HC Deb 15 March 2002 vol 381 cc1294-5W
Bob Spink

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government have taken to assist Deena Gilbey in her attempt to stay in the USA with her children. [41947]

Mr. Bradshaw

The Government have worked tirelessly on behalf of Mrs. Gilbey and the other British family members of victims of the 11 September atrocities. The British Embassy in Washington has worked with the White House, the State Department and Congress to ensure the fair and sympathetic treatment of British family members whose immigration or residency status in the US may have been affected by the terrorist attacks. The British Ambassador in Washington raised these cases with the Chair of the US Senate Judiciary Committee on 9 October 2001. Following this, the US Congress passed, and President Bush signed, anti-terrorism legislation (the Patriots Bill) that allows all British family members affected by 11 September to continue living and working in the US.

The US Immigration and Naturalisation Service have assured Mrs. Gilbey that does not face deportation.

The British Consulate General in New York remains in close touch with Mrs. Gilbey, and continues to monitor the situation closely, to ensure that she and others in a similar position do not have to suffer any further.

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