The wife of a Dundee-born man who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome is one step closer to being forced out of the UK after the Home Office rejected her pleas to remain with her partner.
US citizen Karen Officer, 52, married Dundonian Bruce Officer, 46, at Arbroath Abbey in September following an online relationship.
Mrs Officer began to visit her future husband, who now lives in England, in 2010 after the pair met for the first time and instantly bonded.
The 52-year-old decided to remain in the UK during a visit in 2012, after becoming disturbed by her partner’s deterioration in health, and was granted an initial six-month visa by the Home Office.
She was, however, denied permanent residence over Home Office claims she failed to provide all relevant documents for her application and had stayed beyond the agreed six months, a claim Mrs Officer has consistently denied.
Now Mrs Officer has had an appeal citing her battle as a human rights case kicked into touch after the Home Office rejected her claim, insisting that her husband would be fine without her.
Rather than throw in the towel, the former special needs teacher insists she is now more determined than ever to fight the Government’s “ridiculous” decision.
She told The Courier: “We’re probably going to be waiting something like 11 months before I get a date to appeal, but we are going to challenge them.
“They’re making it more difficult for me to stay because I applied legally.
“The Home Office is having a difficult time going after people who entered the country illegally, so they go after people like me instead.
“It’s all about reducing numbers for them and if they say OK to me then they think they will be opening the door to lots of other people.
“They’re just being ridiculous. People from outside the EU are the easiest people to pick on.
“The judge at my tribunal, before he passed it back to the Home Office, told them it was a human rights case and that they were wrong, but they haven’t listened.”
Aside from claiming that Mrs Officer did not meet strict immigration criteria, the Home Office claim the NHS would be able to support her partner an assertion the 52-year-old strongly denies.
She said: “The Home Office say Bruce did fine without me here, which is completely untrue.
“I am Bruce’s preventative care.
“We have to fight not only for Bruce, but for others who have disabilities and are experiencing similar problems. It’s just not right.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “All applications are considered on their individual merits, including any exceptional circumstances, and in accordance with the immigration rules.”