OK here it is, I am pissed off with the USA I need help badly

[hussar]

I am a Brit guy living here in the USA, my best friend in the Universe who served with me in combat wanted to come and visit, trouble is he has a criminal conviction.

The guy is a brother to me and I miss him like crazy, his conviction which is spent in the UK is for attempted manslaughter, sounds bad I know but some guy was screwing his wife while he was in the army and he flipped.

He stabbed the guy but the guy lived and has no negative effects, I am not condoning what he did but shit he wants to come over and see us and has booked his flight but the US govt. (Bush Co.) willrefuse him entry. He will lose all the money he paid for his ticket, shit the guy is the nicest most considerate person you will ever want to meet. He has 2 jobs looks after his 2 boys and is a model citizen, damn it to hell he fucked up but one time and now has to pay( by US rules) for the rest of his life.

I can't begin to tell you guys how I feel about the way I feel about this country at the moment, I am hurt to the core, this is the guy who kept me sane when my beloved father died, this is the guy who kept me sane when my mother died 3 months later, I love the guy, like a brother.

I am hurting BIG, BIG time.

I hate what this fucked up goverment stands for.

I am drunk, forgive me

Your shit immigration won't let him in.

[Capn Sunshine]

1. Maybe he should change his ticket to a Canadian city

That border would probably be easier to cross, particularly at an isolated outpost....

That's what Al quaeda always does

:nuke:

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dweller]

7. Think about meeting him halfway

on neutral territory for everyone concerned. Even islands.
At least you'd have the opp't to see him and the 2 of you will share the vacation.

yeah, that scenario you described sux. Why is it that nobody gets a pass, but the *moron? He's never paid for any of his crimes, but damn the rest of us.

hope you can work it out.
dp

[dweller]

5. Your sympathy is noted

the comparison is crude.

dp

[SOteric]

2. This is one of the unfortunate

effects of allowing fear to dictate the policies of a country. I share your sense of outrage and anger.

I wonder if you could arrange to meet your old friend in Canada or Mexico and share a vacation together? It doesn't solve the greater issues of what's going on in the U.S., but at least you'd get to spend some time with your friend.

[proud patriot]

6. I think that a great idea

You could meet him in Canada or Mexico ...

[ForrestGump]

10. Cuba

As a Brit, you can go there....

It'd be kind of ironic to meet in Cuba given that he's being denied access to "The Land Of The Free."

And you can bet that, of the US government had a use for him, he'd be in to the US like a shot.

[hussar]

8. It is not the first time

I have a friend, she is the girlfriend of my ex bro-in-law who came over to LA to see "friends" who turned out to be repukes, she was detaind at the airport for overstaying her visa by 1 day 9 years ago.

They took her at gunpoint to interrogation for this terrible offence, I have never seen a perso cry so much ! she now hates the USA and will never, ever come back, kiss your tourist industry goodbye.

[JitterbugPerfume]

3. I am truly sorry

about your friend

[inthecorneroverhere]

9. Mexico or America del Sur

Mexico y America Central por ejemplo bonito pais de Guatemala (Cd. de Antigua es muy bonita y amable para extranjeros), or America del Sur, por ejemplo los bonitos paises de Peru, Brazil, Argentina, o Ecuador.

En Mexico hay bonitos y amables ciudades de Gaunajuato y San Miguel de Allende.

San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, or Belize are great places for English-speakers to hang, without being in the USA. The same is true of Antigua, Gt.

[punpirate]

11. Unfortunately, this is not just US immigration....

This sort of thing happens in other countries, too.

But, the suggestions about changing the ticket to a destination in Canada is a good one, but sneaking over the border to visit is not. My suggestion is to make arrangements to visit him in Canada, if he can change the ticket (that would be much cheaper than losing the ticket entirely), somewhere that's convenient to you. What will happen if he gets caught at the border is immediate deportation, at best, or held incommunicado, at worst.

Bernadette Devlin had a thirty-year-old conviction in GB, which I believe was eventually expunged, and when she arrived in Chicago a couple of months ago, she was manhandled and then put on a plane for Ireland. She wasn't coming for political purposes, just to attend a family function.

It's not a good situation, but it's not unique to this country. If you were to call your local British consulate, said, "I'm an American who would like to visit England, but I have a criminal record. Can I still get a visa?," my guess is that the answer would be no.

[ForrestGump]

14. It's cleaner up there, too, eh..........

Canada does have (well, has had) some rather enthusiastic immigration officers, but it'd be worth checking out....

