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 When I tried to come back home yesterday, I was informed that my visa was no longer valid, and I was refused entry into the U.S., so I'm stuck in Canada now.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