He died thousands of miles from home, but like hundreds of other entertainers who came before him, Heath Ledger had left his native land to carve out a career in Hollywood.
In doing so, the Australian-born actor, who died last week in New York City of still-undetermined causes, joined a long list of expatriate entertainers that includes Spain's Antonio Banderas, Canada's Mike Myers and even the man who paid tribute to Ledger at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, Englishman Daniel Day-Lewis.
With immigration as a hot-button issue in an election year, the internationalization of Hollywood -- nine of the 20 acting or supporting Oscar nominations this year went to foreign-born movie stars -- raises the question: Is it easier for an actor to get a U.S. work visa than it is, say, for a dishwasher?
"It is and it isn't," said immigration lawyer Mark Ivener, who has handled work permit and residency applications for numerous entertainers, including Ledger.
While English skills and hailing from a favored nation can certainly help, it turns out that star power helps grease the skids with government officials too.
"It is easier if you are well known," Ivener said. "Then you don't have to go through the labor certification process where you have to demonstrate to the Department of Labor that you won't be taking away a job from an American."
But for a struggling actor who's been waiting tables in London or Mexico City and would rather sling hash in Hollywood, the process is just as hard as it is for anyone else, say Ivener and others.
There are other criteria: Immigration lawyers say whether you're a scientist or a wannabe entertainer, it's definitely a drawback to be from a country on a terrorist watch list, or one that's predominantly Muslim, for that matter.
"That's still considered -- unfortunately," said Kathleen Walker, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Assn. Just being born in a country like Iran, Sudan, Cuba or North Korea, she said, leaves any person open to extra scrutiny.
"Which I don't believe in," she added. "If I were born in Iran but have never been in Iran since my birth, I'm still subject to additional screening."
And it can't hurt to be from an English-speaking country such as Australia, England or Canada -- most roles still go to fluent English speakers, the immigration lawyers say.
