Enrique Salanic, an award-winning Guatemalan actor, could not attend his film premiere in New York City, according to a published report in We Are Mitu.

Enrique Salanic was about to make his U.S. theatrical premiere in Los Angeles and New York in his award-winning film 'Jose.' However, due to the U.S. travel restrictions, the leading actor won't be able to enter the United States for the film release.

The film is directed by Chinese-born American filmmaker Li Cheng who has won several awards internationally. He won during the international film festival in 2018-2019 and that includes the prestigious Queer Lion award in which he won during the 75th Venice Film Festival.

Enrique Salanic is a fast-rising actor who was educated in the United States and earned exemplary reviews for his performance during the Venice 2018 premiere. He played an impoverished 19-year-old gay man who lives with his mother and falls in love for the first time.

Latin America and Guatemala are conservative countries and strictly follow Catholic traditions and Evangelical Christian religious values.

The twist of the film started when he met a migrant man from Carribean Coast whom he fell in love with. This led Jose to rethink his restrained life as he contemplates the drastic change that requires a leap of faith in which he is reluctant to take.

Enrique Salanic has traveled and attended the Lido and other festivals in Spain and Panama in support of the film, however, it seems that the U.S. appears to be a step too far. It was found that the U.S. embassy has rejected his application visa twice.

The U.S. embassy in the Central American country has rejected his application for a non-immigrant visa. According to the embassy, Salanic could be a flight risk to enter the United States because he does not have a residence in Guatemala though he lives with his parents in the country.

The premiere of his film in the United States should have been celebratory for him and the entire cast. However, instead of celebrating success in his debut appearance it has become a nightmare.

According to Paul Hudson, head of the film's U.S. distributor, Salanic's first applied for a non-immigrant visa in November, but was denied. The embassy again argued that his application was denied as he could be a flight risk if he were to enter the U.S.

Meanwhile, Hudson asked for help from Congressman Ted Lieu who wrote a letter on behalf of the young actor to the embassy, but that too was denied. In a copy from the embassy's original letter as a response to Salanic's application, it was written that the non-immigrant visa applicant must have a residence in a foreign country and that the applicant does not have any intention of abandoning it.

Paul Hudson told The Wrap: "Denying Enrique Salanic his entry visa to promote his work in a film produced, financed and distributed by American citizens and companies represents just one way in which the current administration's immigration rules impact U.S. businesses, and it perpetuates the negative impression the world has of America. Denying entry to a man who has already successfully studied in the U.S. just because he is from Guatemala is unjust and cruel."

Robert Rosenberg of Outsider Pictures also said: "It broke my heart that such a talented young actor like Enrique, who is the star of our movie, is being thwarted in pursuing his career by our government in the U.S. Our policies should encourage this kind of ambition and success, not trap Central Americans in their countries as if they were less than human."

The director of the film also discussed the relevance of the film and said: "' José' is a page ripped from today's news headlines. The crises of young people, single mothers and dark-skinned peoples in Guatemala frames the film's story. Guatemala has become an increasingly violent and dangerous place, where more than half the people live in poverty. Indeed most of the children separated from their parents and locked in dog-like cages in Texas (shocking people around the world) are Guatemalan, not Mexican, as is often claimed."