droidguy72

I'm in several British expat groups and I feel like I am in the minority with my frustrations over Biden's travel ban.

We haven't been able to get over to the UK for 2 years. I live in fear of my UK family getting sick. My mother has chronic health issues, as does my sister. I can go there and help out, but I won't get back to my home in the US, not without a ridiculous layover on the way back that I can't afford. My kids won't get back to school, and I won't get back to my work. I am on an L-1 visa in a 'non-critical' industry, so NIEs are not an option for me.

My kids grandparents have missed birthdays, other life events and everything in between. I went through major surgery here and we had to rely on the help of only one two friends who live nearby. We are extremely stressed by all of this.

We've done our part. Both my wife and I got our vaccines. We wear our masks everywhere.

I want to live here and I want my kids to have a better life, but I am so fed up of paying in to the US economy and getting nothing back. I work in a specialized industry and pay a fortune in taxes here.

But what do we get? No stimulus, no child tax credits, and no way back to our family in the UK that won't cost a fortune. When I see Biden's family holidaying in Europe, my frustration boils over.

I feel like a second class citizen and I don't even think we are an afterthought for Biden.

Where do we go from here? I've composed letters, I've sent tweets, I've tried to make phone calls. When will this administration listen to the pain they are causing and "follow the science" like they say they do?

Lion in Winter

I'm afraid that the problem is not that you are a second class citizen. It's that you aren't a citizen. Or even a permanent resident. This land of immigrants is not set up to give all immigrants the same rights.

The travel situation can't stay like this for ever, but there seems to be very little rush to change things and while covid is running rampant through the US there is no political impetus to change the rules, even though logically speaking there is very little in the way of covid that you might possibly bring back from the UK that isn't already here.

I sympathise with being stuck. I don't know if you are in a minority, but we can hope that pressure from the travel industry will change things.

Glasgow Girl

I also sympathize with you, and share your anger at the Covid travel ban. I am a dual citizen and can travel to the UK and back, but my family cannot travel here.

As we all know the UK/EU Covid travel ban no longer makes any sense. However, President Biden is very unlikely to change the ban on EU/UK residents until it benefits him politically and with his current approval ratings that is not going to happen any time soon. If he will gain approval (and votes) by relaxing the ban he will, if he cannot he won’t. Unfortunately the vast majority of the voting US population does not travel internationally, or have overseas family, therefore there is little upside for him to relax the travel ban. That is not a partisan comment, it is just a sad fact. Tweeting, emailing, etc will make no difference because very few US voters are impacted by the ban.

I can understand your anger at your situation where you feel you are contributing to the US economy and getting nothing back but many US citizens with a decent income pay a fortune in taxes with no child tax credit, stimulus, etc so you are far from alone there, and other than the lopsided travel ban Covid has impacted most developed countries in the same ways so it is not in any way unique to the US. In fact in many countries the day to day situation is far worse. In that respect I have been grateful to be captive in the US versus many other countries, the UK included.

Ultimately, you have to decide if the benefits of living here outweigh the disadvantages. One would assume they do, as you could otherwise go back to the UK which is also far from perfect.

scrubbedexpat097

Being angry at something you can't change won't help the situation. Everyone in some way has been impacted by this pandemic. At least keeping in contact with family is easier now with Skype and FaceTime. It won't last forever. Eventually you will have a wonderful reunion. Just try and stay calm and think positive thoughts.

karenkaren1

hi, I am in a similar position to you re travel to UK and family. It is infuriating that residents who go to school, work and pay taxes in USA are treated like tourists, whilst my American friends are swanning all over Europe and London on vacation!! we have had stimulus cheques tho and I have appts this month with the IRS to get my kids ITINs so they can get their tax credits.

Pollyana

You have my sympathy. Stuck here in Australia, since the start of this no citizen or permanent resident has been allowed to leave the country at all, unless the government considers it "a compelling reason" - and trust me, most requests for end-of-life visits and funerals are not considered compelling. This is not expected to change until sometime next year, at least. Then there are caps on the number of people allowed to enter - approx 300-400 per WEEK for the entire country, so even if you can get out, the chances of getting a flight back are low, with many being bumped off several times before they manage to get here, where they then do two weeks imprisonment before being allowed to their homes. Many have been stuck in other countries for over a year and can't get back, jobs are gone, they are homeless, its soul destroying.
I'm now counting the major events for which I should have been home. Now coming up to the third one, by the time we might be allowed to fly I will be up to around eight at least. I'm getting older and less mobile, my mother is in her mid eighties and I am starting to try and come to terms with the fact we will probably never meet again, even if I can get there one day to see the other people I love.

