I seem to now hold the World Record for Fastest ever Issuing of a US visa for a foreign artist on Jay Leno - every single immigration specialist, lawyer, producer and manager told me it couldn't be done, but I rocked it - by planes trains and automobiles..
I got to New York. Was told I needed a work visa to appear on the four tv shows I had booked - but now that I was in NY already it wasn't going to happen. No way, never. Not in a million years.
But I waited for an answer. My publicist said - call my friend, the British Consul.
I called the British consul. He said speak to my man in Virginia. I spoke to his man in Virginia. He spoke to a man on the Border with Canada. I sat tight whilst they spent 24 hours negotiating with the US Immigration service. But I thought - what do I have to lose? Have a little faith. Even if its never been done before.
So - I did what the man from Virginia told me to do. I flew from JFK to Vermont. I hired a car. I drove through the wilderness to the Canadian Border. I crossed the border. I did a U-turn.
I presented myself at the Border to the Canadian / US border Protection officers and explained my situation. I sat for two hours and waited for my approval notice whilst I got frantic phonecalls from Jay Leno producers who'd been tipped off by the Immigration Traffic Control people that I hadn't got a visa. They wanted to pull the performance with Joss Stone and send me home.
I told them to hang on for 30 minutes - we were waiting for the 'man who could' to do his work from Virginia whilst I watched a man getting disarmed and held to the floor at the Canadian US border. I waited some more. My window was closing fast - as I had to get back to Vermont, back to New York and then over to Los Angeles by the next day.
After one more hour, I finally got approved a US Visa by the biggest border patrol officer I've ever seen. The nice man with the gun stamped my passport.
I drove back through the wilderness to Vermont. I called the Jay Leno Show and said - I have the VISA - sent them pictures of it from my iPhone. They went nuts and said - you lucky B-stard - no one has ever done that before in the history of the show - the last person who sorted out a visa took a week and it cost them 35,000 dollars. I did it in 2 days for a whole lot less.
With a lot of help from a man in Virginia. Bless him. Then I drank 5 beers and flew back to New York and then on to LA and played on Jay Leno:
Jamie
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That's my boy Jamie!!! We should expect nothing less than miracles and wonders.. it works when you BELIEVE - LIFE ALWAYS DELIVERS TO THOSE WHO HAVE A BIT OF FAITH. I'm so so proud of you. xx
Well done Jamie, that sounds like a good adventure!
Phew!! I'm exhausted just reading it!!! Where there's a will ..... etc
x