Palestinian singer-songwriter Marwan Abdelhamid, better known by his stage name Saint Levant, has announced that he will be postponing his debut North American tour after experiencing “significant U.S. visa issues.”
On Tuesday, Abdelhamid said in a post on the social media platform Instagram that the US government had initially approved his visa application.
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However, as the tour dates approached, he explained that he was “unexpectedly” asked to submit to an additional background check.
“After speaking with my legal team and speaking with fellow Palestinians and Arabs who have had similar experiences, my team and I have made the difficult decision to postpone our concerts in North America until spring 2027, with the hope that the visa process will be completed by then,” he wrote.
The 41-date tour was set to be Abdelhamid’s biggest headline event to date. He would travel across North America, Europe and the Middle East, with stops in U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Brooklyn and Detroit.
However, the decision to postpone the North American leg of Abdelhamid’s tour comes as part of a growing trend of performers having to cancel or reschedule US-based events due to stricter immigration restrictions.
Since taking office for his second term, US President Donald Trump has taken several steps to restrict the entry of foreign nationals.
This includes suspending visa procedures for nationals of 75 countries, including Brazil, Afghanistan, Senegal, Uruguay and Thailand.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Janet Vargas ruled the policy illegal, finding it exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s responsibilities.
But the country is also seeking to cancel the visas of successful applicants, and in August following the court’s decision, it suspended visa bookings worldwide to allow for “thorough training” at consulates.
Some international artists, including musicians and comedians, are skipping U.S. tours entirely because of difficulties obtaining U.S. visas.
Some warn that visa hurdles can add costly legal fees to tour budgets, making them cost-prohibitive.
Tinariwen, a guitar band led by North African Tuareg people, was among the music groups whose tour plans were derailed by immigration changes.
The group’s manager told The New York Times earlier this year that many of its members are from Mali, which is on the visa ban list. The band had to cancel tour dates.
Mexican singer Diego Milan, known as Calle 24, also announced to his fans on social media in August that his tour dates in the United States would be canceled due to immigration issues.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond my control related to the unexpected cancellation of my U.S. work visa, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our upcoming performances in the U.S.,” Milan wrote.
He added that he has “the utmost respect for the law” and that his team is “actively working to resolve this issue.”
But critics have expressed concern that the United States is using immigration policy as a means to discriminate against certain groups or suppress views with which the government disagrees.
Under President Trump’s second term, the United States has sought to strip permanent resident visas and green cards from people who have spoken out in support of Palestinian rights.
Scholars and students like Mahmoud Khalil, a former Palestinian graduate student at Columbia University, are among the most high-profile cases. Members of the Palestinian Authority also had their US visas revoked.
In an executive order issued on the first day of his second term, President Trump announced that he would advance visa restrictions for “those who espouse hateful ideologies” and “those who exhibit hostile attitudes toward (U.S.) citizens” in order to protect the country.
Since then, Mr. Rubio has used the Immigration and Nationality Act to deport pro-Palestinian voices he says “could have a material negative foreign policy impact on the United States.”
But a judge said last week that the policy violates the U.S. Constitution’s right to free speech.
Abdelhamid was born in Jerusalem to a French-Algerian mother and a Serbian-Palestinian father. His music often documents the Palestinian experience, including through accounts of forced migration and oppression, while sharing his pride in his heritage.
His upcoming tour will promote his second album, “AFANDI,” which will be released on August 21st.
