Photo by J. Earl Miller

The Curious Case of Johnny Butten

After emigrating from the UK in 2007, musician, songwriter and performer Johnny Butten is suddenly facing deportation.

By Paul Hankel
Contributing Writer

September 14, 2011. A date in time that is running through Johnny Butten’s mind faster than his fingers strum the strings of a banjo. A date that could, potentially, put an end to the musician’s hope of living the American Dream. On March 22, 2011 Johnny Butten received a letter stating that he and his family were being deported. According to US immigration laws, the recipient has an “unofficial” grace period of up to 180 days to leave the United States. However, immigration officials have the right to show up at the Butten’s home at anytime during the grace period to forcibly remove them, detain them and deport them. As of Sept. 14 of this year, Butten and his family are subject to arrest and imprisonment. The result has become a daily battle between the Butten family and the US immigration system.

Johnny Butten, 47, an award-winning bluegrass musician, was born in Taunton, Somerset, England. He began playing banjo at the age of nine, and by the time he turned fourteen he had won every major blue grass competition in Europe. He went on to form the band Hard Cash in 1989 and was later nominated for European Fiddle Player of the Year in 1997. So extraordinary was Butten’s ability that, to date, he holds the title of the World’s Fastest Banjo Player in the Guinness Book of World Records. He set the record on Sept. 15, 2007 at the Cornish Bluegrass Festival in England. Citing this achievement along with numerous other awards and endorsements, Butten applied and was accepted for a three-year 01 Work Visa from the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) based on his ability to demonstrate the he was an “Alien of Extraordinary Abilities”.

Following several offers to perform and judge bluegrass competitions throughout the US, Butten immigrated from England in 2007. He brought with him his wife, Sammy, and their three teenage children Jess, Ben and Georgia. Butten purchased a farmstead in Hawley, Minnesota, enrolled his children in high school, began paying taxes and spent the next three years performing, composing and enriching the Midwest with his eclectic bluegrass talents. After nearly three years, Butten applied for an EB-1 Natural Progression green card, in the hopes that he and his family would be one step closer to gaining their citizenship. He was denied by USCIS based on what appears to be a clerical oversight and the changing standards of US immigration law. A quote from the musician’s Facebook page dated March 23 reads, “Well, its official, our green card application has been denied.” Butten was shocked to learn that on his original EB-1 Green Card application he was listed as a Researcher of Aerospace Science, an apparent clerical error or quality control oversight. Butten challenged the denial stating that a mistake had been made by the INS and, according to his initial Visa, he was considered an Alien of Extraordinary Abilities, again citing his world record. He was later informed that the Guinness Book of World Records was no longer considered, by USCIS and the Federal Government, to be a significant enough publication to warrant the issuing of his green card.

“Despite the fact that it is currently printed in 37 different languages and has, for the past 12 years, outsold the Bible,” Butten said.

This was following his original acceptance for the 01 Visa based on the same world record and achievement. Upon further refusal, Butten was encouraged by the INS to apply for the B1 Tourist Visa. This would grant him another six months during which he and his family could still reside in the US. Butten quickly refused citing that the B1 Tourist Visa, by law, would prohibit him from being able to perform and work within the US.

“Additionally, the B1 Tourist Visa specifically states the recipient has intent to return to his or her homeland,” Butten said, “which was not the case for me and my family…our life is here. We want to stay here.”

Johnny Butten’s story is one that is being repeated throughout the United States: Foreign immigrants who come to the US for a better life, who meet all of the criteria and follow all of the procedures and laws, are not granted residency or citizenship due to clerical error, loopholes in the rules and procedures and the ever-changing standards within US immigration policy. Furthermore, Butten’s story poses the question: What message does this send to potential immigrants when someone such as Johnny Butten, an extraordinary bluegrass musician, is denied a green card and possible citizenship due to a clerical error and an ungrounded change in US immigration law?

“If this is how I am being treated for following proper immigration procedures, including paying $12,500 for a 01 Visa, I can’t imagine how illegal immigrants who are undocumented and arrested are being treated,” Butten said. “I might as well have snuck into the US illegally years ago, worked on a pig farm for three to five years, and then applied for amnesty.”

Had he done this, more than likely Butten would have been granted a green card and eventually citizenship under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). According to the US Immigration Support website, the IRCA grants amnesty “to certain seasonal agricultural illegal immigrants.” Butten would have been able to come forward, show proof of residency and employment and be granted a temporary green card.

“Professional athletes are brought from overseas all the time,” Butten said. “They are granted visas, green cards and eventually citizenship for excelling at what is considered, ‘America’s pastime.’ I am an internationally recognized blue grass banjo player. Blue grass music, which coincidentally originated in Europe, made its way to the American southwest and personifies the term ‘Americana’ in its essence. Why am I not being granted residency and a green card? Is it because bluegrass is a small genre of music? Is that not a double standard?”

Butten hopes that, along with eventually obtaining a green card, his family’s story serves as a platform for the much larger issue: the deficiencies within the US immigration system.

Along with his musical talents, Butten brought with him a passion for sharing this intriguing musical art form with those around him. Currently, he teaches banjo lessons from his farmstead in Hawley, Minnesota, and also at Marguerites Music in Moorhead, Minnesota. He has pledged to continually fight his deportation.

“I have invested three years, over $320,000 and have shared my love of bluegrass music with this country,” he said. “I will not leave without a fight.”

Along with receiving support from his local community and surrounding areas, Butten is beginning to gain national attention and hopes that his story will help shed a light on the immigration problems in this country.

Brandon Fitzgerald, one of Butten’s many students, was asked what he thought about his teacher’s current immigration battle.

“As an American citizen, I’m embarrassed. They [the USCIS and INS] have shown a total disregard for his case. People need to hear about this. This is his life we’re dealing with.”

It is a life that, without justice and common sense prevailing, the Butten family will be forced to live outside the United States.

[Editor’s Note: To see a copy of first page of Butten’s EB-1 green card denial letter go to our web version of this story at http://www.hpr1.com and click on the link.]

http://www.divshare.com/direct/14442243-d5c.jpg

Questions and comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)