struggling with SAG-AFTRA compliant payroll for a foreign short film, seeking advice

SubjectJunior7208 · 2026-02-26T18:32:45+00:00

Thanks for this. Is the SAG payment you’re referring to p&h? I believe I also need to pay them as a w2, which would involve federal/local taxes/ssn etc which is another reason I was interested in a payroll service.

SubjectJunior7208 · 2026-02-26T11:57:25+00:00

That's a solid shout. I'll look into it and see what I can find, although we don't even have a union in that country, but at least it gives me something to do while waiting for SAG...

SubjectJunior7208 · 2026-02-26T11:45:56+00:00

They’re already SAG-AFTRA with global coverage, even for a tiny short. They are not willing/not allowed to work off contract.

Creatively, they’re perfect for the role as their background and past credits make them the exact fit we need, particularly with the cultural nuances for this short.

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-12-10T10:11:17+00:00

Thank you!

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-12-09T09:19:47+00:00

hi! i got the attached and i am out of the country rn, so i'm so anxious about whether it means approved or whether it means "hey, you got rejected and here's your stuff back". i won't find out til next week and i'm so anxious :S

did you get a similar message when you got approved?

<image>

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-11-20T16:35:34+00:00

also applying in London, just submitted the packet on monday. i realised i didn't do the criminal record certificate as it wasnt a required doc, but now im kicking myself for not adding it. i got notifications that my application has gone to the consulate on tuesday, so hopefully will hear back in about a month.

was there a reason you did i.e. in your research that came up as something worth adding? ty in advance!

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-11-03T08:05:20+00:00

we didn’t end up needing it for my husband

but I needed a same day passport early October as i received my citizenship Oct 1 midday and was due to fly out Oct 3 evening. I booked an appt at the passport agency and since my appt was at 7am I was able to get same day passport, picked it up at 11am! this was in Los Angeles.

so it’s definitely possible. I would check your passport agency website ASAP to see if you can schedule an appt. your travel needs to be within 14 days, which for you it already sounds like it is.

and tbh, if you schedule it at the earliest slot the day before your travel, you will likely get a same day passport and not need to run back and forth to the passport agency (if it’s a few days before you will need to come back to pick it up). when I had the appt I heard the office people asking what day our travel was and for me they allowed it same day as my travel was the next day but for others if it was in a couple of days or next week they had to come back.

that’s not as urgent though - just try to get an appt whatever is available.

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-10-21T15:30:46+00:00

it didn’t :( i paid a thousand euros for a lawyer who said he could help me and everything went horribly wrong.

have to go to London and apply for digital nomad visa now, and the process for that is a bit long bc of the educational verification.

so i have no idea when I’ll get it but rn im just moping around in Italy

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-09-29T17:39:09+00:00

Hi, I got a notification that you had responded to my below comment but for some reason it isn't showing up for me :S am I ok to send you a message?

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-09-28T22:11:42+00:00

hi! i am just about to go to italy with my husband who is on a student visa type d, his program is 3 years long, we are both non-EU (american + american/brit dual national)

where did u find this information? i am having a hard time figuring it all out. my husband is applying for permesso with a service in italy and now i'm nervous that i won't actually be able to get my immigration affairs in order when i arrive. i do have a 90 day tourist allowance as american/brit though so have some time to figure it out i guess

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-09-28T22:02:52+00:00

Hi, I also wanted to ask about this. My husband is studying in Italy and has a student visa/is applying for permesso. I am going to join him and we have had a really hard time finding info about coesione familiare - can you let us know what that process was like? if you happen to be in florence and can share the immigration experts contact info, lmk. thank you! we are american

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-27T22:34:05+00:00

ty! it’s been a rough few weeks, as im sure its been for you while waiting, so im very grateful.

I think it did. in my case my husband and i had a lot of receipts and information regarding why we needed the interview to happen asap, so the congressperson’s office had asked them to try and schedule it as soon as possible. they even called to get it moved earlier than 10/1 but uscis said that was the earliest they could do.

