A British magnificence queen has been refused entry to the US forward of the Mrs World contest which kicks off right now, “attributable to her Syrian background.”
Leen Clive, 29, a trainee NHS physician from Hull believes US officers denied her a visa as a result of she was born in Damascus, Syria, as her household’s entry visas had been accredited.
“I utilized with a British passport. I’m representing Britain and I am a British citizen, so I had no thought I might be banned from the US,” Clive advised the BBC.
“My husband and my child woman had their visas granted, however mine was refused – and the one distinction is my homeland,” she mentioned.
Clive was granted British citizenship final 12 months after having fled the war-torn nation together with her mom in 2013. Regardless of not with the ability to converse English, Clive studied the language alongside a level in biomedical science, graduating in 2019.
The thirty fifth annual occasion hosted in Las Vegas will see the brand new Mrs World topped on 15 January, with 57 different married girls competing from world wide. Clive’s absence would imply it will be the primary time that Britain has not been represented on the contest because it was established in 1984.
Syria is included within the US authorities’s State Sponsor of Terrorism checklist. As such, residents from these nations should be interviewed by a consular officer earlier than being allowed entry to the US.
Clive has since appealed to the US embassy for “widespread sense” in granting her visa so she will nonetheless compete in time. “I am nonetheless hopeful. I do know I am operating out of time, but when somebody from the embassy might have a look at my utility then issues might be completely different,” she mentioned. Her native MP has additionally mentioned she is making an attempt to intervene to assist guarantee Clive could make the pageant.
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