A Vancouver-based metal band has been denied entry to the U.S.A.
Massive Scar Era were scheduled to play at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, but were stopped at the border near Seattle.
They were told they’d need P-2 visas instead of the B-1 (tourist) visas, despite paperwork from SXSW that said they could travel to the U.S. with tourist visas under a “showcase exemption”.
The duo, based out of both Vancouver and Cairo, Egypt, took to Facebook Live to share their struggles at the border and the video has since been viewed 20,000 times.
“We were officially denied from going to the U.S.,” said one of the two band members, Cherine Amr. “We’re not going to go to South by Southwest today, because the borders are convinced that South by Southwest shouldn’t be with a B-1 visa.”
In the video, Amr also refers to the bands traveling bassist player, who has an official card that classifies him as a First Nation member and allows him entry into the U.S.
According to Amr, the border patrol officers wanted a blood test from the bassist to prove he was First Nation.
Since the initial denial, which happened over the weekend, the band has taken to Facebook multiple times to provide updates and further information.
They say they have played SXSW with a B-1 visa before and according to the law they had all the correct papers.
They also expressed obvious disappointment that this happened in North America, since they moved a lot of the band’s operations to Canada to get away from oppression in Egypt and to be closer to the music industry.
