The Home Office has been criticised by a judge after it threatened to force the wife of a Dundee man with Asperger’s syndrome to leave the country.
Karen Officer, a US citizen, married Dundonian Bruce Officer, 46, at Arbroath Abbey in September following an online relationship.
Mrs Officer began to visit her future husband 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.
At an appeal hearing this week, a judge branded aspects of the Home Office’s conduct as “wholly inadequate” and insisted the government department did not fairly weigh up the couple’s needs with its own.
Mrs Officer now believes the British justice system is on her side as she fights to stay by the side of the man she loves.
She said: “The Home Office told me I had no rights and implied I was an illegal immigrant. I knew all along they had made a mistake, as they never provided me with a direct answer to any of my questions about what documents I had failed to provide.
“What I learned from my appeal is that my beliefs have been validated, I was correct. I learned that I do have rights and now I am going to continue to fight for my husband’s rights, the rights of a UK citizen.
“I wish that the judge had felt able to make a decision on my future during the appeal, but he said that he didn’t have all the information he needed to make a decision.
“He referred it back to the Home Office and we now need to wait and see what they decide to do, but I am 99% sure any future judgment will be in our favour. Both Bruce and I feel a lot better about things after hearing what the judge had to say.”
Revealing the stress the ongoing dispute has had on her and her husband, she said: “I was scared to answer the door, to go to the corner shop, in case I was detained.
“I wasn’t afraid for myself, I was afraid for Bruce. If I was detained he would go into meltdown. I will fight to stay with my husband; I love him and he is my family.”
Following the judge’s comments, a Home Office spokesman said: “All applications are considered on their individual merits and in accordance with the immigration rules.
“This case is ongoing and so it would be inappropriate to comment further.”