Justin Bieber -- or, uh, Bizzle as he now calls himself on Instagram -- could theoretically be ordered to leave the U.S. if he was charged and convicted of egging his neighbour's home in California.
TMZ reports the singer is allowed to live in the U.S. under a O-1 Work Permit, something many athletes and various entertainers with "extraordinary abilities" get in order to move to the U.S. We believe the "extraordinary abilities" in Bieber's case refer to his musical talent and not his growing knack for getting in trouble with the law.
"The O-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the individual who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements," the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services says on its site regarding the status.
However, the wording of the U.S. Immigration laws could lead Bieber out of the country. A person convicted of "moral turpitude" could be deemed "inadmissible" for work status Stateside. And one of the crimes that fall under "moral turpitude" is, yep, "malicious destruction of property."
Should the district attorney opt to file vandalism charges, those charges could come back to bite Bieber should he reapply for the O-1 Permit in 2016. Also, whether or not those potential charges are misdemeanor or felony has no bearing on "moral turpitude."
As reported yesterday, footage from the egging incident which took place last month has surfaced. And as has been also heavily reported, Bieber is slated to appear in a Toronto court on March 10 to face an assault charge. The assault stems from an incident with a limo driver on Dec. 30 who was reportedly hit several times in the head.
Oh, and White House press secretary Jay Carney has confirmed that the administration is preparing a response to the official "We The People" petition to deport Bieber.
"That process will occur, as is our commitment," he sighed. "There will be a response when the threshold is crossed. That response will come, I’m sure, relatively soon. I don't have one now on matters related to visas. I would refer you to DHS.”
The petition required 100,000 signatures to get a government response and as of Feb 11, it has reached over 255,000 and reads:
"We the people of the United States feel that we are being wrongly represented in the world of pop culture. We would like to see the dangerous, reckless, destructive, and drug abusing, Justin Bieber deported and his green card revoked. He is not only threatening the safety of our people but he is also a terrible influence on our nations youth. We the people would like to remove Justin Bieber from our society."
