Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

A number of us have either been a part of, or know someone who has been a party to a long distance relationship. We cross state lines on weekends to see them, have phone conversations that last for hours each night, and we look forward to the day when we and our significant other are sharing the same home, or at the very least, the same area code. For Jeff, a U.S. citizen, and Maribel, a Peruvian citizen, the proverbial long distance relationship took on a whole new meaning. It was an international love story. Jeff met Maribel in Peru in November of 2006 while working there as a musician. By the time Jeff left to go back to the U.S. in December, the romance between the two had begun. Not even 3,000 miles could deter them from keeping their relationship alive. Jeff and Maribel emailed and chatted with each other endlessly. Jeff made sure to visit Maribel in Peru at least once a year for the next four years. In September, 2010, Jeff proposed to Maribel while visiting her for the birth of their daughter Thalia. Maribel agreed to marry Jeff and come live with him in the U.S. as a family. Plans to obtain a Fiancé Visa began. The visa grants the foreign national 90 days to travel to the U.S. and marry the U.S. fiancé. As with any K‐1 Fiancé Visa, every detail of a couple’s relationship is relevant to the application. Photographs of visits, emails, chat conversations, plan tickets, passport stamps and supporting affidavits are all scrutinized to ensure that fabricated relationships are not given the chance to obtain a visa under 8 C.F.R. 214.2(k). Jeff and Maribel had ample evidence of their good faith relationship and after their application was submitted in February all they could was wait. In May, we received notice of their petition’s approval and plans were ready to be made for baby Thalia to accompany her mother to live in the United States. In July, all of the necessary documentation and evidence for baby Thalia to be granted a Consular Report of Birth Abroad and U.S. passport. In September, Thalia received her passport and in October she entered the U.S. with her mother to Jeff and begin their new lives as a family and to plan for the wedding and ‘green card’ filing which was also successfully accomplished.