Drew McIntyre & Wade Barret's Visas expire- Where do they go from here?

[Tenta]

You know, something should be said about this whole issue that no one's really mentioned. When this happened about a year (?) ago with Angelina Love, I believe we all concluded it was kind of bush league, and that it cemented why TNA was the #2 brand. It showed no one was paying attention to the VISA situation of one of the hottest draws in the company.

Well, now that this has happened to two of the biggest stars on their respective shows, shouldn't we point out how unprofessional this seems on the part of the WWE? I mean, I get that the VISA expired, on both Barrett and McIntyre's part, but shouldn't someone in the WWE have been watching this, and shouldn't have there been a point where the WWE. I know this is the responsibility of Barrett and McIntyre, but I feel as though the WWE would have a vested interest in making sure that both of these superstars are able to work in the country.

As for the long term effects of this, I don't forsee this being a major issue. Sure, it's unfortunate, but it isn't as though these men are fugitives. I'm not sure how the VISA situation works, but it appears to me at Barrett has gone back to the UK before he would issues with the Immigration system. It isn't as though the Nexus angle can't survive without a couple weeks without Barrett, and that's what it seems like this whol ordeal is going to take. I have faith that the Nexus will do just fine without Barrett, if they keep up what they're doing. Last night was just fine for the Nexus, and I have no reason to believe they'll be buried without Barrett. McIntyre has at least been written out of the WWE, for now, so there's no necessary timetable for his return. We can all see him coming in a month, and it won't be as though he's lost anything. Fans will assume it was part of the angle, and now he's back, with more anger and rage, in theory.

Again, somewhat unprofessional by the WWE, but in the long run? Not that massive a deal, really.

 

[Cebeards]

I'm not even going to respond to the Drew McIntyre portion because he needs a decent amount of time and a good feud or two before I will consider really paying attention. Sorry Vince, I just don't see the "it" factor.

I'm gonna start by saying, if it wasn't brought up on raw....his shit is expired.

Wade Barrett, will be fine. A Visa is easy to get when there is money behind it. If the Grand Hotel can renew a Visa in a week, so can the WWE.

Even if Wade missed a few weeks I still wouldn't be too bummed out. I'm starting to become a bit of a Gabriel Fan, Otunga really has to get a new move and Skip really is a big water head. But, I have noticed more focus on individuals in the group...even when Barrett is there, Gabriel is the grand finale of the beat downs. This could even be an opening to bring Danielson back in

.... I've been kinda hoping to see a NXT money in the bank match. Where there is either one contract, or 4, to weed out half of them...something like that. If they have any interest in making a face out of anyone, then a MITB winner could do it, and then get his ass beat by the other 7...easy way to separate, although Barrett's angle is all heel and he appears to be the big push.

I'm not saying Vince is very open to taking lemons and making lemonade, but I think there is good that can come out of this. Over the course of time this group will have to boil down and more are gonna rise then just Barrett. So sit back, relax (i know how high strung you guys can get) and lets see what Vince can do in a pinch.

 

[Money Inc.]

You all make good points, but we'll agree to disagree

I just don't get how everyone is so down on Drew right now. IMO he's the most over he's been since debuting in the E. The simple fact that you can barely hear that great intro because right when that video package is shown its straight chaos. Fans love to hate him, and they absolutely hate when he weasels his way back into situations.

I've enjoyed his promos with Teddy and his in-ring work is pretty good!

I hope he's back within the next couple weeks because I've felt the booking with him the last couple months has been brilliant.

On a side note.. I did not like Drew McIntyre January-March... so It's kind of weird that I tend to enjoy his recent work and dislike the work where most of you enjoyed

When it comes to Barrett.. I imagine they'll settle it within the next couple weeks and they'll book it right.

 

[Remix]

Barrett signed his developmental contract in October of 07, and Drew debuted in the same month. the same time and based off of what ckoneagain said, their Visa won't have expired just yet. Wade may just be in the UK because of some issue with the renual process. As for Drew, he's a US Citizen because he's married to Tiffany so really shouldn't be getting deported anyway.

I think there's more to it than has been reported, as niether's visa should have expired and WWE know the process of visa renual backwards, after having so many superstars from foreign lands on their books.

