Moomin
Patron
I recently sent an e-mail to the US Embassy (London) and the US and also Border Control on each side regarding information I have from experience regarding church members applications for an R1 (Religious Worker) Visa for UK citizens going to the States.
I have also written to Nathan Baca, KESQ, as well. Here goes:
I must bring to your attention the situation regarding R1
(Religious Worker) visa applications of members of the Church of
Scientology based in the UK who have to travel to Clearwater,
Florida, U.S. for training at the Flag Land Base. I'm writing from
personal experience.
Staff trainees are told to tell the staff at the US Embassy in
London, that they are attending 'religious seminars' as part of
their training as an 'apprentice minister' for the duration of about a year, and they are given
documents from different departments within their own church and
the upper exec strata to present to the embassy officials. They are
also drilled on what to say in a mock interview.
I was one of these people, I was basically told to lie to the
embassy and was to avoid saying that I was going to the US to
study, which was in fact the truth. New staff members who have
been chosen to train in Florida are told that they will get a
longer visa, even be lucky to get one at all, if they say what I
mentioned above and NOT say the words 'training', 'study' or 'work'.
The plain truth is that they go to Clearwater to train to work on a
post within the church, often passed off as 'pastoral counseling'
to the embassy.
There is a training area within Flag called the Hubbard College of Improvement where most of the studying and training is done and
they are not officially a minister until most of the way through
their training, Level/Class IV Auditor, then they get ordained, as I did.
They are in no way a minister before they arrive in the US and in
no way a religious worker. They, as I was, are students, plain and
simple who study, train, work and live for periods of some years.
I was very nervous that I had to lie to embassy officials in order
to get a visa. I was not attending any religious seminars, none
whatsoever!
I am no longer a member of the church.
Yours faithfully,
John
England
The above is true.
I have also written to Nathan Baca, KESQ, as well. Here goes:
I must bring to your attention the situation regarding R1
(Religious Worker) visa applications of members of the Church of
Scientology based in the UK who have to travel to Clearwater,
Florida, U.S. for training at the Flag Land Base. I'm writing from
personal experience.
Staff trainees are told to tell the staff at the US Embassy in
London, that they are attending 'religious seminars' as part of
their training as an 'apprentice minister' for the duration of about a year, and they are given
documents from different departments within their own church and
the upper exec strata to present to the embassy officials. They are
also drilled on what to say in a mock interview.
I was one of these people, I was basically told to lie to the
embassy and was to avoid saying that I was going to the US to
study, which was in fact the truth. New staff members who have
been chosen to train in Florida are told that they will get a
longer visa, even be lucky to get one at all, if they say what I
mentioned above and NOT say the words 'training', 'study' or 'work'.
The plain truth is that they go to Clearwater to train to work on a
post within the church, often passed off as 'pastoral counseling'
to the embassy.
There is a training area within Flag called the Hubbard College of Improvement where most of the studying and training is done and
they are not officially a minister until most of the way through
their training, Level/Class IV Auditor, then they get ordained, as I did.
They are in no way a minister before they arrive in the US and in
no way a religious worker. They, as I was, are students, plain and
simple who study, train, work and live for periods of some years.
I was very nervous that I had to lie to embassy officials in order
to get a visa. I was not attending any religious seminars, none
whatsoever!
I am no longer a member of the church.
Yours faithfully,
John
England
The above is true.