As I understand it, and Im no immigration lawyer, it takes about 15 days to process a p-1 visa after a sponsor (team) petitions. MLB can usually goose it up to 10 days. After processing and the petition being approved, the team sends thevpaperwork to Homeland Security, who contacts the Consulate in the players country. Then the player is given an appointment for his visa.
A foreign player that has been traded has 30 days to repetition before his visa expires. Those 30 days will be up long before the new CBA begins. So, every traded foreign player and every signed foreign FA will require a new visa. Since the teams have shut down all player related actions, most of those petitions will begin either at the start of the new CBA for players already traded or at the signing of every FA.
Assuming that nothing gets fouled up either in the US or in the players country....assuming that embassies are fully staffed...that players don't forget all their receipts and other papers (a petition can run to seventy pages of documents) ...assuming that transportation can be reasonably acquired...a best case scenario is a month, but lately, due to lack of staffing, it sometimes takes up to six weeks.
There are a lot of little pebbles that can get in the gears along the way...like unpaid speeding tickets...missing an arraignment for a misdemeanor charge...losing a birth certificate....allowing your original visa to elapse by even a day.
A foreign player that has been traded has 30 days to repetition before his visa expires. Those 30 days will be up long before the new CBA begins. So, every traded foreign player and every signed foreign FA will require a new visa. Since the teams have shut down all player related actions, most of those petitions will begin either at the start of the new CBA for players already traded or at the signing of every FA.
Assuming that nothing gets fouled up either in the US or in the players country....assuming that embassies are fully staffed...that players don't forget all their receipts and other papers (a petition can run to seventy pages of documents) ...assuming that transportation can be reasonably acquired...a best case scenario is a month, but lately, due to lack of staffing, it sometimes takes up to six weeks.
There are a lot of little pebbles that can get in the gears along the way...like unpaid speeding tickets...missing an arraignment for a misdemeanor charge...losing a birth certificate....allowing your original visa to elapse by even a day.
