kallipolis
Know thyself
I have copied a blog contribution from an Australian male, who has been forced out of Arizona, after many years of legal residency. He and his brother are now living as economic refugees in London, UK.
Do I have any reason to be suspicious of the contents of this blog entry?
I would appreciate a comment from those who are au fait with United States visa requirements etc.
I quote:
Some members have heard about my brother's and my frightening experience in Phoenix, Arizona last year when the economic situation turned the paranoid department of the US Govt., Homeland Security, over the top insane. R........ had his green card and I operated on an E2 Investor Visa, running our little entertainment business from our home, that we established legally 18 years ago. My Visa had to be renewed every two years and had previously always been routine, but as the financial institutions and General Motors floundered, panic ruled the US Govt. My Visa was terminated with a curt letter stating that "you have not earned sufficient money in the past two years. There is no appeal".
When I queried our Immigration Lawyer she said, "Of course, that's not true. You may appeal, but they will tie you up, with your business terminated, for months or even years until you surrender, by which time the lawyers will have all your money and you'll have nothing. By the way, you're not alone. Thousands of E2 Visa holders have been told to get out, right across the country, many of them employers of Americans who are now out of work." Our American friends and clients were shocked and couldn't believe what had happened to us.
That was not the principal shock. We found that our property was two thirds depreciated. All we could get for our home, including our excellent block of land, was $30,000, with a mortgage balance of $14,000 to pay.
R......had been in and out of hospital several times in the prior three years with three major surgeries, so we hadn't reached the income we had in previous years, but still had a liveable income until we were closed down. We were even charged for the privelege of closing the company. Then there was a mass sell-off of all the stuff we couldn't use elsewhere because of the different voltage, especially all the electrical goods from R.... sound studio. He recorded his own compositions that were great sellers in the music shops. Three weeks before our departure for London, R..... health crashed again and he was in hospital till three days before our flight. I had to arrange for our remaining cargo to be boxed and sent, while the endless yard sale continued to the bitter end.
Fortunately, as soon as we knew there was no thwarting Homeland Security, in August last year, I wrote to the Westminster City Council, (London, UK) who'd been our landlords when we lived in London 1975-85. The reply was with us in a week and our refugee status was put immediately in the pipeline. Emails and letters flowed almost weekly keeping us informed of our progress. We arrived in London a week before Christmas and spent £70 on a taxi to our hotel in Paddington. In less than a week we were transfered to a refugee hostel in Leyton East London where the Islamic owners of the nearest cyber cafe, and their Imam, took us under there care, advising us on where to go for anything we needed, while civil servants were in contact almost every day, as our housing application advanced. February 27th we moved into and slept in our flat at Lisson Green Estate where we lived before, with exactly the same floor plan. We're on the sixth floor with a grand view of almost the whole estate, just round the corner from Regent's Park and a ten minute bus ride to Selfridges, and a two minute walk to the local medical clinic.
My first purchase had been a wheelchair in which I could push R...... about, and we soon acquired a motorised chair, so he could get about by himself. Since then we've been given a number of bewildering benefits on top of our pensions, with free bus and train travel, free swimming at the local gym and many other privileges. The population of the Estate is at least a third Islamic folk from all over that troubled part of the world, many of them refugee interpreters and other helpers of the armed forces whose safety became untenable in their home countries. The Great Mosque is just round the corner at the edge of Regent's Park and friday midday sees a steady stream of folk headed to prayer. They are even more grateful than R.....and myself for the humane manner of care and help we've been given. Even our furniture came mostly from two charities, the British Heart Foundation and another just called Furnish. The only charge was a delivery fee.
The hurt over our expulsion after 18 years as US tax payers has at least been softened by the thoughtful welcome and acceptance we've been extended. We are officially in the eyes of the British Govt. Economic Refugees.
end
Do I have any reason to be suspicious of the contents of this blog entry?
I would appreciate a comment from those who are au fait with United States visa requirements etc.
I quote:
Some members have heard about my brother's and my frightening experience in Phoenix, Arizona last year when the economic situation turned the paranoid department of the US Govt., Homeland Security, over the top insane. R........ had his green card and I operated on an E2 Investor Visa, running our little entertainment business from our home, that we established legally 18 years ago. My Visa had to be renewed every two years and had previously always been routine, but as the financial institutions and General Motors floundered, panic ruled the US Govt. My Visa was terminated with a curt letter stating that "you have not earned sufficient money in the past two years. There is no appeal".
When I queried our Immigration Lawyer she said, "Of course, that's not true. You may appeal, but they will tie you up, with your business terminated, for months or even years until you surrender, by which time the lawyers will have all your money and you'll have nothing. By the way, you're not alone. Thousands of E2 Visa holders have been told to get out, right across the country, many of them employers of Americans who are now out of work." Our American friends and clients were shocked and couldn't believe what had happened to us.
That was not the principal shock. We found that our property was two thirds depreciated. All we could get for our home, including our excellent block of land, was $30,000, with a mortgage balance of $14,000 to pay.
R......had been in and out of hospital several times in the prior three years with three major surgeries, so we hadn't reached the income we had in previous years, but still had a liveable income until we were closed down. We were even charged for the privelege of closing the company. Then there was a mass sell-off of all the stuff we couldn't use elsewhere because of the different voltage, especially all the electrical goods from R.... sound studio. He recorded his own compositions that were great sellers in the music shops. Three weeks before our departure for London, R..... health crashed again and he was in hospital till three days before our flight. I had to arrange for our remaining cargo to be boxed and sent, while the endless yard sale continued to the bitter end.
Fortunately, as soon as we knew there was no thwarting Homeland Security, in August last year, I wrote to the Westminster City Council, (London, UK) who'd been our landlords when we lived in London 1975-85. The reply was with us in a week and our refugee status was put immediately in the pipeline. Emails and letters flowed almost weekly keeping us informed of our progress. We arrived in London a week before Christmas and spent £70 on a taxi to our hotel in Paddington. In less than a week we were transfered to a refugee hostel in Leyton East London where the Islamic owners of the nearest cyber cafe, and their Imam, took us under there care, advising us on where to go for anything we needed, while civil servants were in contact almost every day, as our housing application advanced. February 27th we moved into and slept in our flat at Lisson Green Estate where we lived before, with exactly the same floor plan. We're on the sixth floor with a grand view of almost the whole estate, just round the corner from Regent's Park and a ten minute bus ride to Selfridges, and a two minute walk to the local medical clinic.
My first purchase had been a wheelchair in which I could push R...... about, and we soon acquired a motorised chair, so he could get about by himself. Since then we've been given a number of bewildering benefits on top of our pensions, with free bus and train travel, free swimming at the local gym and many other privileges. The population of the Estate is at least a third Islamic folk from all over that troubled part of the world, many of them refugee interpreters and other helpers of the armed forces whose safety became untenable in their home countries. The Great Mosque is just round the corner at the edge of Regent's Park and friday midday sees a steady stream of folk headed to prayer. They are even more grateful than R.....and myself for the humane manner of care and help we've been given. Even our furniture came mostly from two charities, the British Heart Foundation and another just called Furnish. The only charge was a delivery fee.
The hurt over our expulsion after 18 years as US tax payers has at least been softened by the thoughtful welcome and acceptance we've been extended. We are officially in the eyes of the British Govt. Economic Refugees.
end
