Allen has US visa reinstated

Lily Allen has been granted a US work visa - more than a year after her permit was revoked by immigration officials.

The 'Smile' hitmaker was forced to cancel all her US tour dates in August last year after she was stopped from entering the country over a scuffle with a photographer that March - which resulted in her arrest on allegations of assault.

Her detention meant she had to pull out of a planned performance at that summer's MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas.

Allen is now preparing a new tour of the States after her visa application was approved on Tuesday.

Speaking at the BMI Awards in London, where she picked up a gong for 'Smile', she told People.com: "I got my US visa today, yay!

"It means I can go and tour there and finish what I started, which is something I've wanted to do for a while."

Allen is due to release the follow-up to 2006's 'All right, Still' album next February.

The disc was previously due to be called 'Stuck On The Naughty Step' - but she's now changed her mind about the title.

She adds: "It will be out February 9 and... it's called 'It's Not Me, It's You'."

But Allen is remaining coy about what fans can expect from the LP. She says: "It's different. It's just... different."