Coming Up for Air

~ Cheryl

Hi folks,

I am currently back in the UK and trying to sort out the various disasters that have been caused by my being unable to enter the USA. It is a long job, but I think I’m through all the important email now so here’s a status update.

1. Thank you so much for all of the messages of support.

2. Contrary to much of the speculation, this has little to do with anti-terror legislation and the like. It has been caused mainly by the fact that US immigration is the provenance of two separate government organizations — the State Department and Customs & Border Patrol — and in my case they don’t appear to have communicated very well.

3. As I result I appear to have inadvertently contravened the regulations, and therefore I will never again be able to use the visa waiver program. Nothing can be done about this.

4. The chances of my getting a visa are approximately equal to my chances of winning a lottery, because at my age, with my job skills, being able to invest a substantial amount of money in the US is the only way I am likely to get a visa. Just like any other country, the US grants visas to people who will be good for their economy, not for other reasons.

5. I would like to thank the two CBP officers who dealt with my case. They were particularly understanding, and it can’t have been easy for them to deal with someone who was in floods of tears much of the time. They are not to blame for this mess – they had no choice but to deport me.

6. Online outrage, letter writing campaigns and the like will not have any positive effect on my situation, so please don’t waste your time and energy.

7. The knock-on effect of this is unclear, but judging from the scowl and furious typing that greeted my arrival at passport control in the UK my status as an international criminal is already attached to my passport number and winging its way around the world. I don’t think this will stop me traveling in Europe, but it may mean that I am unable to visit New Zealand or Australia without a full-blown visa, which will make the Worldcon trip vastly more expensive and complicated.

8. Various people have been asking what they can do to help. As far as the US stuff goes, unless you happen to have the President’s private phone number there’s probably nothing you can do. However, I am currently homeless. I have places I can go in the short term, but I do need a long-term fix for this so recommendations as to places to live in the UK would be appreciated. The chances are I will be unable to rent anywhere in my own right. I am also going to need help with various sfnal projects that I have underway and will now be unable to run as effectively because I can’t travel, but that’s a subject for another post.

Update: I now have somewhere to stay for the next week, which is a big relief. I can now start looking at a more long-term solution.

Also please note that I don’t need money. Or rather, I need money in much larger quantities than you kind folks could possibly supply, so I’m not asking for anything other than suggestions as to where I can rent crash space.

90 thoughts on “Coming Up for Air”

  3. You know I have a room if you need it. I’m not in the UK but it is there.

    I know longer know much about visas but I was able to get a holiday visa to the USA as an unemployed irish student between courses in the years before the USA and Ireland went with the visa waiver – the visa was for a short period and I had to have my return ticket purchased in advance I think.

    But by now you could probably write the book on the subject so I will shut up.

    Hugs

  4. Cheryl. My deepest sympathy. What a mess. Bureaucracy is such a hassle.

    Not living in the UK I can’t help you with accommodation but I can spread the word.

    I’ll be in the UK in about 10 days for World Horror Convention and all the way through to Eastercon, and maybe I’ll see you around then (I’m sure those events are not high on your agenda right now!).

    Big hug.

  5. Cheryl, you got a Paypal account? Let me send just a little bit of moolah towards getting-restarted fund

    so horrid – so sorry read of this

    xxxxxxxxxx Deborah, plus Tad too

  6. This is horrifying!!! Cheryl, I am so sorry and really pissed at the mis-communication of everyone. I will see what i can do.

      1. I am sticking to quotations, since that seems likeliest not to violate point six.

  9. Really sorry to hear all of this, Cheryl. I wish we lived in the UK so we could offer you a place to stay.

    Jeff

  11. I’ll keep an ear out for places you might be able to stay. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help 🙂

        1. Though straight away I’ll say that Southmead, Hartcliffe, Easton and St Pauls are best avoided, and Redland is pricey. Do you need good transport links?

  12. That sucks, Cheryl. Sorry to hear you had that situation. Hope you are able to travel internationally in the future. I think Deborah’s suggestion of setting up a PayPal account is a good idea.

  16. Virtual hugs — you have always been a delight to speak with f2f at Worldcons. I’ll still read whatever you write, but know that homelessness hardly promotes writing, nor any rational economy. Once again, I am shamed at the incompetence of agencies of the government of my native country. I deeply wish for you to succeed!

  17. Hello,

    I’m living on the south coast of Cornwall, in a town called Penryn, which may be out of the way (5 hour train ride from London), but it’s beautiful, very cheap grocery-wise, and I have a couch on which you could crash at least until May — at which point I’m vacating this place and you could take it, if you can afford 365 GBP a month all-inclusive (although I think it might actually be half that for the summer). E-mail me if you want any other details: amalmohtar at gmail dot com

    Passing this on, and wishing you the very best of luck with this,

    Amal

  18. My gods, Cheryl, that’s just awful. I am truly sorry to hear you’re faced with this mess. I hope you are able to find your way back onto your feet, which is about all I can do from here in California.

  19. I am absolutely heartbroken for you and yours right now. I’ve boosted the signal on Twitter (courtesy of @RenovationSF who saw this before I did), and will continue to pray for a happy ending.

  21. So sorry to hear this Cheryl. Wish I could point you in the direction of a place to stay. Good luck with the search. Hopefully someone will come through.

  22. Cheryl, I read about your ordeal in a facebook post from Dave Langford. Sometimes i read posts about people being denied entry and I shrug my shoulders. Yours however is getting very close to me, since we had some good talks at conventions I see you as a friend.

