Kat_Brack wrote:
,,,what exactly is an agency looking for? (Specifically in Toronto)

Kat ICON has Open Calls on Tuesday and Thursday 3-6pm

Now the not so good news...  16 year olds are in high demand... and for compelling reasons...
you may be swimming upstream...

There are many polite ways for agencies to say "not interested"
Which actually may have no relevance to their agendas and/or commercial realities...
What I'm trying to say is don't place much credence on here-say...

Kat_Brack wrote:
What the heck else does an agency want?

In all honesty, if you bring them a high end client, they will greet you with open arms... this is a business Kat

All the best on your journey

KTagliamburis wrote:
Is it okay for us to post SCOUTING  on the forums? I know a manager who's looking for new models both male and female. This is a ligit business where your career is taken to new heights very quickly. No money involved from the models. It's a serious established company...
Just wondering if I can me messaged for the information so that I can pass it on to any interested models who are willing to travel out of the country...

No. Because then we would have all kinds of shills and accounts trying to scam people.

True or not, unfortunately there are too many "absolutely real" scouts and "managers" who don't know beans. Clueless newbies don't have a snowball's chance in hell understanding what is real and what is not. We have enough problems trying to keep the fakes out.

Already there are two red flags in your comment. "out of country" is not a good thing for beginners - who tend to make no money or worse, end up in debt.

Leonard Gee Photography wrote:
Already there are two red flags in your comment. "out of country" is not a good thing for beginners - who tend to make no money or worse, end up in debt.

Actually it's worse... a model could be arrested for violation of an off shore country's vista/work permit policies... sadly it happens...

Same with talent coming to the US to model... great if they are doing it pro bono... but the instant they work for hire they need to have INS credentials to do so... believe fashion models still are in the H1B program albeit I've heard noise about including them in the 01 program (like athletes).  The traditional route here is through an agency who obtains the H1B status on their behalf...

Like everything else... everything changes when money is involved... btw, if you are a photographer shooting a model who is traveling in the US without a green card and/or H1B status for pay then you may indeed be in violation of the INS...   enough said...

Here is the  Here is the State Department description of what it takes to qualify for H-1B3 Fashion Model:

State Department wrote:
H-1B3 Fashion Model
The H-1B3 category applies to a fashion model who is nationally or internationally recognized for achievements, to be employed in a position requiring someone of distinguished merit and ability.

Petition Document Requirements
The petition (Form I-129) should be filed by the U.S. employer with:

        A certified labor condition application from the Department of Labor;
        Copies of evidence establishing that the alien is nationally or internationally recognized in the field of fashion modeling. The evidence must include at least two of the following types of documentation which show that the person:
            Has achieved national or international recognition in his or her field as evidenced by major newspaper, trade journals, magazines or other published material;
            Has performed and will perform services as fashion model for employers with a distinguished reputation;
            Has received recognition for significant achievements from organizations, critics, fashion houses, modeling agencies or other recognized experts in the field; and
            Commands a high salary or other substantial remuneration for services, as shown by contracts or other reliable evidence.
        Copies of evidence establishing that the services to be performed require a fashion model of distinguished merit and ability and either:
            Involve an event or production which has a distinguished reputation; or
            The services are as participant for an organization or establishment that has a distinguished reputation or record of employing persons of distinguished merit and ability.

To show “recognition” in the field of modeling you need to show several (from 12 to 20 or so) significant fashion tearsheets.  Frequently models will work in Europe or Asia to get fashion jobs which will qualify them for a visa.

You need to have a sponsoring fashion agency in the US which, in effect, holds your visa.  For this purpose the fashion agency is considered the “employer” even though that is not generally true for other purposes under US law.

You need to pay a filing fee (in addition to legal costs) which, with special processing, can be in the thousands of dollars.

The H-1B (of which the H-1B3 is a part) is widely used by corporations to bring in experts to assist in the US economy. In FY2001, 2002 and 2003 there was a cap of 195,000 H-1B Visas allowed. In part in reaction to Homeland Security concerns, that number was cut to about a third of that in FY2004 and beyond. The effect was that all of the 2004 H-1B visas had been given out by February, 2004, and the 2005 H1B visas were all gone in the first few days of October 2004.

btw, Only 65,000 H1B visas were authorized for fiscal year 2010... unable to find current numbers... but it's obvious that it's not easy to obtain H1B status