MUSIC NEWS AND MORE, PLAYED AT FULL BLAST

As the government steps up immigration controls, some foreign acts are finding it increasingly difficult to R-O-C-K in the U-S-A

BY ANDREW PARKS

SIMON 7.11/CAMERA PRESS/RE TNA (INSE T PHOTO)

With her slight stature, saucer-sized

doe eyes, and B-girl-next-door exterior,

Lily Allen is no one’s idea of a national security threat. But after an ¹⁸-hour

flight from Australia to Los Angeles in August,

Allen was greeted by an unexpected welcoming

committee: U.S. immigration officials who subjected

her to a five-hour grilling that ended with the British

songbird having her wings clipped—she was stripped of her American O- ¹ visa, which allows foreigners

with “extraordinary skills” to work in this country.

Allen has been known to raise a little hell.

She was arrested in June for punching a pushy

paparazzo in London. According to her label,

however, those charges have absolutely nothing to do

with her detainment. “She has no idea why she was

singled out,” says her U.S. spokesperson, Ambrosia

Healy. Regardless, Allen had to postpone a string

of California concert dates because of the lengthy

reapplication process. “I am trying everything I can to

sort this situation out,” the singer said in a statement.

“I will do everything I can to be back in America.”

Welcome to the club. In an era of heightened

immigration fears and terrorist scares, Allen is