Being completely alone in a foreign country is not fun, I really feel for you. If anyone asks me now, I would never advise anyone to emigrate.

christmasoompa

I sympathise, we're having the same problem the other way, we were supposed to be moving to the US in July but obviously haven't been able to. We've been in limbo for over a year, and now it can't happen for 18+ months as our daughter has just started A Levels so no way we're going to move her until those are done. Our whole life has been on hold and there's been a lot of 'there's no point if we're moving to the US' etc. But we're healthy, and ok financially, so I know we could be far worse off, and there are others that have been much more impacted by the pandemic than us.

Could you meet your family in a third country maybe? Have a couple of weeks together in Canada for example? Open to both Brits and US residents now. Not sure how feasible it is for your mother to travel, but maybe some other family members?

johnbrown1938

We should not be complaining. The UK is lucky to still be on the visa waiver program it has been really close to being removed a few times and they meant it.

postbox134

Agree 100% with everyone above. I am intending to bounce via Canada for Christmas this year. Will be almost exactly 2 years since I last went.

Also, RE: NIEs there's some talk online that you might not think you're eligible for one, but you could well be. Unfortunately, you have to leave the US to try

civilservant

Really struggling to feel indignant when thousands of people are still dying everyday of COVID....

postbox134

If one is fully vaccinated and follows all the protocols in place - then travel isn't the cause of that. It's easy to say if you're lucky enough to be a USC and if you need to travel for some unexpected reason you can.

TexanScot

Yes, I've noticed that many people in the online groups are US Citizens or Permanent Residents, and so in their eyes there is no travel ban, or at least not one that affects them personally.

Yep, me too.

You and I are not even first class citizens, let alone a second class one. We aren't even permanent residents, let alone citizens.

It's frustrating that we live here and pay taxes and we have to jump through hoops that other people don't, but at the end of the day there's not really much we can do other than to accept it.

We don't go anywhere from here, because the harsh reality is that nobody cares about us and nobody is going to care about us, as the optics of allowing foreign nationals who are working US jobs to freely travel in and out of the country whilst so many Americans (who have voluntarily chosen not to be vaccinated...) are dying would be, to put it bluntly, not great in the current political climate.

If you can't qualify for an NIE then you can either visit your family with a two week stopover before returning to the US, or your family can make the two week stopover before coming here to see you.

I too have missed birthdays, anniversaries and other family events and it's deeply painful to see all the happy photographs and to you know that YOU are the thing that's missing, and that those moments will never come again.

It's not possible for my family to visit me due to the logistics of work commitments and young children, so I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll be taking an extended vacation next year in order to visit them.

I'm angry that so many of the willingly unvaccinated are contributing to this situation and that it will persist into the foreseeable future, but it's not like there's much you can really do to change the reality of it all.

TexanScot

I believe the frustration stems from the fact that the vast majority of the people dying from COVID in the US are people who have voluntarily chosen not to be vaccinated.

We know that the vaccines are safe, that they vastly reduce your risk of hospitalization or death and that they DO help reduce your likelihood of contracting the virus in the first place.

This is now a pandemic of the unvaccinated, however the rest of us still have to live with the consequences of that.

civilservant

This is nothing but parroting a talking point. I agree that people should be vaccinated, but it is flagrantly not true that 'this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated' A huge percentage of the world has not even had the chance to get a single shot, let alone be fully vaccinated.

I would personally keep restrictions as they are until the latest Delta wave dies down, and don't feel any indignation against Bidens stance.

Nutmegger

"You pays your money and you takes your choice" . . . we made the decision to move to this country, and that decision will impact every aspect of the rest of our lives, for better and for worse. All we can do at times like this is get on with life -- and keep that stiff British upper lip! As has been pointed out, at least nowadays we can still see our loved ones via online meetings.