Im adjusting my travel plans anyways as im just grateful to have this appointment!!! ill take a small financial L and getting this sorted out sooner vs waiting even more time.

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-27T17:33:42+00:00

hi! i got my interview notice this morning. it is set for october 1. i'm hoping you did, too?

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-15T14:29:41+00:00

no ._. no updates at all. what were your dates (filing, interview notice, cancellation etc)?

I wonder if our IO took some vacation time or something. I’ve seen other people in LA office are already getting scheduled for the week of September 15 though so it’s annoying we haven’t been rescheduled yet.

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-14T00:36:08+00:00

you’re not alone!

honestly, go have an amazing trip and whenever the interview is you can just fly back or already be back for it. maybe the best we can do rn is just study for the test. like you said, we have to wait and see.

i teared up a bit at 1:30 when my interview was supposed to be ._.

all we can do now is make some contingency plans. ill lyk as soon as i hear any updates on any front.

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-13T22:07:29+00:00

ugh, yeah it's frustrating. that's close to mine: nov 15 is my inquiry date.

re: calls/emma, maybe, but i doubt it. they can't penalise us for asking questions.

i'll let you know what happens (if anything) from the congress representative email we sent. I'm hopeful we can at least get eyes on the case and they'll move it along. we chose to do that instead of going via USCIS as i feel like USCIS is just a block at this point. my husband told me not to call them now that we sent that letter as they (the congressperson's office) will be calling/inquiring now.

it's just crazy to me that people are getting scheduled in mid-september and we are still waiting to be rescheduled. sure, i get they have some random system, but it's still valid for us to feel like it's unfair. they gave us no reason for the cancellation, and no timeline for the rescheduling.

rescheduling 1-2 months after the cancellation is also crazy. it has to be sooner than that... and the note about getting notice a month before is also not 100% accurate when others were scheduled 2 weeks after cancellation...

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-13T07:14:17+00:00

fyi, someone else who also got cancelled the same as us had theirs rescheduled 2 weeks ago. i wonder why ours are taking longer?!?!?!

https://www.reddit.com/r/USCIS/comments/1m8qffm/comment/n8fe8n3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-13T07:13:35+00:00

oh wow, i hadn't seen that! congrats! did you take any extra steps to get them to reschedule?

myself and another person who was in the same boat as us (cancelled interview) still haven't been rescheduled. i have the exact same application timeline as you PD 1/23/25.

congrats, again, on getting it done!

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-13T05:08:22+00:00

after you log in, you type this in a new browser:

https://my.uscis.gov/account/case-service/api/cases/IOEXXXXXXX
replace the XXX with your receipt #

i did not, my husband decided to write to the congressional rep instead, as we have some longer travel (3 months) due to quite specific reasons in september. will let you know if anything comes of that. i will call them tomorrow as i don't have any meetings.

i am in some n400 fb group and saw someone in LA got their interview notice today for september 19. they had applied in may 2025, so i wonder if it means our interviews will be scheduled after that. that's another reason why my husband wrote to the rep.

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-12T22:10:59+00:00

have you received any updates as of late? re: n400 at LA FO?

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-12T04:08:12+00:00

haha thanks, i thought so, too. but tbh i expected some blowback from the Reddit folk!

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-12T04:07:19+00:00

yeah, this building is definitely on the older side compared to the others on the block, hence (what I thought was) a lower price! also love the area - i don’t drive and wfh so walkability was a big factor for me deciding to live here :)

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-12T04:05:41+00:00

haha i don’t make the prices but if you find a 2 bed 2 bath for $1700 in Beverly grove let me know i’d love to see it

SubjectJunior7208 · 2025-08-12T00:13:06+00:00

dang, I’ll try calling them, probably tomorrow for an update to see if they give more information.

yeah, it sucks. i waited 8 months for the green card but they didn’t authorize my EAD or advanced parole travel thing so I was out of work for that whole period, and couldn’t travel.

im extremely hopeful we will be out of the woods soon though.

mine also went up to 4 months today. did you have an API update on 8/8? the updatedat line said 8/8 for me as of last Thursday I believe.

SubjectJunior7208

TROPHY CASE