,” says Laverty. “It’s a tough reality to be a Cuban artist and feel trapped because Cuba is going through a real difficult moment economically, socially and politically. There is a fan base here, with more than 2 million Cuban Americans living in the U.S. Sure, you can go to Europe and Latin America but there are less Cuban nationals living there, less money, less industry infrastructure. And, if you’re trying to get nominated for an award and you can’t participate in showcases or in person meetings, it makes it really difficult for career growth.”