The sole basis for some people here for saying Borja is out is some interpreted Dean's statement that the person they chose was not from the submissions.
Not interpreted. Dean literally said that they didn't find a singer through the submissions. There is no other way to interpret what he said, beyond being in an extraordinary amount of denial.
Beyond which, Dean's statement is far from the sole basis. How did Borja rehearse with the band back in February? How has he been recording with the band? Robert literally just said in an interview that he never wants to record and album where the vocals are e-mailed in from another studio again.
So what? Does John have a teleporter? Has he been smuggling himself into the country secretly every month for brief periods?
Look, John's a talented guy and seems pretty damn nice to boot, and I hope he does well, but there has to be a time when you get out of denial and accept that he didn't get the job.
Do you even know how long it takes to apply for a work permit in the US?
Do you even know how inefficient it would be if the band would hire Borja and immediately bring him to the US without any job security for the time being, other than laying tracks over songs that they need to record from scratch? If it will take them a year to record, that would mean he should be jobless for one year.
I understand your logic. If STP chose Borja, they would work on his papers immediately and then bring him to the US. But that is not a very feasible and economical way to do it. Logically, they should do the music first with probably a vocal guide done by the band themselves, or even do collaborations until they come up with some formidable backing tracks. Then <insert vocals here>. In this case, it does not mean that if you are collaborating with the band, that means you have been chosen. I assume many have already done this with the band for the past year.
Put it this way, if you knew Borja was in LA, what would you think?