 

[Super Crazy]

So I totally thought this wasn't real until I just checked with Doc. This legitimately sucks. Barrett was the forefront of this angle, the leader of the Nexus. It almost lost steam with losing Danielson, now if they lose Barrett, this angle loses almost all of it's steam. The only other guy in the group who could be the leader would be Barrett, as he's the only other one closest to being ready to main event.

I hope Barrett is back either next week or the week after, because if these issues don't get worked out soon, he'll lose momentum from being off television and they'd have to think of a really creative way to give someone else in the Nexus his title shot.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think that this is a terrible screw up on the part of the WWE. I understand that the Visas of McIntyre and Barrett were going to expire eventually, but it really surprises me that the WWE didn't have someone on top of this. Like most people, I assumed that the a company that'd been in the game as long and successfully as the WWE would have all the bases covered on something like this.

When Drew McIntyre's Visa expiration was used in his angle this past Friday on Smackdown, I thought that it was just that, an angle. Either the WWE completely has egg on its face or they were aware that McIntyre's Visa had expired. I know very little about work visas or how long it takes to get one renewed or anything. Can you apply for a renewal before the expiration date or is there a mandatory waiting period before it can be renewed?

 

[Saritafan]

It took angelina love 4 months to get a new visa, I don't know if it's the same situation as Barett but it's possible as both are wrestlers. If money can get you a visa faster, than their really shouldn't be an issue but if it requires waiting a long while, then you have a problem

Oh well, I don't like the nexus angle anyway, I perfer them being separate and going on their own journeys, the beat-downs aren't even entertaining, I'd rather watch them compete in wrestling matches.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

I'm not even going to claim any knowledge as to whether this Visa thing is actually legit or not in either case. I will say, however, that I don't think it will pose a serious problem. Barret may be the leader of the Nexus faction, but from what I've seen it's only by default. Nexus has pretty much always acted as a unit: several bodies, one brain. From what I've seen, Barret is simply a member of the pack, albeit one the others sometimes listen to. Given that group dynamic, it shouldn't be hard for them to recover and simply continue to do the same old shtick they've been doing since the beginning. Barret's good, no question, but at this time he's no top notch superstar, just a midcarder with a gang. Yeah, it might be sloppy timing, but then again it might be time for the established superstars to get in a few shots for themselves so that the feud can become interesting again. The whole one-sided thing has the potential to get very dull very quickly.

As for Drew, this one fit so nicely that its difficult for me to view this as anything but a work. Nexus takes out McMahon, leaving Drew vulnerable, right after a failure to get back the Intercontinental Title at a PPV. Then, with the return to official work by his current arch-rival Matt Hardy, the loss to him, and then a deportation with McMahon unable to help him...well it all seemed to be rather meticulously planned from the beginning. I'm willing to concede that all of it could have been arranged a little bit in advance, but even so one has to admit that it ties things up with the Drew and Matt program very nicely. More than likely McIntyre will return, maybe with some more experience and a bit more learning under his belt, and may return to be a real serious player.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I don't know why but I have a feeling of skepticism about this. The main reason I feel this way is because I believe WWE had to know about their Visas expiring. Vince hired both of them so I would think he know. I don't think Drew would be a huge loss for the time being and if Wade is gone for a couple of weeks, Tarver did a decent job being the mouthpiece so the Nexus angle won't lose a lot of steam.

 

[Goliath Uterus]

This is probably a work, I really can't see VKM letting employees of his work visa's expire, I've come to expect more from the best and most professional wrestling company in the world. Like LJL just said, if this is true, Tarver can play the part of the leader of the Nexus for the time being, he's solid enough on the mic and has done well so far.

As far as McIntyre goes, I don't think many people will care if he comes back or not, I've loved his tenure so far, but fueds with Matt Hardy are not whats really needed to get him over, hopefully when he comes back he's not fueding with Matt anymore.

 

[Stormtrooper]

I may be in the minority here, but I think not having Wade Barrett on TV for a couple weeks may be a benefit to his character. He is the leader of Nexus, and maybe without him there, the RAW superstars will be able to get an upper hand on the 6-man Nexus, proving that they aren't nearly as powerful without their leader Wade Barrett. Obviously, this week they were successful without him, however it wasn't as organized, and the old guys put up a better fight then the other times they successfully attacked.

