Judith and Mark Stephens moved from Cheltenham, England, to Dexter to fulfill their dream of running a bed and breakfast in the United States. The Stephenses sold their home in England to buy the Brewster Inn, the home of Ralph Owen Brewster, a former Maine governor and U.S. senator. Buy Photo
DEXTER, Maine — A British couple have two years to develop a plan to convince the U.S. Embassy in London they have become model residents and have contributed much to their newly adopted American community so their visas can be extended.
Mark and Judith Stephens, who left Cheltenham, England, in 2007 to start anew as innkeepers of the historic Brewster Inn in Dexter, were granted last week a two-year extension of their I-94 card, an arrival-departure form used by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
With their visas set to expire this month and their I-94 cards up in January, the couple flew to the Bahamas for three days last week, where they went through customs and received the extension — a temporary stay until they renew their visas.
“We can’t wriggle anymore, that’s it,” Mark Stephens said last week.
They had initially planned to make the trip to London to renew their visas, but a London attorney advised them not to because the visa rules have changed four times since they left the country, making it harder for the couple to justify their stay in America.
“It’s not the U.S. government, per se, that’s causing the problem, but the U.S. Embassy in London seems to have taken on a new role,” Stephens said.
The couple say they have done everything legally to become American citizens by entering the country through the proper channels. They sold their belongings in England and invested their savings in the inn, where they have immersed themselves in its history and the community.
They fear, however, that in two years, when they must return to London to renew their visas, they won’t be able to show a huge profit from their business and will be rejected.
“They’ve changed the goal posts numerous times and we can’t ever hope to achieve the unrealistic targets to try and stay here that they’ve set for us,” Stephens said.
To get citizenship in America, Stephens said, he had to have a green card, but the only visa he and his wife could get to come to America was a U2 visa, which does not allow an opportunity to get a green card.
“We weren’t good enough for any other visa and that’s the way I see it; we weren’t good enough, we’re not rich enough, we’re not famous enough, not illegal enough, whatever,” Stephens said.
Once their visas expire this month the couple are landlocked.
“If anything happens over the course of the next two years where a member of our family is sick or dies, we can’t go back to England because they will let us go but they won’t let us get back in because we don’t have a visa,” Stephens said.
Despite that, the couple are making the most of their two-year extension.
“It means we can carry on growing this business, getting it to where we believe we can take it,” Stephens said. He said he and his wife were already doing more business than the previous owners. “It’s our sole desire to bring more and more people into this town to spend their money in the town and make this town and the whole area better because of it.”
They also will use the time to find a lawyer to help them get through the renewal process in 2010. “We’re going to have to figure out the best course of action,” Stephens said.
Another British couple who own a Maine bed and breakfast are trying to renew their visas in Barbados, according to Stephens. “What we’ve always been told is that you’re meant to go back to the place of issuance,” he said. He has heard that London will not look favorably on those who try to renew their visas in another coun-try, but he is holding out hope the couple will be successful.
“We will do everything we can, to go where we think we need to go, to have a better chance of staying here,” Stephens said.
On 12/1/08 at 7:19 AM,
thekingofmaine wrote:
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Here we go again. They're takin' our jeeeeeeeeerbs
On 12/1/08 at 7:34 AM,
WRofGlenburn wrote:
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I see the problem! You need to take a flight to Bermuda, then a trawler to Havana, another flight to Mexico City, a taxi to Tijuana, Then sneak across the border in the night while transporting 10 kilos of coke - then you should be OK. We don't need no hardworking LEGAL immigrants here! That shows a lack of imagination. We need more stealth citizens that can engage in crimes and avoid detection, get hired by unscrupulous employers, pay no tax and send all your money back to your homeland. That's the new and improved version of the American Dream. Good luck.
On 12/1/08 at 7:52 AM,
SteveyDee wrote:
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Round them all up and send them back. Keep the good looking oriental girls only LOL!!!!!!!
