Hello to all!

I never thought I'd utilize Change.org, but here we are. I'm Katelyn, mother of two, married to my sweet Englishman Simon born and raised in the UK. Myself and oldest child are from the US, and our little baby Jack was born here in the UK, a UK citizen.

My oldest child, Mendy, and I came to the UK a few months before COVID struck the world. We planned to have our unborn child here in the UK as it was less expensive to pay for than in the US and my career was flexible with time off.

After our son was born and several thousands paid to the NHS for our care and delivery, COVID struck. Myself and newborn contracted COVID whilst at the hospital and were then left isolating, but time was running short on how long myself and Mendy could stay within the UK before becoming "overstayers". My husband's US visa application has been placed on hold due to embassy shutdowns. Now it continues to move at a slow rate and keeps getting returned to our US attorney for corrections due to COVID. We applied for his US visa 2 years ago. Without COVID, his visa would have been accepted long before now! At this point we knew we needed to stay together somehow, but wanted to do it the legal way and it needed to be in the UK! COVID quickly caused lock downs of most countries and we decided without hesitation to hire an immigration attorney in the UK and apply for visas for Mendy and I to legally live here in the UK with my husband and newborn child, Jack. My husband is currently unable to leave the UK under the rules for his US visa application. So we decided to make the UK our home!

Thousands more paid to our UK attorney, the Home Office for visas, and the NHS surcharges. There was no need to worry at this point as we applied in time and we did not break any international laws! We were all set and living life together as a complete family during lock down.

Months passed and our UK attorney recently reached out to us to inform us The Home Office denied mine and Mendy's visas to reside in the UK and that careful consideration of the wellbeing of both children were taken into consideration according to The Home Office. Because Simon's US visa was running in the background they denied us. This is not a requirement for the visa. Within the denial letter the Home Office stated we ticked all required boxes to qualify for the visas. The Home Office CAN and DID use their own discretion for denial purposes. The Home Office implied myself and Mendy could return to the US without baby Jack and my husband, or myself, Mendy, and baby Jack could return to the US without my husband. Our attorney was disgusted and we were crushed. My husband immediately took his only holiday time off from work to be with us in case we were about to have years separated from each other.

We filed for an appeal and asked The Home Office to reconsider separating law abiding citizens, guests of the UK, our family! We owe the NHS and UK government no money! We've made the UK our home and have sent them further evidence of our lives here in the UK! My husband has been a consistent tax prayer for over 12 years, since his first job as a teen! All fees had always been paid in full since we've resided in the UK, I've even had an unexpected gallbladder removal whilst here in the UK and WE PAID IN FULL! I am unable to legally work in the UK with out a visa and I've now gone almost 2 years without employment as my husband works overtime to keep us ahead. However, only half the court fees have been paid and once we take The Home Office to court, the other half will be due. Also, if we are denied our appeal, plane tickets will need sorting out within two weeks of our denial or we'll be deported by force. Mind you my husband won't be able to fly to the US to visit myself and his children if we're denied in court. Meaning an unexpected amount of time separated as a family. 

We only ask you to help us get The Home Office to reconsider separating our family by signing our petition... Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and we are so grateful to have been granted this time together as a family. We want to and need to stay together here in the UK as a family! LET'S ASK THE HOME OFFICE TO RECONSIDER BEFORE IT GOES TO COURT!