As for Drew McIntyre, well, his only redeeming quality is his accent, and that isn't enough for me to give a damn about him.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

So I got some information off of travel.state.gov:

The State Department's goal is visa delivery no more than 30 days from the time of application in most cases, although cases that require administrative processing could take longer. Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days of application. When administrative processing is required, the timing will vary based on individual circumstances of each case. Therefore, before making inquiries about status of administrative processing, applicants or their representatives will need to wait at least 90 days from the date of interview or submission of supplemental documents, whichever is later.

Basically, this shouldn't take more than thirty days, and if this happened a few days ago and just not getting reported, neither of these men should miss more than two episodes of Raw, which is good news considering that neither of them will miss the PPV. This is all assuming their Visa renewal applications don't require "administrative processing," but I don't see any reason that it would require administrative processing, seeing as they already HAD visas and are just looking to renew.

And who knows? Everything just may be processed before then, and they won't even miss next week's Raw. The WWE might have some pull, seeing as they're a giant corporation.

Some further information on what might have happened: Oh shit, dey broke some lawz.

Staying Beyond Your Authorized Stay in the U.S. and Being Out of Status

* It is important you depart the U.S. on or before the last day you are authorized to be in the U.S. on any given trip, based on the specified end date on your Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94. Failure to depart the U.S. will cause you to be out-of-status. Staying beyond the period of time authorized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and being in the United States is a violation of U.S. immigration laws, and may cause you to be ineligible for a visa in the future for return travel to the U.S. Select Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas to learn more.

* Staying unlawfully in the United States beyond the date Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have authorized, even by one day, results in your visa being automatically voided, in accordance with INA 222(g). Under this provision of immigration law, if you overstay on your nonimmigrant authorized stay in the U.S., your visa will be automatically voided. In this situation, you are required to reapply for a new nonimmigrant visa, generally in your country of nationality.

We can only hope they handled their shit before their visas expired.

I'd be intrested to know how long they'd been in America on a Visa, coz this says to me that their visa can only be extended once and may be the reason they've been sent home? If they hadn't applied for a permanent visa (which they wouldn't have done if they weren't sure they were staying) then this Visa would have been the one and may be the reaosn they've gone home

Well, Drew McIntyre signed with WWE's development in 2007, so he's right on time with his visa expiration, which further leads me to believe the WWE just missed the mark for renewal, and they're going to get it done as soon as possible.

For Wade Barrett, this should be his second time renewing his visa. He was working in NWA territories in 2004, and renewed his visa to work in WWE development in 2007, entering with Drew McIntyre.

 

[TheOzzman45]

Ok, so everyone seems to think that this is a huge problem for the Nexus storyline. I don't see it that way. Yes, Barrett is the current leader of Nexus, but think of it this way: Barrett was at WWE Headquarters defending an attack on Vince McMahon by the Nexus (storyline wise). Then while he was there, Nexus, took a loophole in the GM's stipulations and attacked the legends. Taking all of this into account, the WWE BOD decides to indefinitely suspend the leader of Nexus to make a statement. Also, so he doesn't come in, all superstars and staff have agreed to take legal action if attacked by him. From that point on, Tarver or A-list can take over the leadership speaking role until Barrett's visa issues are resolved. Problem solved.

Meanwhile McIntyre was written off storyline wise because his work visa expired, so no explanation is needed. Eventually, he gets it resolved and comes back after Matt Hardy and has a recuperated McMahon make Teddy's life a living hell.

 

[Stone_Cold_Randy_Orton]

First I got to give props to the WWE for making people question their own sense concerning the recent issues its been going through. All I have to say to you folk though is: Don't be so naive.

On to the discussion. Barret being confirmed as losing his Visa is obvious due to the fact that they wouldn't pull him off TV in the middle of a push for no reason. Because of that its official that he lost his visa. Funny though how another guy also happened to lose his Visa and it was mentioned on WWE TV. That being said, I still believe its legit. There is no beneficial gain by removing him from TV. The same can be said in Bryan Daniels case. Although this happens to be a case where the WWE audience actually made it worthwhile by asking for him back.

