The Viral Band Trying to Sing Its Way to a U.S. Visa

0:05There's a new boy band that's going viral on social media. They're called Boy Throb. This is Boy Throb. Boy Throb debuted on TikTok in November. Their vibe is lighthearted, and the boys are often decked out in a set of pink velour tracksuits. Think NSYNC meets K-pop, but on a smaller budget. We're the world's next biggest boy band, and we're gonna win a Grammy. There are four members, Evan Papier, Anthony Key, Zachary Sabania, and Dershan Magdoom. I'm Dershan. I'm stuck in India.

0:51This is one thing that really makes the band stand out. While three of the boy throbs dance in sunny California, the fourth one, Dershan, is pasted into their videos using a green screen. because he's in Mumbai, in India. We feel incomplete without Darshan. Our immigration lawyer told us we need 1 million followers in order for Darshan to be given a visa so he can sing and dance with us on U.S. soil. We'd really love to meet him. Will you help bring him to America by following us? To make their musical dreams come true, the band wants to get Darshan to the U.S. But for that, he needs a visa. And so they started singing about it.

1:30Here's our colleague Michelle Hackman, who covers immigration. And these days, boy bands. So this video comes out and like three people almost instantaneously text me this Instagram reel because I guess it's like peak Michelle content. Like it's really on the nose for me.

1:53And they're singing about the O-1 visa, which is like kind of a deep cut visa. It's not even the one that, like, most people know. And it's very accurate. Our petition's been submitted and is awaiting its review. USCIS will adjudicate in 15 business days. Adjudicate means formal judgment. We hope it goes our way. For someone who's, like, a huge immigration nerd, I was like, what? To schedule this can take a month, so while we wait we sing. And if all this goes according to a plan, he'll be here in the spring. I will be in America soon. Shreve, boy, drop.

2:30But actually getting Darshan stateside is not that simple. Because Boithrob needs to earn one big fan, the U.S. government.

2:44Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Monday, February 16th. We've got a lighter listen for the holiday weekend.

2:59Coming up on the show, Boy Throb's quest to bring Darshan to the U.S.

3:15This is the journal. Boythrob has its roots in a not-so-happy story of rejection that started with Evan Papier. I sat down with him and the rest of Boythrob last week. So I'm Evan Papier. I am from Rockville, Maryland. I am 23 years young and been doing music my whole life. I did American Idol back in season 20. I was not happy with my experience, to say the least. Needed someone to vent to. Evan didn't make the cut, so he reached out to another former American Idol hopeful, Anthony Key, on social media. Hi, I'm Anthony Key, and I am from Valparaiso, Indiana. Anthony had auditioned with a song by Korean boy band BTS.

4:11And he also got rejected. We both were looking for a pass forward in our careers of what to do next. And then we just started talking about music and we just started the idea of maybe we should make a group together. Anthony, when Evan told you his idea, what was your first thought? I'm like, maybe I should. Maybe we should start a group together. Maybe this is that yes and thing. Maybe, you know, I think we're, you know, great artists on our own, but imagine what we could do coming together. Evan and Anthony started looking for other singers to collaborate with. And Zachary Sabania kept popping up on their social feeds.

4:55I grew up in Minnesota. I have a background playing guitar. Like, I went to Berkeley for guitar. Aren't you in law school, too? Yeah, I am. You sound a lot less excited about that. Yeah, I mean, I feel like doing music is a more natural path for me. Zach had that low voice that we were really looking for to balance out all the different vocal parts of the group. Zach was on board. Now, the band just needed a fourth member, a countertenor, to round out the quartet. And then they find this guy, Darshan, who lives in India. He's in Mumbai. Hi, I'm Darshan Makhdoom, and I'm currently in India, and I'm trying to join my boyfriend in America.

5:38And he's kind of like a similar vibe to these guys, like dances in a similar way. And they were like, we really liked his voice. And Darshan, I've learned, is like actually pretty famous in India. TikTok famous. You know, he's famous for his sort of singing covers, his dances. Darshan has nearly 140 ,000 followers on TikTok and more than 800 ,000 on Instagram. He's even been in commercials, like this catchy ad for KFC. Oh, hi, it's me, Darshan C. Yeah, I sing English in the... When I'm on top, you see me pulling a pixels in 1080p. The KFC epic savers. Nine pieces for$2.99? Darshan, you know, when these guys came to you, what went through your mind?

6:29I mean, at first I was like, is this real? But then we all got into one call and then, yeah, we figured out like, this is it. This is mean for me and for everyone. For the rest of you guys, what is it about Darshan that made you think, you know, this is the guy, this is our fourth? Oh, well, first of all, he's so darn cute. I mean, look at him. I can't argue that. Thank you. Yeah, man. When we saw Darshan, you know, we've seen that he's killing it in India. You know, he's sweet. He's very successful in India. Imagine what he can do, you know, here with us. But it was just like one little problem.

7:16Darshan doesn't have a visa to get to America. That problem didn't stop the rest of the band. They got themselves an immigration lawyer who told them that the more famous they were as a band, the better their chances would be to get Darshan a visa. The lawyer they consulted said, well, it would be really great if you had a million followers on TikTok because that would show you guys are like, real deal. You're really viral. So Boythrob, a name their fans came up with, by the way, started posting more videos. And they decided that they wouldn't hide the fact that Darshan was stuck outside the U.S.