On 12/1/08 at 8:11 AM,
thekingofmaine wrote:
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LIke I said, taking our jobs
On 12/1/08 at 8:18 AM,
Bob04605 wrote:
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One suggestion, on a recent trip to Dexter I discovered that the Baxter Inn was the only game in town. I ended up travelling back to Newport when I couldn't get anyone to answer the door. Your profits might imporve if you were open to receiving guests.
On 12/1/08 at 8:47 AM,
thekingofmaine wrote:
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Just like everywhere else in Maine, Bob. Nobody answers the door or the phone after 5pm because they're all sleeping
On 12/1/08 at 10:05 AM,
Lobstarok wrote:
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These folks are doing it the right way for a change-for those turdbuckets who forgot-this how America is supposed to be-you think they took yer job?-then get off yer ass and get movin'
On 12/1/08 at 10:30 AM,
thekingofmaine wrote:
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my job
On 12/1/08 at 11:32 AM,
grandma53 wrote:
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We don't go to sleep at 5pm, it's 4:30pm. What's the matter with people from anywhere trying to run a business as long as they do things the right way. At least we aren't paying for the welfare they could be collecting. Haven't you heard of NAFTA?
On 12/1/08 at 11:33 AM,
grandma53 wrote:
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We don't go to sleep at 5pm, it's 4:30pm. What's the matter with people from anywhere trying to run a business as long as they do things the right way. At least we aren't paying for the welfare they could be collecting. Haven't you heard of NAFTA?
On 12/1/08 at 11:33 AM,
grandma53 wrote:
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We don't go to sleep at 5pm, it's 4:30pm. What's the matter with people from anywhere trying to run a business as long as they do things the right way. At least we aren't paying for the welfare they could be collecting. Haven't you heard of NAFTA?
On 12/1/08 at 11:52 AM,
SteveP wrote:
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I feel so sorry for these people. What were they thinking? The US doesn't want immigrants unless they are already rich. Maine certainly doesn't want anyone "from away" that might come here and take jobs away by running a B&B. I mean, sure, they might hire a few locals and employ carpenters and other tradespeople to fix it up and pay taxes and all that, but by golly, if no one from Maine wants to run the place then it shouldn't be allowed for some furriner to do it. Right?
And just a note about B&Bs. They differ a bit from the pitch-up-whenever Motel 6. Typically, you book in advance or at least call by mid-afternoon if you want a room. It is someone's home, too, you know.
On 12/1/08 at 11:57 AM,
exPat_overseas wrote:
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I am a Green Card holder and it took me 2yrs to get mine, I had to leave the country every 3 mths and go back to the UK, not the Bahama's, not being nasty, but why would you sell your house and come to America with only a travel permit that is only valid for 3 mths, and why would you think that you could become a citizen in only such a short time. I sympathise, but there are legal roads to follow.
On 12/1/08 at 4:05 PM,
movethen wrote:
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Purchasing a business is NOT taking our jobs. Maybe you should have sold everything and bought the Inn. I guess that takes courage and dedication. If you didn't want it, then they are not taking your jobs or anyone elses. By purchasing a business, or starting one, you are making jobs! All the lazy people out there, do me a favor and get your whining over with so I don't have to keep listening to it. You can't find a job, go to college or trade school. You can't find one in your area, move then, but please quit making the rest of us look like a bunch of whiny, I deserve it on a platter, want it all's for nothing.
On 12/2/08 at 3:22 PM,
Bangorean wrote:
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Why do I suspect that "thekingturdofmaine" doesn't have a job and doesn't want one? That's what makes his posts so . . . ironically humorous and ignorant.
On 12/3/08 at 8:08 AM,
DanielSchwartz wrote:
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We are as free as our rulers let us be. Humans are no more than a bunch of cattle and slaves to a corrupt system. Don't aid the system, replace it. There are more of us than them. I say good luck.
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