Gary Barlow mentor to the groups
'X Factor' contestants Code 4 have been forced to drop a member, bringing them down to three.
Mark Wyman - singer in the group - was deemed unable to enter New York because of past convictions for conspiracy to rob and theft, meaning he could not progress to Gary Barlow's 'Judges' Houses' stage of the competition.
Mark's troubles come soon after fellow semi-finalists Rough Copy were forced to lose member Kazeem Ajobe at Boot Camp because his Nigerian passport meant he would also struggle to be granted a visa.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "The issues with Rough Copy were well known, they had to pull out last year over the same situation.
"But it was a shock for Code 4. Mark had been up front about his past but the US rejected his visa application.
"Kazeem was hoping he'd be able to go to the States this year. But the paperwork didn't come through in time.
"It was just bad luck for Gary that two members of his category had issues."
Code 4's remaining members, Ryan Nembhard, Jermaine Donegal and Jordan Lee, admit they are finding it tough without Mark.
Ryan said: "We're missing Mark and that's tough.
"We did everything as a four.
"We didn't think we would end up here as a three."
Rough Copy are hopeful Kazeem can return to the band if they make it through to the live finals.
Meanwhile, another of Gary's hopefuls have hit problems, with boy band Kingsland forced to change their name to Kingsland Road - the home of their favourite London pub - because a group in America had the same title.
An insider said: "The boys didn't want to have to change their name but realised it was easier to tweak it now rather than face any legal issues further down the line."
Tagged in Gary Barlow