An American woman says she has "been to hell and back" trying to get a spouse visa so she can live with her "soulmate" husband in Wales. The Home Office has twice rejected 65-year-old Ellen Alvarez's application to live with her partner, John Delahunty, 70, whom she married in October 2020.
Friends of the loving couple - who first struck up a romance online - have dubbed them the "International Gavin and Stacey". But now the threat of deportation hangs over Mrs Alvarez, leaving her worried her idyllic life with her husband in Barry will be "ripped away" from her.
She is now preparing to fight for her case at a tribunal hearing. Rejection letters from Home Office officials to Mrs Alvarez seen by WalesOnline state she does not meet the requirements for the visa and there is no evidence of any "insurmountable obstacles" that the couple would face if they relocated to the USA.