When my parents met in 1956, my Father, a 3rd generation American Citizen traveled to Denmark, where he met my Mother, a Danish Citizen.
I grew up in Denmark, and remained there until I decided it was time to "go home" to the US, being born an American Citizen in Denmark, with a "Certificate of Birth Abroad" issued by the American Embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark.
While I was yet a young man in Denmark, I fell in love with a Danish girl - but fate had different plans, and in 1988 she moved to England, while I moved to the US in 1989.
We found each other once again in 2008, with the advent of FaceBook, but were both in "situations" - still, having each learned that the other was "the one who got away", we stayed in touch from time to time online.
In February of 2019, she contacted me, indicating she was no longer in a relationship, and was wondering how my life had turned out. We started talking, met up in New York in June for 3 days, and found that the 32 years simply vanished between us.
Upon returning to our respective homes, we started talking daily - for hours - on Skype, and in 5 weeks racked up 350 hours. That was when we decided that we no longer wished to remain apart, and started the process of getting her a Fiancée Visa.
The application went in to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on September 10, and on March 6, 2020, the petition was approved, and sent to the National Visa Center (NVC), and in 2 weeks time was sent on to the Unites States Embassy in London, England.
During all this time, she had been granted an ESTA (Electronic System of Travel Authorization) as a resident of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver program - but it only allowed her to remain in the US for up to 90 days at a time. We got her several consecutive visits; 80 days from the end of August to the beginning of October, 50 days during November and December, and finally 75 days from January to what was supposed to have been April - but then, COVID happened, and we got her out 3 weeks early so that she would not overstay her entry permission.
During her most recent entry, she was detained at the airport for nearly 3 hours, undergoing detailed questioning about why she was in the US so much, how she could afford it, etc. The simple answer was - and is - that I am supporting her until such time that she is legally able to work here, once we are married. The CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) agent tried very hard to find a reason not to admit her, but in the end was unable to find any reason - so instead, she stamped her records with a future denial of entry until her Fiancée Visa was issued.
There was absolutely no reason for her to disallow future entry. We had followed all applicable guidelines and laws concerning entry and visits, but the suspicions of CBP had been awakened because of her frequent lengthy entries which were no more sinister than 2 people in love wanting to be together.
Now with COVID, the US Embassy in London has been closed since March, with no signs of it re-opening, and even if it DOES re-open, there is no telling when entry into the US from the UK might again be permitted. Meanwhile, for 10 weeks, we sit, each isolated in our respective homes, her in England, myself in the State of Washington, USA, waiting for the authorities to decide whether they will allow us to have a life together or not.
