thedrifter
10-05-08, 07:02 AM
Marine’s widow granted temporary visa
By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, October 5, 2008
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Japanese widow of an Okinawa Marine killed in Iraq has been granted a temporary visa to go the States to be with her husband’s family.
But the visa didn’t come in time for Hotaru Ferschke, 24, widow of Sgt. Michael H. Ferschke Jr., to fly to the States to give birth to their son, said the Marine’s mother, Robin Ferschke.
The flight from Okinawa to the States would be more than 20 hours long, and Hotaru Ferschke is seven months pregnant.
"We don’t want her any more stressed than what she’s gone through," Robin Ferschke said during a telephone interview Friday from her home in Maryville, Tenn.
Michael Ferschke deployed to Iraq with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion in mid-April. Hotaru discovered she was pregnant in mid-May, and the couple wed by proxy July 10. Michael was killed Aug. 10 while conducting door-to-door searches in a town north of Baghdad.
The news hit the Marine’s wife and parents hard. But his son would bring them together.
"I want to honor my husband’s wish to bring up our son as an American in his hometown," Hotaru Ferschke said Friday during a phone interview from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, where she works.
However, her plan hit a snag last month — a piece of legislation called the "two-year rule."
Enacted by Congress in 1986, the law is designed to prevent fraudulent marriages by foreigners by requiring that they be married to a U.S. citizen for two years before they can acquire a residency visa. The Ferschkes had been married for a month at the time of his death.
"When I first learned that I could not get a visa, I was terrified because I know the baby must grow up in the States, because that’s what my husband wanted to do," Hotaru Ferschke said. "But then, if I cannot go with him, I will be severed from our baby.
"I thought that I might have to wait until he becomes 21 years old when he can be my sponsor to join him in the States."
A breakthrough came Wednesday when the Washington office of Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced that a temporary visa had been granted to Hotaru Ferschke, according to the Knoxville Sentinel newspaper.
Hotaru and the Ferschke family will continue to seek her permanent visa, and if they cannot get a permanent visa before the six months have passed, they can extend the temporary visa for another six months, Robin Ferschke said.
Michael Ferschke III will be born on Okinawa, and his American grandparents will fly here a month later to escort mother and baby home to Tennessee, Robin Ferschke said.
The chance to see her grandson raised in her son’s hometown means "the world to me," Robin Ferschke said. "Maybe this will help me deal with the loss of my son."
Stars and Stripes reporter Chiyomi Sumida contributed to this story.
Ellie
By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, October 5, 2008
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Japanese widow of an Okinawa Marine killed in Iraq has been granted a temporary visa to go the States to be with her husband’s family.
But the visa didn’t come in time for Hotaru Ferschke, 24, widow of Sgt. Michael H. Ferschke Jr., to fly to the States to give birth to their son, said the Marine’s mother, Robin Ferschke.
The flight from Okinawa to the States would be more than 20 hours long, and Hotaru Ferschke is seven months pregnant.
"We don’t want her any more stressed than what she’s gone through," Robin Ferschke said during a telephone interview Friday from her home in Maryville, Tenn.
Michael Ferschke deployed to Iraq with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion in mid-April. Hotaru discovered she was pregnant in mid-May, and the couple wed by proxy July 10. Michael was killed Aug. 10 while conducting door-to-door searches in a town north of Baghdad.
The news hit the Marine’s wife and parents hard. But his son would bring them together.
"I want to honor my husband’s wish to bring up our son as an American in his hometown," Hotaru Ferschke said Friday during a phone interview from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, where she works.
However, her plan hit a snag last month — a piece of legislation called the "two-year rule."
Enacted by Congress in 1986, the law is designed to prevent fraudulent marriages by foreigners by requiring that they be married to a U.S. citizen for two years before they can acquire a residency visa. The Ferschkes had been married for a month at the time of his death.
"When I first learned that I could not get a visa, I was terrified because I know the baby must grow up in the States, because that’s what my husband wanted to do," Hotaru Ferschke said. "But then, if I cannot go with him, I will be severed from our baby.
"I thought that I might have to wait until he becomes 21 years old when he can be my sponsor to join him in the States."
A breakthrough came Wednesday when the Washington office of Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced that a temporary visa had been granted to Hotaru Ferschke, according to the Knoxville Sentinel newspaper.
Hotaru and the Ferschke family will continue to seek her permanent visa, and if they cannot get a permanent visa before the six months have passed, they can extend the temporary visa for another six months, Robin Ferschke said.
Michael Ferschke III will be born on Okinawa, and his American grandparents will fly here a month later to escort mother and baby home to Tennessee, Robin Ferschke said.
The chance to see her grandson raised in her son’s hometown means "the world to me," Robin Ferschke said. "Maybe this will help me deal with the loss of my son."
Stars and Stripes reporter Chiyomi Sumida contributed to this story.
Ellie