They let me back in... but only until the end of Feb.

[Spiderman]

Formerly titled: "Why I won't be at the banquet, or racing, or even around..."
Update in post dated 2/12

I left the U.S. to attend my brothers wedding last week. When I tried to come back home yesterday, I was informed that my visa was no longer valid, and I was refused entry into the U.S., so I'm stuck in Canada now.

When I lost my job, it turns out that I had 10 days to get my affairs in order and leave the country. It doesn't matter that I lost my job while I was in a coma, or that I was still in the hospital when that 10 day limit was reached. At the very least, Immigration should have been informed of the situation. Joe and/or Ralph did some checking, and were incorrectly informed that I had 1 year before I had to leave, so it turns out I've been living in the US illegally for the past 4 months. As a result, Immigration won't even let me back in as a visitor (so I can get my affairs in order, pack up & drive my stuff back to Canada) because they don't trust that I'll leave. In order to come back as a visitor, they want me to prove that I've established ties to Canada (have a regular paycheck coming in; have bank accounts; show that I'm paying rent somewhere; etc.), so that would take a few months at the very least.

The worst part is that I'm stuck with no car, and only a weeks worth of clothes, very little of it suitable for a work environment, let alone job interviews, :? and they only way I can get my stuff now, is to either hire a company to pack it all up for me & move it, or have somebody pack it for me & drive it up to me.

I'm not looking for help - I've already gotten offers from the few people I've told. Joe is going to be shipping me some clothes & stuff for the short-term. And I'm not looking to start any drama - I just included all the details because these are things that had to be explained to the few people I've told.

I might be able to get back in if I had a valid work visa once again, but not being allowed into the U.S. might hinder the interview process...

Anyway, I'm not saying goodbye or anything (at least not yet), just wanted to let my friends know what was going on.

Thanks :|

[turbohoje]

holy $h!t

[dragos13]

Damn Bob, that is messed up. I know you said you have everything covered, but if there is any way I can help, let me know. Good luck bro, hurry back to the US.

[glenngsxr]

Would it help if someone hooked him up with a Valid work visa? How hard is that to do? Glenn #62

[cosp600rr]

dude that totally sucks. Good luck with everything

[Spiderman]

Would it help if someone hooked him up with a Valid work visa? How hard is that to do? Glenn #62

That would definitely help, but not very easy to do. I'm a computer programmer/analyst by trade & the job has to be something I'm qualified for. Also, it's more difficult for smaller companies to sponsor a foreign national than it is for larger firms.

Thanks for the thought tho. 8)

[bluedevil]

Dood... I have a lump in my throat over this... Im sorry to hear of this misfortune...

Are there any options? or only getting a job here in your field (with out an in person interview) ?????

[KipBook]

I'm sorry to here that dude, it sucks. If there was anything I could do I would. Keep in touch please!

[Wild Cheetah 612]

Awwwwww, Spidey!! That bites! If I can help in any way, let me know!

[nobasin]

people should think about the reason something so unbelievable could happen. (not that i know what it is) it's nothing short of catch-22-like bureaucratic idiocy. that our own government could be so myopic, to a canadian citizen nonetheless is shameful. there's nothing wrong with having secure yet open borders and appropriate policies in place to monitor who's coming into the country, but when academics, theologians, regular dudes, MRA racers and the like have shit like this happen to them with little recourse to correct the obvious problem how can you not get angry and say WTF?

US GOV'T: "sorry, we can't let you back in, your work visa expired after you lost your job after your horrific accident."

CANADIAN CITIZEN: "but i was in a coma, fighting for my life."

US GOV'T: "that's not really our problem."....."next...."

[froth]

US GOV'T: "sorry, we can't let you back in, your work visa expired after you lost your job after your horrific accident."

CANADIAN CITIZEN: "but i was in a coma, fighting for my life."

US GOV'T: "that's not really our problem."....."next...."

Illegal Alien: "I'm here to have an anchor baby, and get lots of free things the Canadian Citizen paid US taxes for but didn't recieve."

US Govt: Come on in.

[polar x]

Spidey contact me via PM. I can help you with shipping and transportation. :cry: :cry:

[JimWilson29]

Would it help if someone hooked him up with a Valid work visa? How hard is that to do? Glenn #62


If he were coming from the other border he wouldnt need one.

[420]

Dayum Bob!!!!! :shock: Let me know if you need anything, meng! I have buddies in Toronto that could help get stuff over the border for you if we drove there (I have no passport)

[1ofTheBoys]

Bob,

Your post was so hard to read. I'm sorry to hear this. What part of Canada are you in? My company has quite a few offices in Canada and I know the the top people up there. If we can get you working for the company and then transfer you to our Colorado offices.....I will call our Canada office and see what I can do.

PM me with your contact information and any other information I may need.

[Spiderman]

Thanks everyone.

Are there any options? or only getting a job here in your field (with out an in person interview) ?????I'm trying to find that out. I have an 8AM phone call tomorrow morning with an immigration attorney that specializes in this type of thing.


