90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Rachel Walters and Jon Walters were definitely in it for love. Why else would a person subject themselves to a long distance marriage? Not only the distance, but Jon’s criminal record meant that he was not able to travel to visit his wife. Rachel’s finances and custody situation with her elder daughter limited her ability to travel to the U.K. The result was these lovebirds have been living apart since their wedding at the end of the season.
But there is good news! Rachel and Jon made a huge announcement on Sunday night. They went live together to speak directly to their fans. Many speculated that Rachel would announce a pregnancy, but she denied it. So what is the monumental news that these lovebirds had to share?
It turns out that Rachel and Jon have managed to raise the $11k they needed to cover the cost of Jon’s visa. They gave themselves a year to raise the funds. And this couple even did it just shy of their goal at 51 weeks. Rachel can finally apply for a K-3 spousal visa for Jon. She revealed that the paperwork is all ready and all that needs to be added is passport photos.
The full $11k includes the filing fee for the visa application, as well as the lawyer’s fees. Because of Jon’s criminal record, it was highly advisable to file the visa with the aid of a lawyer.
Rachel and Jon’s consultation with the immigration lawyer was discouraging to say the least. She told them to expect a three-year separation. The average visa process takes 14 months. Additionally, in all likelihood, Jon would need to request a waiver to pardon his criminal past before he could emigrate. That application takes roughly another year and a half to process.
Jon and Rachel made it a point from the beginning not to crowdfund or ask for money. Instead, they marketed their story and sold products to their fans. They created “Follow Our Fairytale” merchandise like mugs and t-shirts. Jon and Rachel took Cameo requests to make money.
Jon described the process during the live video saying, “we never wanted to crowdfund. We can sell ourselves. We can come up with our own products. People bought cameos and supported us.”
Jon offered Cameos this week at a discount of $11 in honor of the news. Maybe we will see these two reunite finally on 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After because, as Rachel said at the end of the video, “this is the start!”
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEWS? HAVE YOU BOUGHT ANY OF THEIR PRODUCTS?
[Photo Credit- TLC]
