If much of your career revolves around international travel, it’s not a great idea to get a 10-year ban from the US, but for Western Australian producer Nick Bertke aka Pogo, the situation was out of his control and he has found himself in that very predicament. But hopefully for not too much longer.
Pogo has recently started an online campaign to raise awareness of his plight, asking citizens to sign a digital petition. There is the issue of the iron no longer being hot as the ban was implemented back in 2011 when Pogo was thrown into a US jail for three weeks. As it turns out, authorities found his papers weren’t in check and busted him for working without the right visa. According to Pogo, his promoters Agency Group cut ties at the first sign of drama, despite being the ones who filed said paper work.
In the video, Pogo explains, “America is really the last place on earth I want to be banned from”.
What’s all the more frustrating for the producer is that he had visited and worked in the US previously with no issues: “This was news to me because I have toured the States before,” he says. “I’ve played shows in the States, I’ve given talks …. And I’ve done all of this on a visa waiver.”
You can click through to the petition above. I’m sure every vote will count.
Check out the video below, but beware: bit of a ‘cool guy’ alert.
http://youtu.be/zEeaEtTnzjc