    Since I am in The Netherlands it is a bit far for a couch to crash on. However if you are in the neighborhood, there is a bed for you always.

    Nico

  23. Jeez Cheryl, that’s absolutely awful. What a terrible, ghastly mess. Hopefully this’ll resolve itself for the best. In the meanwhile, of course, move to Bristol! You have lots of friends here.

  26. I’m so sorry you have to go through this, Cheryl. If all our bedrooms weren’t already full, we’d give you bed and board here at Chez Miserables. Even if you are, apparently, an international evil genius.

    Actually, *because* you are an international evil genius.

    Consider yourself hugged.

  27. The government always tell you “nothing can be done about this.” But you’ll be surprised at what lawyers can do. I’d call a lawyer before accepting defeat. Courts in the US and UK have the power to do most anything.

    What regulation did you supposedly breach?

  28. Holy crap! I wish I knew more about the particulars to see if I could use any journalist connections to help.

  30. This is so terrible, Cheryl. If there is anything I can do from here, please let me know. I know about a billion people in London who could provide crash space on my say-so, but I’m sure you do too. Maybe more pertinently, a very dear friend of mine in London happens to be an expert in international law as pertains to deportation and asylum; she’s usually trying to get people into the UK, not out of it, but if you think there’s anything to be gained from getting in touch with her, let me know and I will make it happen straightaway.

    So much love to you from here. Hang in there.

  31. Awfully sorry you’ve had to go through this terrible experience!

    Good to know that at least you’ve now got temporary accomodation worked out. Here’s hoping your new place turns out to have unexpected pleasures and advantages!

  32. Just wanted to say I’m also sorry to hear about this. I really enjoyed meeting you at WFC last fall — you were one of the first people I met there and made me feel very welcome. I’m sending my best thoughts/wishes to you!

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  34. Hugs and deepest sympathy, Cheryl.

    On a note of very typical for me levity, have you considered the Tijuana and sneaking across the border option? 😉

    Take care, darlin’

    Terry

    1. Cheryl, I live just 40 mi. north of Nogales, Arizona. If you decide to take the Mexico route, let me know! 😉

  35. I’m stunned. Is there really nothing that can be done? I have a hard time believing that. I have an even harder time believing that you would be “not good for the economy.” This is a clear injustice. You have been treated shabbily. I am currently feeling righteous anger. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do. Alas, my only available crash space is in places you currently aren’t allowed to travel. Grrr.

  36. I’m so sorry to read that my ex-country has treated you so badly. Estonia is also a long commute or I would offer you shelter here.

    I hope your living situation in the UK is properly sorted soon so that you can get back to the important work you do.

    Hugs and I’m still hoping to meet you in Finland this summer.

  37. Pingback: Cheryl Morgan Refused Entry to US « File 770

  38. My Deepest Sympathies to you. I hope you can find a place in England. My country does some stupid things.

  40. I am as sorry as I can be to hear this. For what it’s worth, I am impressed beyond words at your incredibly even-handed response to the situation. All sympathies.

  42. Cheryl:

    Sorry to hear about the problems and issues. I can’t help with UK staying places, but may with some of your projects. Or may not (my life hasn’t been as easy as I’d want recently) Much sympathy and hope.

    Joyce

  45. I’m very sorry to hear you’ve been subjected to all this – it’s appalling that a bureaucratic wrangle can have this far-reaching an effect on a person’s life.

  46. Well, this is all kinds of sucky. 🙁 Best to you and I hope something unexpected happens and you can return to the USA.

    I’m a bit baffled and hope that this doesn’t really affect your travel anywhere else, or that you can get that cleared up, if it does cause problems. (And I hope you can make it to Oz & NZ!)

  48. Good grief – what an unpleasant situation. All sympathies, Cheryl – and good luck for some kind of positive outcome down the line.

  49. I’ve had issues with two parts of Homeland Security (border patrol and Immigration) not communicating and the result being 5 hours at the border once with a US border guard who kept trying to break the law by seizing my residence card). While I know it’s not a guarantee, I would suggest that until it’s formally absolutely in writing possibly embossed and signed by two presidents, you should not take it as never ever again.

    Customs/Border frequently makes stuff up on the fly and they have a scary amount of unappealable power in the situations that they’re encountered in, but they’re frequently terribly terribly wrong. When I went to the State Department here and told them what border had done I got blank looks and several people who just said, “But…that wasn’t legal for them to attempt.” As it was not, but if they’d had someone less determined, or more intheir power, and if the Canadian border wasn’t porous (they knew I could spend the day crossing the border until I got through), they’d have been able to break the law because who could tell on them? But as *soon* as I got to talk to State, they recognized the illegality of the actions.

    I don’t know the details of your current situation, but right now, this soon after, I wouldn’t say any of your options are gone forever, mmmkay? *hug*

    1. Stephanie – I can assure you that this is as clear and simple as it gets. As I said above, the CBP guys were very sympathetic. They had no choice but to do what they did.

  50. I was very upset to hear that, Cheryl. Unfortunately the only bedroom I can suggest at the moment is in Tel Aviv, which is a pitty because I would have loved to have an evil international mastermind as a house guest. Never had any of those before. Still hope you can make the Australia trip. And maybe from now on Woeldcons and WFC’s should be held in Europe and Canada only.

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