Lennon endured a long legal battle to live and work in the States after officials attempted to have him deported to his native Britain in the early 1970s, but he eventually had the deportation order overturned and was granted a green card work visa.

To mark the 40th anniversary of Lennon's landmark legal victory in 1975, bosses at the Amnesty International charity hosted a ceremony on Ellis Island to unveil a tapestry created in the musician's memory.

Ono attended the unveiling along with U2 stars Bono and The Edge, and the Irish singer was full of praise for Lennon, telling the crowd, "People who serve justice and equality, we kiss their a**. People who stand in its way, we kick (their a**)... That's why it is fitting to do this here, because John Lennon was an immigrant. He didn't sail across the Atlantic in an ocean liner or a yellow submarine. He didn't come in on a third-class ticket looking for a job in Hell's Kitchen. He didn't climb up out of steerage with all his potatoes in a single suitcase. But John Lennon was an immigrant all the same.''

The tapestry will be kept on Ellis Island, New York's former immigration hub, and put on display.