7:50Instead, they would make it a part of their story. Oh, I like Darshan in the U.S.A. Oh, I need him here by New Year's Day. It's the way Boy Throb can stay in L.A. Why did you choose to put this immigration challenge front and center? I think the creativity aspect of it, like it's a new side for people to see of the artists. We wanted to show our experience of creating this band, but also navigating this journey through this process that is a very tough thing to do in this day and age, in this country right now. What it will take for Boithrop to get a visa for Darshan is next.

8:51Darshan, when you realized, when you understood that, you know, coming here meant you would have to apply for a visa, what went through your mind? Did it feel like a big challenge? I mean, at first, it felt like a challenge. But after we posted our first video and the amount of love, support we got, then it felt easier, much easier. Getting their fans on board is one thing, but the U.S. government is another. Because aspiring boy band member is kind of a tricky category for getting a visa that would let Darshan come to the U.S. to work. Darshan can't just come here. I mean, he needs approval from the U.S.

9:34government. And all the avenues that we think of, he doesn't really fit into a lot of the regular categories. He can't work on a tourist visa, and he can't get the more common H-1B visa for foreign professionals. That often requires a U.S. company, the applicant's employer, to sponsor them. That left the O-1 visa. Which is for people with extraordinary ability, either sort of in the sciences or in the arts, people call it the Einstein visa. Which is like, not, Einstein visa is not what I think of when I think of boy bands. Yeah, exactly. Let me put it in perspective. The O-1 visa is for Olympic athletes.

10:14It's for people who win major scientific prizes, very decorated authors. So that's kind of how selective we're talking. And so that word extraordinary, is that a key piece of the O-1 visa? Definitely. That is the metric. You have to prove that you're extraordinary. And you have to actually find evidence that's quantifiable, that's objective, that you're extraordinary.

10:43For a scientist, research papers and university grants could prove that they're extraordinary. For an athlete, an Olympic gold medal might do the trick. An author might give immigration officers book reviews to look over. But for Boithrob, and for artists in general, lawyers have to get creative. They have to find sort of these objective third-party metrics. For example, you know, have you exhibited your artwork at this, you know, well-known fancy gallery? Are you getting write-ups in places that you can't pay for, like the Wall Street Journal that are independent arbiters of how good you are?

11:17Have you seen other cases of influencers or people who are internet famous trying to apply for O-1 visas? I mean, one kind of funny case is that a lot of OnlyFans stars are using the O-1 process and arguing that they're extraordinary because of how much they're getting paid, how many fans they have on OnlyFans. That is unusual. Not something I ever thought I would be talking about at work. I mean, could this redefine what extraordinary ability means? I definitely think that there's a broadening going on here, that we have to think about art in sort of new ways. In some ways, it's really fun to think about, like, you know, what counts as art, what counts as worthy.

12:04The way U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services puts it on its website, applicants have to, quote, demonstrate extraordinary ability by sustained national or international acclaim. For Boythrob, that basically means they need to make it big. And the band's been working on it. Boythrob has grown its social media following to more than a million on TikTok. In the past few months, they've been featured in outlets like Teen Vogue, Cosmo, and yes, The Wall Street Journal. Actually, it's possible that an immigration officer is listening to this podcast right now, so hi there. The band also released a single called Finger.

12:45Can you punch your finger my way? They're also getting attention from establishment forces in entertainment. Earlier this month, the three American boy throbbers attended the Grammys. Evan posted about it on his TikTok. At my first Grammys, can't believe this is life. Like, what the heck is happening? And a few days after the Grammys, they sang the national anthem at an L.A. Kings hockey game. Please welcome boy throbbers.

13:18We did a performance at the LA Kings game of the National Anthem that we hope put doubts in anyone's mind that we're wondering if we're serious or not.

13:34That we are an actual band. We actually can perform, we can sing, we can dance. We have talent behind us, and I think it will let people see us in more of a serious light, including in that visa aspect.

13:51And Darshan will just be that cherry on top.

14:06Darshan's visa application has been with USCIS since December. A brand deal with the graphic design tool Canva covered that fee. Altogether, the whole visa process can cost thousands of dollars. Are you expecting to hear back from USCIS anytime soon? Yes, we have submitted, and we'll find out by the end of this month. Do you think it'll be enough? It's a start. We hope it will be enough, but we're just going to keep going. I think that when it came to this idea, this band is not just like us being a band to try singing all together. It's also like a movement in some way to like let people come and spread their joy if they don't live in this area.

14:51There's nothing wrong with that. And I think that we know there was an obstacle there with Arshan being across the world. But we know that people would rally behind us and help him get here because of how amazing it would be when we're all together and finally able to sing in unison. As they wait, the four band members will continue to collaborate remotely and put out music, like a song to the State Department.

15:27And later this week, Boy Throb is releasing a new single. Can you guys sing a sample of the new single? Just like a little teaser. Is that allowed? Do you know?

16:06That's all for today, Monday, February 16th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal. The theme music for this episode was remixed by Peter Leonard. If you like our show, follow us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. We're out every weekday afternoon.

16:27Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.