Courtesy of Rachel Walters/Instagram
’90 Day Fiance’ Alum Jon Walters Shares Update on Visa Process With Wife Rachel Walters: ‘It’s Over’
After many years of documenting their long distance romance, 90 Day Fiancé star Jon Walters won’t be joining his wife, Rachel Walters (née Bear), in the United States.
“It’s over … The future we wanted for so long isn’t the future we will have,” Jon shared via his personal Facebook page on Tuesday, May 7. “We knew before we started that it would be hard but always had hope to keep us going when things got tough.”
The U.K. native called their visa situation “hopeless,” leaving the couple unsure of the next chapter in their life. “I’m a husband and father by invitation and have never taken that for granted. We aren’t the perfect couple, I know I’m far from the husband and father I want to be or wish I could be,” he continued. “We need time and space to get our heads around this and figure out what happens next.”
Jon and Rachel introduced their love story to fans on season 2 of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days in 2018. The pair met singing duets on a karaoke app and the spinoff documented the New Mexico native as Rachel traveled overseas with her infant daughter to meet Jon for the first time.
While the TLC personalities hit it off and tied the knot in 2018 on Rachel’s second trip, Jon’s eventual move to the United States would be difficult due to his criminal record.
“When I was young, I grew up in not a great area, having to choose between being stamped on or fighting to get away,” Jon spoke of his criminal past during the series, which included him pleading guilty to bodily harm without intent while he was in college. “And when I felt people wronged me or saw things I didn’t like, I acted. And some of the times I got into a fight with multiple people.”
Rachel was unable to relocate to England as she currently shares custody with her ex of her eldest daughter, Ella, so the duo spent years trying to obtain a visa to the United States for Jon.
After three years of waiting, Jon and Rachel were granted a visa interview in 2021. Unfortunately, Jon’s visa was denied and the next step was applying for a waiver, which would allow them to make a compelling case to U.S. government officials that their marriage is legit and they deserved to be together as a family.
“The waiver is basically not just asking for forgiveness but asking for the initial denial to get gone because he’s not that person,” the mother of two clarified during an Instagram Live in August 2021. The Walters filed the waiver that same month and Jon explained that the process could take anywhere from six to nine months.
Rachel also revealed that the waiver application for Jon’s spousal visa was 200 pages long and cost $930 in filing fees, in addition to their growing legal fees.
When asked by a fan if the couple’s lawyers believed the waiver could get approved, Jon explained that the United States had a law prohibiting awarding visas to people who have committed crimes of “moral turpitude,” which is defined as deviant behavior from ordinary social standards that would shock a community, according to Cornell Law.
“I was never actually sent to prison. I was given a conditional discharge. My actual offense on paper doesn’t illustrate what actually happened and it was one punch. I wasn’t in a gang, it wasn’t a crime, I didn’t beat people up,” Jon explained during the Instagram Live. “It’s just something that happened and the U.S. is very good at forgiving people, they expunge crimes, punishments all the time. And I think that if someone looked at what happened and what my punishment was, they’re going to see that it’s not even a big deal. So that’s what we’re hoping for.”
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