Roy Francisco with Dennis Orcollo
The pool world was stunned early this month when the news broke that World Champion Dennis Orcollo had been “deported” to the Philippines and was facing a five year ban from entry back into the United States.
Orcollo had been stopped at the Los Angeles airport, on his way back into the states from the Philippines, on his way to Alabama for a tournament. After being questioned for thirteen hours, Orcollo was told that his tourist VISA had been flagged because of how many times he had visited and stayed in the United States.
The support that friends, family and fans have shown for Orcollo is no surprise, considering his status in the global pool scene. While many online expressed their thoughts on how to help Orcollo, one group of supporters has banded together to work with an immigration attorney to try to assist Orcollo. The group, formed by Roy Francisco, consists of Roy, Mike Hoang, Jay Helfert, Carlos Sanchez, Phil MMP, Joseph Long, Doug Beasley, Carl Bolm and others has reached out to Norma Henning , the owner of the Henning Law Firm. “I knew everyone would want to help, but they all needed to come together. I talked to all of his sponsors and backers and brought them all together as one group to try to get this done” said Francisco.
Henning is already hard at work with Helfert and Hoang to help Orcollo with his situation. “Visa rules are complicated, and the consequences even of innocent misunderstandings can be severe. Dennis has historically used a ‘visitor visa’ to enter the United States. That visa allows professional athletes to participate in competitions and collect prize money but it is not really meant for the super successful who enter so many competitions that they end up visiting a little too much. We’re preparing an application for a visa that better matches his outstanding background and gives him more flexibility. And we hope that the US government will waive the five year bar because Dennis’ return to the United States – with the correct visa – is very important to the sport” said Henning when contacted.
One way that fans can help to show their support for Orcollo is with an online petition at change.org.
