Will US Visa Crackdown Impact ComicCons?
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The Trump administration’s crack down on foreign visitors has raised both questions and risks for international comic creators who may be planning to visit the US or Canada to attend comic conventions. As the recent R.E Burk case has made clear, there is a higher risk of being denied entry and detained if authorities suspect at any point you will work or be compensated while in the country.
And what counts as work or compensation could include: paid travel and lodging by the convention or selling sketches and books at a table (artist’s own table or the publisher’s).
Comicon.com interviewed several cartoonist who all reported that they typically use the tourist visa to enter the US. All of them also are thinking twice about traveling to the US or Canada now.
From Comiccon.com:
Here’s what one very high-profile British comics writer who wanted their name left off this had to say…
Basically, people have been treating it as a grey area, and it’s never been a grey area — it’s just been stuff people have mostly got away with. The stakes are much higher now. I would advise against anyone doing a US con until things changes. (I mean, even if you got a visa, I’d advise against it.)
According to Tourism Economics tourist travel to the US was expected to grow 8.8% in 2025, but the harsher rhetoric and actions by the Trump administration has reversed that estimate to a negative 5.1%.
This may not be the year to expect your favorite comic creator at your local comic convention if they are based in a foreign country.
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