Husband barred, so woman fights cancer alone

But Michael doesn’t have the final say in his travel plans. That’s a matter for the United States government.
Michael, from Dungloe, Co. Donegal, has been attempting to hug his American wife on American ground since June 2002.
What appeared at first to have been just a technical hitch in an immigration process that would ultimately clear the way for a new life in this country has long since turned into a Kafkaesque nightmare for both Michael and Lisa.
That nightmare has just taken a turn for the worse.
Lisa successfully battled thyroid cancer 12 years ago, but it has recently returned. She is readying herself for a new round of treatments but is angry and frustrated at the fact that her husband is not by her side.
“The tumor is back but Michael isn’t,” the 44-year-old legal assistant said from her home in the Pompano Beach area. “And he really needs to be here with me now.”
Lisa and Michael’s immigration woes began to dominate their lives two summers ago. Michael had returned to Ireland where his mother was seriously ill to the point that she had lapsed into a coma. Later, when he attempted to return to the U.S., he discovered that his entry was barred despite the fact that his wife was a citizen, that he had received U.S. labor certification and had a job lined up in Florida.
The block on his return was due to a misunderstanding with an immigration attorney and a failure to file the paperwork necessary to clear Rodgers for an emergency trip outside the United States during the period leading up to his green card interview.
Once the problem over Michael’s return became apparent, Lisa began petitioning the immigration authorities on her husband’s behalf. She contacted the U.S. embassy in Dublin, wrote letters and sought the help of her congressman.
That was two years ago.
The couple’s hopes were raised in recent days when Michael Rodgers was called for an interview at the Dublin embassy. Lisa had to send over a check. But she did not know that the necessary fee had been raised from $195 to $250. She was informed that the interview process would have to be started all over again once a new check for the proper amount was filed.
Late last week, Lisa sent a new check to the embassy along with a letter from her doctor explaining the serious nature of her medical condition. Her legal game of chutes and ladders would appear to have time to run yet.
“This has been two years taken out of our lives. We’ve done everything by the book. We’ve been patient,” Lisa said. “All this should need now is for someone to stamp his passport. But he’s in Dungloe, living in limbo.”
Lisa last saw husband in January of this year when she flew to Ireland to be with him. But her time with Michael was cut short when news arrived that her brother-in-law had died of a heart attack.
“Since then it has been phone only,” she said. “We take each day as it comes, but this has reached the point where it is totally ridiculous.
“If we made a mistake, it was an honest mistake and we’ve been punished enough. Phones don’t cut it anymore. I need Michael home.”