Separated by an ocean and immigration rules, they're together now after beating the bureaucracy.
By APRIL SIMPSON
Published February 14, 2004
[Times photo: Stephen Coddington]
Matt Baird of Beverly Hills and his wife, Kathy, originaly of London, are together at last in their Beverly Hills home. kathy spent months laboring to clear immigration hurdles to start a new life in America. The couple's romance blossomed after they met in an online game room.
BEVERLY HILLS - Sometimes, Matt and Kathy Baird forget that they aren't just enjoying another brief visit.
The Bairds don't have to say their goodbyes at the airport, only to plan when they can schedule another 10-hour flight to meet again.
On this Valentine's Day, they are together for good.
The couple met in an online game room, the WordOx Frontside Portal Web site, which matches opponents worldwide.
Kathy lived in London.
Matt lived in Beverly Hills.
After corresponding by e-mail, phone and letters - and after making a few trips to see one another in London and in Citrus - they wed on Christmas Eve 2002 in Matt's Beverly Hills home.
But they couldn't be together all the time. The newlyweds spent months dealing with immigration officials with hopes of bringing Kathy and her three children from London to Citrus permanently.
Their wait ended the day after Thanksgiving 2003.
"It's still hard to imagine they're not going back," Matt said of his new family.
Rhys Senech, Kathy's 8-year-old son, agreed. Sometimes he forgets this isn't just another Florida vacation.
Rhys and his siblings, Lauren, 16, and Laura, 15, are here to stay.
In June, the Bairds were frequent fliers and victims of an immigration logjam.
"Every time we call INS (the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service) we get a different person, and every time we ask questions we get different answers," Matt Baird told the Citrus Times that month, when the newspaper first told about his struggle.
In early March, the Bairds had filed for a K3 visa, which is used to bring the spouse of a U.S. citizen into the country by obtaining U.S. immigrant/visa status.
Matt Baird said he spoke with immigration officials and was told to send the visa paperwork to a Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service, or INS) service center in Texas.
Matt said he received confirmation of receipt one week after filing, but when he checked the document's status online, it never changed from a waiting period of 180 days.
The Bairds waited two months before they called Texas and learned they had been misinformed. They had sent their paperwork to the wrong office. It should have been sent to a Chicago office.
With the mixup, the Bairds had two options. They could send the paperwork to the appropriate Chicago office, but that would delay the process by three months. First, Matt had to fill out additional paperwork in Tampa.
Or, they could keep Kathy's paperwork in Texas, where it would be treated with K3 status. That would extend their time apart by 900 days.
The Bairds decided to call U.S. Sen. Bob Graham's office. They were told the form would be sent from Texas to Chicago and, once the form arrived in Chicago, the process shouldn't take more than eight weeks to finish.
They kept in touch via e-mail and "lots and lots of phone calls," Kathy Baird said.
"Every single day, even with the five-hour difference," she continued.
"She wouldn't let us have a turn (at the computer)," Rhys joked.
Eight weeks came and went. But in November, it was finally over.
"Bob Graham's office has been really good," said Kathy Baird, whose soft-spoken speech bears a light British accent. "If it wasn't for them, I'd probably still be in England right now."
"I'm just glad it's all over with," her husband said.
On a recent afternoon, the couple sat with Rhys at a small four-cornered table. The couple gazed into each other's eyes as they reminisced about the experiences that kept them apart for so long.
Since Kathy Baird and her children have arrived in Citrus, Rhys said, he "saw how much (Matt and Kathy) love each other."
"And we love you, too," his mother replied.
"Things are really good; aren't they?" Matt Baird asked his wife as the two held hands.
Things may be good, but the couple still have a few setbacks to contend with.
Kathy Baird was told she couldn't apply for a work permit until she moved to the United States. She applied a week after she arrived and, about one month later, received a receipt of action.
In the meantime, she couldn't make an appointment any earlier than 45 days after she applied for the work permit to take a mandatory picture in Tampa.
Kathy Baird is getting bored staying at home. She hopes to get a job working in a local elementary school but said she was told by the School Board her application wouldn't be considered until she had a work permit, which she hopes to obtain in early March.
* * *
Now that the Bairds are together, they said they don't bother with the computer much anymore. Kathy occasionally chats with family and friends back home and Matt will sometimes check his e-mail.
After the short visits to the United States, Kathy had mixed emotions on arriving for her final visit.
"It wasn't real," she said. "We were happy; we cried. After a 10-hour plane ride, we were finally here."