Spidey contact me via PM. I can help you with shipping and transportation. :cry: :cry:PM sent. Thanks :cry:


Let me know if you need anything, meng! I have buddies in Toronto that could help get stuff over the border for you if we drove there (I have no passport)Thanks, I'll keep it in mind.


What part of Canada are you in? My company has quite a few offices in Canada and I know the the top people up there. If we can get you working for the company and then transfer you to our Colorado offices.....I will call our Canada office and see what I can do.

PM me with your contact information and any other information I may need.Thanks Sheila! PM sent. I really hope something pans out soon!

[clowe]

Bob,

I think we have a position open that you might fit here at my company. Can you email me your resume and I will see what I can do? Feel free to also PM me or call me.
clowe@meetingone.com.

Thanks,

Crash

[Spiderman]

Thanks Crash! Email sent! 8)

[T Baggins]

...I have no passport

Boy, there's the shocker of the year! :shock:

[Spiderman]

UPDATE...

After speaking to an immigration attorney, I decided to try having a friend drive me across the border (he only lives an hour away), so I could plead my case to an immigration officer there. If I got in, he would take me to Plattsburgh, where I would catch a bus to New York city, then jump on a plane back to Denver. If I didn't get in, I'd have a ride back "home".

It was a long and stressful wait at the border, but as luck would have it, I was fortunate enough to be assigned to an immigration officer, who, perhaps because he was a (former?) motorcyclist, was sympathetic, and gave me until March 1st to get my things in order, pack up, & drive my stuff back to Canada.... or find a job. After 28 or so hours of driving, waiting, bussing, waiting some more, & flying, I got into Denver yesterday evening.

I have a lot of stuff to do in a short period of time, but I should be at the General Meeting tomorrow night.

[Hotrod]

Sweet! Welcome back! :D We aint gonna let you out of the country again!

[420]

Speak for yourself, I hate canadians!!! :x

[froth]

Yeah! To quote the Prophets Stone and Parker. "Blame Canada!" Better watch out for "Team America, World Police." They'll come for you tonight!!!

Seriously, though, Teri and I are looking forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Any luck with the job search???

[Spiderman]

Any luck with the job search???Nothing yet, :| tho I would like thank those individuals that are trying to help me in this matter.

[Wild Cheetah 612]

What do you do, Spidey? Sorry if I knew before, but I do have brain damage, so remembering is not my forte.

[Spiderman]

I'm a computer programmer/analyst... but I need to find a company that's willing to sponsor me for a visa too... that's the tricky part.

[glenngsxr]

Bob, why don't you go take the test and get dual citizenship? Glenn #62

[dave.gallant]

I'm a computer programmer/analyst... but I need to find a company that's willing to sponsor me for a visa too... that's the tricky part.

You might want to add a bit of description for everyone so they know what your programming language background is. Someone might be dying for a Cobol programmer but not know if you know it.

Or, Lisp? Pascal!!

You get the idea. :)

[Spiderman]

Thanks Dave, good idea. I just figured anybody wanting to know more would ask.

In reverse chronological order:

2001-2007 - Java (J2EE - Servlets/EJB/WAR), Weblogic, XML/XSLT
1993-2000 - Speedware/4GL & Autobahn
1989-1992 - Cognos Powerhouse, Cobol

[uberwench]

Well, Bob, here's what I got for you. I went to our COO (as high as I could go here in Denver - the rest of the muckety-mucks are in San Francisco) to see if they'd be up for sponsoring your visa. Problem is we're all about C# and .NET and there's no love for Java fellas here.

-however-

our COO is also an attorney and he thought your best solution would be to get married to a US citizen, fast, before 3/1/08. If the pool of available women doesn't suit you, both Hawaii and Massachusetts offer civil unions of same-sex couples that are recognized by the respective states and therefore by the federal government in matters such as immigration.

I see several of the (single) guys here saying "if there's anything I can do" - and I'm thinking if you offer an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii (who wants to go to Massachusetts, really?) for a destination wedding, there's got to be one fella out there who'd take one for the team, so to speak.

Right, guys? 00--00

Sorry, man, it's the best I got.

Margaret

[froth]

Jeeze, the things I've got to do around here to make sure things get done. If it isn't trying to keep my friends riding, now I've got to get married to a Canadian! Can we at least use the song from the South Park movie, "Blame Canada?" Will John Kerry or Ms. Clinton officiate? And for pete's sake, Bob, do you eat a breathmint at night before bed? teri and I are getting married this spring/summer, so this had better get your narrow ass legal here, so we can get it annulled in time to marry myh ultra hot fiance!

Seriously, Bob. I'm keeping my ear to the ground. Not too many things going on in the world of hardwood flooring, but I'm still poking around.

Cheers-

[Spiderman]

:lol:

Thanks for checking, Margaret.

Unfortunately, getting married isn't even an option - my divorce (to my Canadian wife) isn't final yet.


there's got to be one fella out there who'd take one for the team :-(0)