The Russian website chess-news.ru is reporting that Anatoly Karpov could not get a visa by the State Department for a trip he intended to New York this summer.
It said Karpov applied for a visa in March. He had been granted a visa in the last two years. He planned to take part in Maxim Dlugy’s chess academy camp.
The web site said he was asked by the US embassy if he intended to speak to members of the US Congress. He said his only business in America was for chess. The site indicated that Karpov got letters in support from a senator and a congressman from New York but to no avail.
Could this be related to the situation GM Loek van Wely got into? He was jailed overnight and deported by Newark airport immigration officials in 2012 after being honest about teaching at a chess camp while visiting under a tourist visa. He wrote on Facebook that he is now persona non grata in this country.
Michael Aigner
Karpov has close ties to a number of Russian oligarchs. There’s more about his background in this regard to be found in the book The KGB Plays Chess. If he had a visa two years ago, I suspect the present denial relates in some way to goings on regarding Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election which, IIRC, was funded by an oligarch or two, or three…
That is very interesting. I wonder why the USA cares about foreigners teaching chess?
probably because it would be considered a job and a work visa would be required.
…scot…
One of the sponsors Karpov mentioned in his visa application was the Cook County sheriff’s office, which was holding an international inmate tournament this week. Karpov helped organize it and when he wasn’t allowed to attend, sent a video message.
patch.com/illinois/chicago/cook … tournament
Is this a serious question?
Alex Relyea
Some people don’t realize that a tourist visa is different from a visa allowing a person to be paid for work and getting paid for work after falsely stating that you won’t be working can get taken very seriously.
One of my son’s close friends is currently trying to get a work visa so he can accept a job in Canada. So far he’s been waiting six months for it.
They are indeed different, but under normal circumstances I doubt that a former world champion would have much trouble getting a work visa.
I doubt that being a former world chess champion even enters into the picture. There are very specific rules and regulations for each of the 13 different types of work visas, but I don’t plan to take the time to read through them all.
Schools, chess camps, etc. cannot legally hire inappropriately documented players to teach chess.
There are exceptions for uniquely qualified people with specific expertise. Visiting professors for example. Of course the piece written in the Washington Post by the resigning State Dept officer noted that the present administration does not always quite follow the law, so who knows why Karpov’s visa was request was rejected.
The previous administration (and the one before that, and the one before that, etc.) didn’t always follow the law, either. :sigh:
I know from my days at UNL that visiting professors from outside the USA have to have a work visa, but the school usually assists them in applying for it.
The level of lawlessness has increased as evidenced by an increase in reversals of Executive Branch action by court decisions. mercurynews.com/2019/03/19/ … heres-why/
Universities generally have immigration counsel on standby, sometimes on retainer, especially if the university is a large one.
No doubt the Saint Louis Chess Club has immigration attorneys on retainer. Certainly Sergey Karjakin had no trouble flying from Moscow the other day, and video surfaced of him actually playing blitz at the same New York City chess club that Anatoly Karpov was expected to visit. Many other Russians have either played at or worked in Saint Louis, including Peter Svidler who recently hosted English language commentary and spoke at a US Chess School camp.
However, even the vast resources of the Saint Louis Chess Club were insufficient to overcome all of the visa barriers imposed by the current administration. Two Iranian stars (Alireza Firouzja and Parham Maghsoodloo) were denied visas to attend the USA vs Rest of the World match between elite juniors in 2017.
Michael Aigner
Yes it is-one of the worlds most accomplished professionals wants to come into our country for a temporary short term assignment and the US state department denies us the opportunity to benefit from this on what grounds? National Security?? This serves no discernable reason that I can figure out.
In tax law & most tax treaties, a distinction is made between “artistes and athletes” and other professionals. (I guess the extra “e” in “artistes” is there to include performers: Picasso was a artist, Piaf was an artiste.) There are special carveouts for short-term visitors with special gifts.
Not sure how this works in immigration law. It would be nice for those of us who organize occasional low-budget FIDE events to get guidance on navigating visa types for foreign players: H1-B vs. O-1 vs. P-1 vs. P-3.
Everyone being paid for work in the US needs some flavor of work visa. The major distinction is between
a temporary job (non-immigrant work visa) and a permanent job (an immigrant visa). Karpov would probably qualify for a non-immigrant work visa for a short tour and being on staff at a chess camp. - I’m not sure how long an appointment as “visiting professor” would trigger the requirement for an immigrant work visa.
Travel to the US for a meeting or conference is covered under a B-1 visa.
The B-2 visa requirements mention competition at amateur competitions for no prize money. I am not
at all clear about what visa is technically required for a chess player traveling to the US to compete in a chess tournament which awards cash prizes. I doubt that it matters whether you consider yourself an amateur or
a professional. At first glance, I don’t see any visa category that explicitly covers the case of competing in an
event where you might win a cash prize (but do not have an employment contract with anyone).