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. But aren't Commonwealth countries easier on travelers

from other Commonwealth countries?

One of my former gentleman friends, an Australian, was initially denied entrance to the U.S. to take a teaching job because some comma was out of place on his papers or something, and the immigration authorities at SFO were about to put him on a plane back to Sydney when he asked whether he could be sent to Vancouver B.C. instead. They didn't care, as long as it was out of the U.S., so he went to Vancouver and stayed there while straightening out his visa situation at the U.S. consulate there.

He had no trouble whatsoever getting into Canada.

I'd be surprised if your friend was denied entry into Canada as a tourist.

But the U.S. is really tight-assed about immigration. Judging from some of the stories about immigration at Portland Airport, the INS is staffed by racists, ignoramuses, and control freaks. After some of the horror stories came out (e.g. nursing mother deported without her infant), the local director wrote to the Oregonian justifying his actions as part of the fight against the entry of terrorists and criminals.

[ForrestGump]

20. I've heard that Canada doesn't give Commonwealthians a break,

but maybe being one could make a difference. Things change, too, and what I've heard about Canada's immigration intricacies may be all yesterday's news. Can't possibly be any worse than the US'.

[DS1]

12. sober up and read this thoroughly

He might still be able to get in after all. Who knows..

Fellow Brit ex-pat (but getting the fuck outta here soon)

http://www.bcis.gov/lpBin/lpext.dll/inserts/slb/slb-1/slb-21/slb-2013?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm

[dweller]

13. That's getting in

and getting the fuckoutta here is easier?

the more i read the better it sounds some days.

dp

[DS1]

15. being a Brit

The hardest part leaving is picking which flight to take.

[dweller]

16. Got a spare trunk? n/t

[hussar]

24. don't want to sober up my friend

if you read my post further down this thread you wil see since the Bushistas have been illegaly in power things have gone from bad to worse.

His brother has a friend who had a minor "felony" and came to the good ole US of A thinking there was no problem, he was refused entry and sent back to England.

I gave up everything to come here just as Bush Co. were in their post 9/11 plan, never realised the way it would go, shit I've got a 9mm by my side, I am so pissed off, I hate this place, how the fuck can I admit defeat, sorry

[DS1]

25. unload the 9 mil and quit thinking about it

maybe you two can split the flight money and you can go visit him?

[hussar]

26. What the f**k it will be just another statistic

another "alien" for the US govt. to forget about...........I have lived abroad before, Germany,3 years, Switzerland 6 years, guess I'm a gipsy eh ?...........shit I guess I've f**ked up once too often.

Sorry mate, not your problem

[shugah]

17. how do you know entry will be refused?

i don't know what new restrictions are in place, but is providing a police record now necessary to visit the states? and how does customs check that?

maybe you could go see him there! :)

[Pert_UK]

18. How do US Customs / Immigration know about it?

IIRC, you don't apply in advance for the visa, you complete it on the plane. I believe that you are supposed to declare criminal convictions, but how do US Customs check this? If the crime is considered spent in the UK and he ticks the "no convictions" box, how would US Customs be able to check his expunged criminal record in the UK?

I'm not saying it's a sensible thing to do, but it might be worth considering.

P.

[hussar]

21. Apparently there is a bar code

don't ask me where but they scan this code and it brings up data from when you were born, I am considering the Canada option as I live in Oregon but if I go back to England I too have to go through a milion checks.

Please don't get me wrong, I love this country but some of the people are FUBAR, I am a combat vet of my own country and have a sense of pride, shit don't get me wrong folks, dad was Hungarian, mom was Swiss, I was born in England.

I feel like an outsider whichever way I turn but this guy is a true, true friend and has been for more than 25 years, he has stood by me through everything and now I am not allowed to seemy bro.

Sure I could go over to the UK but shit I gave up my home, my new car and a damn good job to come here, I love my wife but jobs are pretty hard to come by if you had'nt noticed.

[ForrestGump]

22. US passports have the bar code

But I don't know whether they can access anything beyond what's actually on the passport's ID page. A visit to the Frozen North might be in order, just in case (if they will actually not hassle him there).

[hussar]

23. from what I know the INS have an arrangement with the UK

regarding criminal info, it does not matter if your conviction is clear as his is, the UK govt. has to inform of any misdemeanor expired or not.

It is a sad situation when you feel you are free of your burden of shame to be beaten back into a corner.

[Tinoire]

27. HEY DUDE! Check your in-box my friend and fellow vet! n/t