OFF:/ON: HW: The War on Tour-rer

[Henderson Keith]

UFO: American Tour Cancelled - Apr. 16, 2004

UFO's American tour has been officially cancelled.

Dear Purchasers:
Today, the U.S. Embassy in London refused Phil Mogg, UFO's lead singer, a
Work Permit Visa. As you may know, without a Work Permit Visa, no
non-American is able to work (i.e. performing a commercial concert) in the
United States. This seriously impacts our upcoming U. S. tour (April 22
through May 16, 2004)

The band members all applied for their Work Permits (as usual) several weeks
before the U. S. tour was to begin. Their Work Permits were approved and
ISSUED on March 9, 2004 by the Bureau Of Citizenship and Immigration
Services, located in the United States. Due to the new immigration and Work
Permit laws, it is now also necessary for the applicant to attend a personal
interview, in his home country, at the U.S. Embassy. During Phil's
interview, today, in London, England, his name turned up in the government
computer. The comment was that 'at some time in the past' his finger prints
were taken while in the USA. When, where and why was not disclosed.

It is true, Phil's finger prints were taken in the USA 24 years ago (!!) in
Buffalo, New York. The Immigration Authority did not think, at that time,
his Visa was adequate so this fingerprinting occurred. His Visa was then
reissued, straight away, and everything was in order. During the intervening
24 years, Phil has returned to the USA 12 times on Work and Visitors Visas.
Unfortunately, the only thing that matters now is that finger prints were
taken. Under current immigration law, whether impacted by the war or not, a
person having been finger printed promptly ceases the Visa clearance
process.

Finger prints now have to be retaken from Phil. They are sent to the FBI
and, according to the information we have been given, only when the FBI
gives their approval, will it be possible for Phil to acquire a Work Permit
Visa. This procedure, the Embassy advises, can take from 2 to 12 weeks.

The band is, therefore, forced to postpone its tour until this matter is
resolved.

We all respect that the United States must protect itself. We will, of
course, cooperate. We are, however, puzzled and very perplexed at this
unhappy last minute surprise.

We hope, with all our hearts, that you will understand and join with us in
the rescheduling process.

Sincerely,
Peter Knorn (UFO management)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ummm...I have this funny feeling, that if HW were ever to consider touring
the US again, there might be some...problems.  I mean, if a total
"non-issue" fingerprinting gets one denied a visa, such that it could take
months to finally get permission, what would happen with Hawkwind?!  I mean,
Ron is no longer with the band, but then Dave didn't get in for Strange Daze
'99 either.  And I remember Simon House had some sort of problem, didn't he?
And then the LAX issue, on the way to Australia a couple years ago (forgot
what that was about).  And this was all *before* 9/11!

And I've read recent articles in science journals that tell horror stories
about graduate students (from all sorts of countries, many having no
relationship whatsoever to islamic extremism) not being able to return to
the US to finish their graduate studies due to some ridiculous border
screening.  And new prospective students are finding it so difficult right
now to get approved to enter the US, that they're deciding it's not worth it
and going to school in some other country.  Ha.  The US is likely to
stupidly ruin the great advantage they've had in
science/technology/innovation ever since, what 1938?, if they keep this up.
And what happens if American researchers start actually *leaving* the
country?  Imagine that!  :)  Nah...never happen.

But I wonder when the Sharon-style wall will start to go up along the
Canadian border?

Grakkl (FAA)

P.S.  UFO '04 seems to be Mogg, Way, Jason Bonham, Vinnie Moore (ex-Alice
Cooper), and Paul Raymond.  Michael Schenker has again split, which is not
so surprising.  I missed them here in Switzerland, 'cause I was in the US,
ironically enough.  (If you're listening Jerry K., you should note that Pete
Way lives in Columbus, and I see that he's been doing solo acoustic shows at
Andy's Treehouse in recent days!)