"Bitcoin Jesus" Roger Ver will be unable to attend the upcoming North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami, to be held during January 16-18, nor the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The reason: his request for a non-immigrant visa was denied. He tweeted:
While forcing me to pay taxes @USEmbassyBbdos tyrants won't allow me to attend #CES2015, #TNABC or anything in the US pic.twitter.com/8dl6qpPjUM
— Roger Ver (@rogerkver) January 6, 2015Ver officially left the US roughly nine years ago after having a falling out with the government. He has resided mostly in Japan and occasionally in Saint Kitts and Nevis, the latter previously destined as a future Bitcoin paradise through his now-defunct Passports for Bitcoin program.
As to the reason for the rejection, the US embassy in Barbados stated that Ver failed to demonstrate that he has sufficient ties in his current country of residence. This would give assurance that he's not intending to abandon his current country and illegally immigrate to the US.
He also accused the embassy of refusing to consider the evidence presented for his application.
Many are anticipating the Miami conference because of the scheduled presentation by Josh Garza, CEO of GAW Miners, whose slot has been repurposed as a Q&A to address concerns over his business practices.
This year's CES is also exhibiting multiple Bitcoin companies.
