Originally Posted by Nutmegger (Post 13049937)

"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.

Originally Posted by civilservant (Post 13049936)

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.

Originally Posted by Sugarmooma (Post 13049948)

Fair enough, this situation is different right now so the OP needs to either accept it or pack your bags and move back.

Originally Posted by civilservant (Post 13049962)

You assume that everyone that flies between the US and UK is FROM the US or UK.

A faulty assumption.

Originally Posted by civilservant (Post 13049962)

You assume that everyone that flies between the US and UK is FROM the US or UK.

A faulty assumption.

Originally Posted by postbox134 (Post 13049966)

True, but vaccination status can be easily checked on boarding or arrival rather than a blanket ban. At the moment, no one who isn't American is flying to the US from the UK (or Europe).

Originally Posted by 1speedy (Post 13049976)

They all had UK passports and green cards.

Originally Posted by 1speedy (Post 13049976)

They all had UK passports and green cards.

Originally Posted by lansbury (Post 13049993)

This is one of the big disadvantages to living/working in a foreign land. The rules and regulations under which a person decides to do so can, and are, changed at the stoke of a pen. If someone is on a work visa there is a element of insecurity attached to that arrangement. People tend to make the assumption that things will remain the same but sometimes the uncontrollable throws a spanner in the works.

I haven't seen my sons in the UK for over 2 years. One grand daughter I haven't even met yet in person. While the regulations allow us to travel, Mrs L is in a high risk group and we are not prepared to take the risk, so I too feel somewhat imprisoned. If Biden is wrong and keeps the regulations in place at worse he inconveniences a lot of people. If he removes the regulations and is wrong he may well increase the number of deaths.

There is little much of us can do about it, but at the moment life has dealt those of us who decided to leave their homeland and live elsewhere a bad hand.

Originally Posted by droidguy72 (Post 13049806)

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?

Originally Posted by tht (Post 13050024)

I probably sit on the other side of the fence… I think there should have been more travel restrictions, including for USC, probably close to the NZ model with proper quarantine enforced on arrival for all. I am a dual citizen and could have traveled and did not because I did not think any of the family stuff was a good enough reason vs. the population health risk.

Your not a second class citizen, your an alien, they only start treating you more like a citizen when you have a path to citizenship/voting , aka have your green card.. and citizenship is your to loose..

I don’t understand your other points, if you were under the AGI level of $150k to be eligible to receive any stimulus check you are not really paying a fortune in taxes… if your earning more than the limit you would not qualify a citizen either… having moved from working in Ireland and the UK I can tell you that I found US income taxes to be lower than both of them once your take in to account all the deductions and allowances and look at the effective rate paid.

Originally Posted by 1speedy (Post 13049976)

I am not sure if I am understanding, you say because you are British you are not allowed to fly back to the UK from the USA. I know two sets of UK families who left from LAX and flew to Heathrow and they have spent time in the UK this past August visiting their families back there in the UK and they came back to the US without any issues. They all had UK passports and green cards.