AN American couple who have been given 30 days to leave their Highland home did all they could to “get it right” while completing Home Office documentation, but appeared to have been caught out by a change in the rules, according to a leading churchman.

And Rt Rev Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, criticised the Home Office for not even acknowledging a letter he wrote in support of Russell and Ellen Felber.

The National: He told The National: “I wrote to the Home Office at the beginning of November and I’ve not even had an acknowledgement and I’m aware of others who have done the same and we’ve heard nothing at all. I don’t expect them to say ‘yes Bishop, of course Bishop’, but I do expect them to acknowledge the letter.

“I’m quite clear having seen all the paperwork, and I know the family well enough to know they tried very hard to get it right.

“They have fallen foul of a rule change, but they did everything they thought the right way and that’s what makes it even more painful.

“My understanding is that one of the rule changes took place after they had sent in their final submission.

“That seems appalling. You can’t do that – change legislation then expect people who’ve been operating under the previous legislation to get it right. These aren’t people who were trying to keep under the radar, these are people who’ve done everything they can to fulfil the letter of the law.”

His view was echoed by Damir Duheric, an Edinburgh-based immigration lawyer who is acting for the couple.

“The system under which they came here is ridiculously complex and is subject to constant changes and often it’s impossible to keep track of these changes. The Felbers have been caught in the midst of the changes,” he said.

As the National reported yesterday, the couple, originally from New York, bought the Torridon Guest House in Inverness almost six years ago and spent around £400,000 turning it into a popular and successful business.

They had arrived in Scotland on a three-year entrepreneur visa, which was subsequently extended for a further two years. But when they applied to become permanent residents, the Home Office rejected their submission.

Strange said the family had become active members of the community, as had Gregg, Kathryn and Lachlan Brain, whose battle with the Home Office made headlines world-wide after The National broke the story.

“The Brain family were members of our congregation in Dingwall so we supported them through their process,” said the bishop.

“Ellen [Felber] joined our bell ringers about two years ago and also is one of the gatekeepers of the cathedral – so she’s one of our trusted members.

“What I find difficult with all of this – and it was the same with the Brains – is these are people who are putting into the community, people who are not asking for financial support or anything like that. They are doing quite the reverse.

“I’m bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, so most of the Highlands. If anyone can prove to me that that’s an overpopulated part of the world I will buy them a dram. We need people, we don’t want to get rid of them.”

He added that he was worried many others across Scotland were going through a similar experience.

“People who move here do so because it’s to do with heritage, or lifestyle, and they fit very quickly into the community… so when something like this happens then it affects a lot of people very quickly, because it’s your friends, people you’ve grown close to.

“I suspect there are just as many cases going on elsewhere but those people don’t have a similar sort of support as they would find in the Highlands because they may get lost in a larger community.

“My real fear is that this is happening in the larger conurbations of Scotland but those people are not being seen and are probably just getting on planes and going because there’s nothing else for them to do and that is even more distressing… It’s just an appalling system and a sad reflection on society.”

Meanwhile, the family’s MP Drew Hendry, has written to Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill, seeking an urgent meeting to discuss their case. He is also thought to have asked him to lift the threat of imminent removal to alleviate some of the stress, which has resulted in Ellen being hospitalised on several occasions.

The Home Office did not respond to a request for comment before The National went to press.