Right, but it sounds as if they had gotten the equivalent of a green-card and then had that yanked out from under them when the government changed the rules. I

Right, but it sounds as if they had gotten the equivalent of a green-card and then had that yanked out from under them when the government changed the rules. It's akin to the US government saying "Hey, you can live here and come and go as you please, but in order to make a living, you've gotta fork over more money."