Now onto how to remedy the situation. With both Daniel and Barret out, this leaves only one option to capitalize on their absence: Have them come back at the same time. If Barret is in the situation where he can't immediately get back his Visa and Daniel has to wait out his 90 day contract this gives them the reason to incorporate it into story. Have Nexus do whatever they want for a short while then in a "shocking twist" have Barret and Daniel come back and be revealed as either a guest host or leader of Nexus. This whole situation is just giving them more attention. It works perfectly.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Most likely they will go home, get their visas renewed, come back and perform business as usual. There is no telling how long it will be but matters like this can get sorted out quickly so its not like they will be gone for months on end (well they could be but its not likely). McIntyre will probably come back fresh, maybe even with a new personality whereas Barrett will probably come back and do 1 of 2 things: (a - resume leadership of Nexus or b - Nexus will have a new leader and Barrett will feud with him (maybe even opposing Nexus as a whole)).

Of course McMahon will not be pleased (how could he, over the last few months he has invested quite a bit of time and money into both guys and obviously had plans for them both), but he won't go insane and fire them, he will probably punish them in some way (like a fine or some sort of slap on the wrist), but all will be forgotten eventually and things will go back to normal. McIntyre might job for the first little while but I have a feeling Barrett will be put back into the Invasion storyline in some capacity, he's to big a part of it for McMahon to abandon his plans just so he can punish Barrett, it would hurt McMahon more to punish Barrett on Television (like making him job in the opening match every week) than it would be to just talk to him about it and give him a warning, punishing Barrett in that way would be stupid and Vince knows that, business comes first.

 

[drobs85]

The one thing I can't get over is that WWE apparently allowed this to happen. Did no one notice that these deadlines were coming up? Can you imagine the backlash if WWE had two illegal aliens wrestling on their national television shows? To say it would be a disaster would be an understatement. This happened to Love in TNA also. It can't be this hard to keep track of them can it? That being said, Barrett is by far the more important guy here as he's the one of Nexus that is close to legit. This is bad for WWE, but I still can't get over that it actually came to this point.

Yea this is the same company just weeks ago that told Danielson to choke Justin Roberts and spit on Cena but totally threw Danielson under the bus after the fact. Yea i believe wwe knew about the visas and didn't care. Mcintyre outside his theme music and entrance is fading. But everyone is on barrett's balls, what has he ever done in wwe. At least mcintyre has one of the best theme's and has actually been in fueds, and held the ic title, what string bean lanky barrett done besides talk and attack people.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

Yea this is the same company just weeks ago that told Danielson to choke Justin Roberts and spit on Cena but totally threw Danielson under the bus after the fact. Yea i believe wwe knew about the visas and didn't care. Mcintyre outside his theme music and entrance is fading. But everyone is on barrett's balls, what has he ever done in wwe. At least mcintyre has one of the best theme's and has actually been in fueds, and held the ic title, what string bean lanky barrett done besides talk and attack people.

Weird, every single thing you said in this post is completely wrong.

1. You have absolutely no idea whether or not the WWE told DBBD to choke Roberts. That's complete hearsay.

2. The WWE can get fined for employing workers with expired visas. They're not going to do it.

3. They didn't "not care" about two of their main eventers. You're naive if you think they did.

4. Barrett has been in mainstream WWE for what, three weeks? Would you rather him have a few world title reigns under his belt? Or would you rather they take the TNA approach and randomly give the champion to someone who wasn't even pursuing it?

 

[Invert]

To be honest, this could be a great thing for the Nexus angle. They are getting nothing accomplished now by going around and beating people up IMHO. They are wrestlers who haven't wrestled a match since NXT season 1 ended. Vince fires Barrett, saying he is the leader and must be accountable for the groups actions and says the rest of the group has to split up. End of story.

As for McIntyre, I have no clue, I haven't watched Smackdown in years.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Alright so the angle being worked for McIntyre seems more legit now, than the myterious story in regard to the same subject that left Barrett absent from Raw.

That being said, I don't know whether to try and believe the front page in them saying Barrett could return in as little as a week - yet McIntyre may not be back until after Summerslam. And I call shenanigans on this entire thing for this very reason.

