British officials fear expulsion amid US visa crackdown

FORTY British officials living in the US face being thrown out of the country unless they spend thousands of pounds to become permanent residents, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

The employees at Britain’s Washington embassy and consulates across the US have been caught up in a crackdown on diplomatic visas.

Some of those affected have been working for the UK government for decades and have resorted to lobbying US senators directly in an attempt to remain in the country.

The uncertainty has placed immense strain on those affected, with some forced to leave their jobs and others employing outside lawyers to fight their case.

Questions have been raised about whether the UK has done enough to protect those involved.

UK sources insisted they were helping those affected but a US State Department official said Britain had made no request for the policy to be changed or dropped.

Stuart Baird, 49, a senior UK trade official who has worked at the British Embassy in Washington since 1997, said: “I wake up more or less every single night at 2.30am, my head spinning. It will have a massive impact on our future. I’m effectively going to be unemployed and homeless.”

Mr Baird, who was speaking in a personal capacity, lives with his partner Kim and their two children Lewis, 11, and Calum, eight, in Virginia.

“The kids are wondering about it too,” he said. “They do not fully understand what is happening, but they say ‘can we not just stay?’”

The rule change impacts locally employed staff on a certain type of diplomatic visa called A2. The visas are not for frontline diplomats but government officials and support staff, plus their families.

Under the old rules, foreign officials who moved with A2 visas could stay forever. Now the amount of time they can stay is capped at five years.

If an official wants to stay longer they must get a different visa – either by becoming a full US citizen or getting a green card, which means becoming a permanent US resident.

The change was implemented in August 2016, before US president Donald Trump took office.

But under Mr Trump’s administration the green card process has got significantly harder, according to legal experts, who warned that costs were spiralling and waiting times increasing.

Anastasia Tonello, an immigration lawyer who represents a number of UK officials, said that before Mr Trump took office the process would take around five months and cost between $8,000 (£6,000) and $10,000.

Now it takes up to 12 months and can cost as much as $15,000 or more.

She said: “Getting visa and green cards is much, much more difficult. All of the policy changes and tweaks mean it is very difficult and time consuming and the outcomes are very unpredictable right now.”

Tensions are rising ahead of the August 2021 deadline – the point at which UK staff affected must leave if they do not have a new visa.

It is understood that around 40 British officials, both in the Washington

‘I wake up more or less every single night at 2.30am, my head spinning. It will have a massive impact’

embassy and the UK consulates across America, are impacted.however, scores more have taken the decision to quit, move jobs or retire.

Officials with the Department of International Trade – a crucial area as Britain looks to strengthen economic ties with America after Brexit – are especially affected, alongside administrative staff such as secretaries.

A UK source suggested that it had lobbied the State Department. However, when asked if the British embassy representatives had requested to “drop” or “adjust” the policy, a State Department official responded: “No”.

All foreign embassies in America are bound by the change.

There is a chance for some exemptions but these will only be made a year before the deadline, which is considered too late for families to make key decisions on their future.

A British Embassy spokesman said: “To those who may be affected, we are providing information and support.”