# "Across the Universe": How'd Jude get back to the US so fast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-the-universe-howd-jude-get-back-to-the-us-so-fast/825345 "2018-11-30T18:54:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-the-universe-howd-jude-get-back-to-the-us-so-fast/825345/1 "2018-11-30T18:54:21Z")
In the movie _Across the Universe,_ protagonist Jude left his hometown of Liverpool, and upon arriving in the United States, he jumped ship and became an illegal immigrant. A lot of stuff happens, and towards the end of the film, Jude is caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is arrested when he’s in a riot. His American father comes and bails him out of jail, but he tells Jude that because he’s an illegal immigrant in this situation, he’s going to be deported. Jude returns to Liverpool, finds that his old girlfriend got knocked up by _that guy_ ("why’d it have to be _him?")_ and that there’s really nothing there in Liverpool for himself anymore. So he goes back to the United States, and this time gets the legal right to stay there. He finds the girl he’d fallen in love with in America, and the movie ends on a hopeful note, suggesting that they might get back together. I’m curious as to how realistic it is that Jude was able to get legal permission to stay in the U.S. so quickly after being deported. I looked up current law on Google, which seems to indicate that it would have taken him, at minimum, five years, and maybe up to 15 years, to be able to return. But he was probably back in America in less than a week’s time. Of course, the movie takes place in the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-the-universe-howd-jude-get-back-to-the-us-so-fast/825345/2 "2018-11-30T19:12:49Z")
Assuming you’re not willing to hand-wave that away, Max and Lucy’s parents appeared to be upper-middle class. Perhaps they were well-connected enough to expedite Jude’s return to the US? (And this is one of my favorite recent movies. I really liked it a lot. I’m just sorry I didn’t see it in the theaters when it was released, but instead only first saw it on DVD.) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-the-universe-howd-jude-get-back-to-the-us-so-fast/825345/3 "2018-11-30T19:14:33Z")
I first saw the movie on DVD myself, but Fathom Events re-released it in theaters earlier this year, and Mom and I both made sure to attend it. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-the-universe-howd-jude-get-back-to-the-us-so-fast/825345/4 "2018-11-30T19:48:32Z")
Well, I want to see that movie now. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-the-universe-howd-jude-get-back-to-the-us-so-fast/825345/5 "2018-11-30T19:53:06Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > But he was probably back in America in less than a week’s time. Wait, was it that quick? I can’t remember but I thought it could have been longer. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-the-universe-howd-jude-get-back-to-the-us-so-fast/825345/6 "2018-11-30T20:00:25Z")
How did he get back so fast? All You Need Is Love. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-the-universe-howd-jude-get-back-to-the-us-so-fast/825345/7 "2018-11-30T20:02:00Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Wait, was it that quick? I can’t remember but I thought it could have been longer. Perhaps it was; they never really say, but it’s _certainly_ less than a year, I’m sure we can all agree. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/across-the-universe-howd-jude-get-back-to-the-us-so-fast/825345/8 "2018-11-30T20:22:12Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > How did he get back so fast? All You Need Is Love. Yep, that’s _the power of love_.