McIntyre was apparently engaged to be married to (legal U.S. Citizen) Tiffany. If that were true, why would it take McIntyre the longer amount of time to get a new visa, since he's closer to actually being a full-on US Citizen. Furthermore, how can Barrett be re-approved in a weeks' time, yet McIntyre (who works for the same Company, and has the same problem) be out over 2 months. Doesn't add up to being worth taking seriously.

Barrett may have legit come up on his visa, but to the point to where they're renewing/working out the issues and it'll be resolved within a week's time. Whereas perhaps McIntyre is merely being pulled for some reason, and they're using this as a longer lasting issue for storyline?? Afterall, they didn't announce on television that Barrett had visa issues - and its the entire storyline revolving around McIntyre right now.

I'm not buying either one being out beyond Summerslam though, at least not through a visa issue. WWE may not be able to control or demand order on that sorta thing, but I can't see how they couldn't of had someone working with contracts NOT realize an expiration date was quickly coming up.

 

[Remix]

Alright so the angle being worked for McIntyre seems more legit now, than the myterious story in regard to the same subject that left Barrett absent from Raw.

The angle was a good climax to the feud, legit visa problems or not.

That being said, I don't know whether to try and believe the front page in them saying Barrett could return in as little as a week - yet McIntyre may not be back until after Summerslam. And I call shenanigans on this entire thing for this very reason.

Well, I gather that the type of Visa that Barrett and McIntyre are on don't actually expire until October (they're valid for two years, and they moved to America in October of '07), so both can appear legally on US shows.

If that's not the case, Barrett has apparently been in London (presumably at the US Embassy) trying to sort out a new Visa (or sort out his current one. Whichever), while McIntyre is either still in the US or has buggered off to Prestwick. In either case, Barrett's mess will be sorted faster because he's doing something with the relavent authorities.

McIntyre was apparently engaged to be married to (legal U.S. Citizen) Tiffany. If that were true, why would it take McIntyre the longer amount of time to get a new visa, since he's closer to actually being a full-on US Citizen. Furthermore, how can Barrett be re-approved in a weeks' time, yet McIntyre (who works for the same Company, and has the same problem) be out over 2 months. Doesn't add up to being worth taking seriously.

He also has to apply for a green card. No idea how long that takes, and the wait for approval might have taken longer than expected, leading to his Visa expiring whilst waiting for a yes to come through the post.

And there are a couple of reasons why Barrett may be back sooner. Firstly because he's apparently trying to sort it as quickly and easily as possible, secondly WWE needs him back a lot more than they need Drew back (leading to them putting a lot of effort into sorting our Wade's immigration mess than Drew's) and thirdly, they might just be using the oppertunity to write Drew out indefinately while they think of something to do with him/for storyline purposes. He can make a big return when Smackdown comes to Europe.

Barrett may have legit come up on his visa, but to the point to where they're renewing/working out the issues and it'll be resolved within a week's time. Whereas perhaps McIntyre is merely being pulled for some reason, and they're using this as a longer lasting issue for storyline?? Afterall, they didn't announce on television that Barrett had visa issues - and its the entire storyline revolving around McIntyre right now.

I don't know how long it actually takes to get a visa renewed, but WWE will know all of the back doors and loopholes and could be able to get it done in a very short period of time. Possibly by this time next week, depending on when they started and how long the process takes. They might not see Drew as such a high priority, as after all they've written him out indefinately anyway and it'll be a bigger return if he jumps the barricade in Manchester, mullers Matt Hardy and announces that he's back. Wade can't afford to lose momentum, Drew can.

I'm not buying either one being out beyond Summerslam though, at least not through a visa issue. WWE may not be able to control or demand order on that sorta thing, but I can't see how they couldn't of had someone working with contracts NOT realize an expiration date was quickly coming up.

Drew could be, depending on when they choose to bring him back up. If they wait for a Smackdown taping where he won't need a Visa to jomp people he'll be out until November. If they want to bring him back saying Vince sorted his Visa out then it could be any time between now and the UK shows. Drew's hard to predict the return of.

