All-Star 2015 Worlds Packet

[cheerKT]

I just realized that this not only applies to US gyms but also to every other gym, right? Does the USASF even realize how close everything in Europe is? For most people the closest worlds team will be in another country (or 2 or 3 over)... I don't know if people currently cross borders for a worlds team, but I do know that people do that to cheer.
Dear USASF: please use a map and think through your rules before publishing them! There are a lot of other legal ways to cheer with a gym in a foreign country other than being a legal resident or being there on a student visa (has the USASF ever heard of people working in a foreign country on a work visa for example?)

The "legal student resident" portion of the rule leads me to believe being there on a student visa would be allowed. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, though. I'm not sure if a "legal student resident" is something completely different. I've never actually heard that term.

 

[cheermomforever]

True. But then you have to be a student. And that can be VERY expensive in the US.

My nephew came here from Colombia to go to school and we had to do a lot of paperwork for it! We had to prove we could support him for the year. It took a lot of time and filling out forms. He also could not work legally unless it corresponded with his English studies.

 

[CEAShelby]

There is also an English boy on TGLC! Wonder what he will be doing.

 

[Ashley]

The "legal student resident" portion of the rule leads me to believe being there on a student visa would be allowed. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, though. I'm not sure if a "legal student resident" is something completely different. I've never actually heard that term.

I'm assuming student visas are valid too. But you can't work on a student visa, it wouldn't easy to be here and pay for cheer.

 

[ErinS]

So do we know what this means for kids from other countries currently on and competing with teams in a different country? Does anyone know if anyone is seeking further clarification from USASF?

Are they going to have to log onto education connection or something?

Pack up and go home?

 

[cheerKT]

So do we know what this means for kids from other countries currently on and competing with teams in a different country? Does anyone know if anyone is seeking further clarification from USASF?

Are they going to have to log onto education connection or something?

Pack up and go home?

 

[123jump4!]

Unless they are overstaying their 3 months as a tourist, then I assume they must have some kind of visa. Student visa seems likely? You can also get a tourist visa for longer than 3 months, so that might be possible. And there is some kind of sports visa but not sure if that would apply to cheer. There's also au-pair visa... If you just overstay your "normal" 3 months, you will be banned from the US, so that seems unlikely.

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

You can be in the US for 90 days as a tourist with just your passport depending on what country you're from. You get an automatic visa, you don't even have to apply for one. At least that's my understanding.

So do they come for 90 days, go home for a week, and then come back for another 90 days?

 

[123jump4!]

So do they come for 90 days, go home for a week, and then come back for another 90 days?

You can get away with that but you can also be refused entry. Risky...

 

[SL&AM]

Gotta love USASF...:banghead:

This is going to hurt so many!

 

[SL&AM]

I just realized that this not only applies to US gyms but also to every other gym, right? Does the USASF even realize how close everything in Europe is? For most people the closest worlds team will be in another country (or 2 or 3 over)... I don't know if people currently cross borders for a worlds team, but I do know that people do that to cheer.
Dear USASF: please use a map and think through your rules before publishing them! There are a lot of other legal ways to cheer with a gym in a foreign country other than being a legal resident or being there on a student visa (has the USASF ever heard of people working in a foreign country on a work visa for example?)

Agreed! When we lived in Germany, I could be in France or Austria in about an hour, Luxembourg an hour and 15, and The Netherlands in about 2 hours. Or, I could hop a cheap Ryan Air to Ireland in about 2 and a half hours, and England in about 4.

USASF is filled with idiots...I'm officially convinced.

 

[SL&AM]

So do they come for 90 days, go home for a week, and then come back for another 90 days?

Doesn't always work that easily. Take SMOED Season 2 Xavier for example---the US wouldn't let him back in after going home for Christmas because they didn't believe he was only cheering. He eventually got through, but it took weeks.

 

[gofriars610]

If you google "legal student resident" the first thing that comes up is this USASF document from August 2014.

http://usasf.net.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/2013 Website/organization/docs/USASF_CWAB_AUG2014_sum.pdf

INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES
Steve explained that the ICU requires that athletes must be a legal resident or legal student resident of the country with which they are competing and the committee discussed that teams that compete at ICU represent countries and teams that compete at Worlds represent programs. This will be included in the Worlds Registration Packet as a requirement for athletes competing at the 2015 Worlds.

The interesting line is "teams that compete at Worlds represent programs." This was differentiated from the ICU residency requirements. I.e. if I wanted to compete for "Cheerleaderstan" in ICU, I would have to be either a legal resident of Cheerleaderstan or be on a student visa at one of Cheerleaderstan's universities--I couldn't just fly into Cheerleaderstan from wherever my home nation was and compete for Cheerleaderstan. This makes sense.

The new Worlds "program vs program" requirement that athletes to have green cards, citizenship or other student visas does not make much sense at all.

I'm also convinced USASF made up the term "legal student resident" as it's not mentioned in any other U.S. government site--and those would come up very high on google due to their algorithm.

 

[Ashley]

If you google "legal student resident" the first thing that comes up is this USASF document from August 2014.

http://usasf.net.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/2013 Website/organization/docs/USASF_CWAB_AUG2014_sum.pdf


The interesting line is "teams that compete at Worlds represent programs." This was differentiated from the ICU residency requirements. I.e. if I wanted to compete for "Cheerleaderstan" in ICU, I would have to be either a legal resident of Cheerleaderstan or be on a student visa at one of Cheerleaderstan's universities--I couldn't just fly into Cheerleaderstan from wherever my home nation was and compete for Cheerleaderstan. This makes sense.

The new Worlds "program vs program" requirement that athletes to have green cards, citizenship or other student visas does not make much sense at all.

I'm also convinced USASF made up the term "legal student resident" as it's not mentioned in any other U.S. government site--and those would come up very high on google due to their algorithm.

I think I found that document when the whole Canadian Trials things came about. Can't believe I missed that part of it.

A student visa is a very real thing and not super easy to get - you wouldn't get a student visa just to be able to cheer here. I'm going to assume that's what they mean.

I was tweeting with Sprint Tumbling last night and Lisa seemed to suggest that having a Visitor's Visa should count as residency (and I know she's helped some athletes with visas). But I'm not sure that makes sense. If you're from one of those 38 countries, you get an automatic visa waiver for 90 days that gives you all of the rights of the B-2 Visitors Visa, but you're not a resident, you're a visitor.

But I was looking at it strictly from a US POV and she was looking at it from a worldwide POV and said the requirements would be different for each country.

 

[youbetterwork]

I just realized that this not only applies to US gyms but also to every other gym, right? Does the USASF even realize how close everything in Europe is? For most people the closest worlds team will be in another country (or 2 or 3 over)... I don't know if people currently cross borders for a worlds team, but I do know that people do that to cheer.
Dear USASF: please use a map and think through your rules before publishing them! There are a lot of other legal ways to cheer with a gym in a foreign country other than being a legal resident or being there on a student visa (has the USASF ever heard of people working in a foreign country on a work visa for example?)

This!