It is the reason why people like myself can never hope to play in the US - even at a very low level. Even at the smallest level, we run the risk of arrest and confiscation (read "theft") of our meagre earnings if we get booked for working illegally. As a busker and now an occasional club/pub performer, I have always had to take some money just to be able to afford to do it. I just do not have the financial resources to fly to America, travel around and then return with no money. I never will be that well off, so I can effectively forget about ever going there. Neither do I have the financial resources, time or clout to overcome an obstacle course of bureaucratic red tape.
Compared to most of those who are helped by record companies and agents, Les Barker operates at a very low level. In the small scene, in which we operate, he is however, a weighty name. If it is made imposssible for Les Barker to work in the US, there is effectively a blanket ban on all entertainers, who work below a certain income level. Of course, in Les Barker's case, his tendency to speak uncomfortable truths will make it that little bit more difficult for the US authorities to view his application benignly.
I am beginnning to feel the same way about US authorities, as I once felt about entering Eastern European states. There is a clear message to us to stay away.