 

[Unsold Bacon]

Apparently Drew was spotted in a Nightclub on the weekend. Really? He is having trouble with his Visa to work in the WWE an he is in a night club. I also read Drew could be out till Summerslam. and Barret coulb be back as early as next week.

 

[Silent~Screamer]

Thank god Barret's Visa expired. He was nearly killed off with the cluster fuck that is the Nexus storyline. I really hoped they wouldn't ruin him and a couple faces from the alliance, and hopefully next week they drop this with the GM's announcement or make some drastic changes.

 

[drobs85]

Weird, every single thing you said in this post is completely wrong.

1. You have absolutely no idea whether or not the WWE told DBBD to choke Roberts. That's complete hearsay.

2. The WWE can get fined for employing workers with expired visas. They're not going to do it.

3. They didn't "not care" about two of their main eventers. You're naive if you think they did.

4. Barrett has been in mainstream WWE for what, three weeks? Would you rather him have a few world title reigns under his belt? Or would you rather they take the TNA approach and randomly give the champion to someone who wasn't even pursuing it?

Ok guy your completely naive if you believe for one second that Danielson went out there and choked Roberts and spit on Cena on his own. As scripted as that shit is. Secondly if he wasn't told to, Roberts would have pressed charges, security would have cuffed him, something.
Who said anything about their visas being expired before they got hired. Now WWE tends to have people fooled that they keep up with stuff that really matters like this visa issue, but they care about stuff like someone holding an armbar for to long. There's no way to explain how WWE didn't keep better eyes on as you say "main eventers". I'd rather people get off of Barrett's balls especially when he hasn't been here long enough or done anything of significance and i'd rather give it to someone who's been there longer which would include Mcintyre. Sheamus is the one exception and Barrett certainly isn't Sheamus. And who isn't pursuing the belt, Mcintyre? Doesn't mean he wouldn't proudly except it.

 

[Sean Valjean]

This hurts Barrett and the Nexus angle more than McIntyre. They ended McIntyre's storyline with his visa issue and sent him off properly, so he could take as long as he'd like before making his return. He'll be fine.

Barrett on the other hand, they need back ASAP. He's the leader of Nexus, the biggest thing in WWE right now, and it's going to be hard to write him off tv even if it is just for a couple of weeks. Not only is he the leader, he's the best speaker and is the only one with the guaranteed title shot. Nexus has already lost Danielson and to lose Barrett for an extended period would be a major blow to the group.

I just wonder how the WWE could let this happen. I'm sure it's the responsibility of both guys to keep up with their visas, but I find it hard to believe that the WWE wouldn't keep tabs on that stuff to some degree. Whoever's in charge of monitoring that stuff should probably be fired.

I'm a fan of both of these guys, so I hope this mess gets straightened soon.

 

[MissCG]

This hurts Barrett and the Nexus angle more than McIntyre. They ended McIntyre's storyline with his visa issue and sent him off properly, so he could take as long as he'd like before making his return. He'll be fine.

Barrett on the other hand, they need back ASAP. He's the leader of Nexus, the biggest thing in WWE right now, and it's going to be hard to write him off tv even if it is just for a couple of weeks. Not only is he the leader, he's the best speaker and is the only one with the guaranteed title shot. Nexus has already lost Danielson and to lose Barrett for an extended period would be a major blow to the group.

I just wonder how the WWE could let this happen. I'm sure it's the responsibility of both guys to keep up with their visas, but I find it hard to believe that the WWE wouldn't keep tabs on that stuff to some degree. Whoever's in charge of monitoring that stuff should probably be fired.

I'm a fan of both of these guys, so I hope this mess gets straightened soon.

I agree on all counts. At least with McIntyre, they wrapped up the thing with him and Matt Hardy fairly neatly. Barrett is a different story. He is a huge part of the Nexus Storyline which is the biggest thing they have going. To lose him for a large chunk of time would not be good

It is really surprising that WWE wasn`t keeping track of this stuff better. It is the responsibility of the guys to do it, like you said. You would think WWE are keeping tabs though, maybe reminding them or asking if they had taken care of it yet. I`ve heard it`s been reported a couple places that they same thing came close to happening with Sheamus, but it was caught in time. I dunno if it`s true or not, but if it is, it`s scary.