These couples fell in love. Then immigration got in the way

Nicholas Miller hasn’t tried Taco Bell. Or Whataburger. Not because they are hard to find; they are everywhere in Austin. He is saving them for Irina Miller, his wife, for when her green card clears and she crosses the border for the first time.

Until then, he goes to work at a clinic, comes home, and avoids the rest of town. “I’m being a recluse,” he jokes.

“There are so many places I'm just avoiding so we can try it together for the first time because I don't want to just be a tour guide,” Nicholas said. “I want to also experience that together.”

But almost a year since they filed the petition, Irina’s spousal green card application is all but stalled, the couple said in a video interview with USA TODAY.

Expanding deportations and the country's immigration enforcement apparatus was a key part of President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign. But top officials have also broadened restrictions for legal immigration pathways. Fewer immigration petitions are being approved, federal data shows, and they are taking longer than typical timelines, leaving couples and families in limbo.

USA TODAY spoke with several couples, most on the condition of anonymity fearing it could jeopardize…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/