A DEVASTATED teacher is facing deportation just a few weeks before Christmas over a ‘simple clerical error’ made by the Home Office.

Lisa Thompson, a maths teacher at Sandhurst school feels “shocked” and “frustrated” that her and her family have been forced to go back to America, despite paying £5,000 to renew her visa application.

An online petition has been set up and has gained over 4,000 signatures in order to try and reverse the families deportation.

She said: “It was simply a clerical error that could have been resolved if we were told in the right time."

Their daughter first found out the news on November, 26 while she was at university.

Kayla said: “I had no idea what was going on, I was meant to be going into my seminar and they told me I wasn’t allowed to go. I went back to my uni room and told my parents the problem.”

Lisa then got the call from her husband Ronald to say that their visa was turned down while she was teaching class.

On August 24, Lisa paid £5000 to allow them to stay in the UK for a further three years.

She didnt hear anything from the Home Office and started to become worried as the visa was set to expire by September 23.

The teacher said: “I tried calling but it kept going to an answer phone, I emailed and still didn’t hear anything back.

"We could have given them the correct certificate sponsorship number if they had called to tell me, but they just never got back to me."

The family had a matter of days to sort out the paperwork and give the correct certificate sponsorship number to be able to extend their stay in the UK, but it was too late.

She added: “They told me that if you don’t voluntarily leave then they [Home Office] could send enforcement officers to deport you and you could never come back.

“If we go back, we would lose everything, our home, our car. We don’t want to start our lives again.”

Last year, Cassandra Loj, a history teacher at Brakenhale school managed to reinstate her visa for five more years after a successful letter-writing campaign.

There could be hope for the family as the petition has thousands of supporters- but they still need more signatures.

The petition says that Lisa will have a 'detrimental impact on the staffing at Sandhurst school' and 'the students who have become accustomed to her help will be left distraught'.

Mrs Thompson said: “My job means everything, I love my students, love what I do and this has taken away something from me, it has taken away my family – it is just terrible."

Her husband Ronald added: “I feel frustrated and devastated, we love living here, love the culture and enjoy every minute in this country.

“We have a tight family unit and have supported each other during this whole ordeal.”

The family would like to thank everyone for their support to continue their efforts so that the decision gets reversed and they stay in the country.

Visit: https://bit.ly/2LaPJyh to support the petition.