90 Day Fiance couple Rachel Walters and Jon Walters have a reunion on the horizon after two long years apart from each other.
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In her caption, Rachel wrote, "FINALLY!! Woot woot!! #ldr #ldrmarriage #ldrsucks #covid #90dayfiance #beforethe90days #january #flights #twoyearslater."
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
Rachel and Jon have not seen each other since January 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and government-mandated quarantine and travel restrictions that began a couple of months after Rachel returned home from her most recent visit to the United Kingdom.
The 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days couple has also been waiting over five years to hopefully move Jon, who lives in Weston-Super-Mare, England, to the United States.
Rachel and Jon announced in a late August Instagram Live session that Jon finally had his interview for a spousal visa -- which they had filed an application for three years earlier -- but Jon was denied a visa due to a criminal conviction on his record.
"When I went to the embassy, I took a load of paperwork, I took everything I thought I would need and I thought I would have the opportunity to ask for forgiveness. However, the lovely guy who was working at the embassy said, 'Unfortunately, I don't have the authority to give a visa to anyone with a criminal conviction,'" Jon recalled.
However, neither Jon or Rachel was surprised, and they both said they totally anticipated this outcome.
The couple had therefore already filled out a waiver application and pre-paid a lawyer.
Once Jon was not granted his visa, the pair's lawyer submitted the waiver application, which consisted of 200 pages and cost $930 in filing fees, on their behalf in late August.
"So now, we definitely have the final stretch between now and six to nine months," added Jon, who apparently received a receipt for the submission very quickly.
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE: BEFORE THE 90 DAYS' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOWBy the time Jon and Rachel reunite in January in the U.K., they will probably still be waiting for a "yes" or "no" verdict.
Jon's criminal conviction apparently took place 11 years ago, and so Jon is hoping the U.S. government will look past his mistakes and view him as the man -- husband and father -- he has become.
"We're hoping somebody is going to have a kind heart and they're just going to look at our application and be like, 'Jon's a good guy. He messed up when he was younger. He loves his family.' I hope they're going to give me a chance," Jon said.
Although the United States has a law that prohibits issuing visas to foreigners "who have committed crimes of moral turpitude," according to Jon, he and Rachel believe their chances are good because Jon never actually went 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.
"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 somebody actually 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 aiming for."
Rachel and Jon first starred on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days' second season. The couple has been married for over three years.
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Jon went on to clarify in the video, "Basically our visa is back on track and we don't need [an outside] sponsor, and that it amazing."
The couple said at the time their visa process was moving along "rapidly," although Jon's interview at the U.S. embassy in the U.K. would probably be delayed a while due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Jon and Rachel had been planning a reunion in May 2021 after last seeing each other in January 2020.
Rachel was 33 years old when she became acquainted with Jon, who was 34, for the first time on a karaoke-singing app.
Jon and Rachel were first introduced to fans on Season 2 of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, but the pair had already established a relationship through video chatting and phone calls.
Rachel was pregnant at the time and never disclosed the biological father's identity, but Jon couldn't wait to become a part of the child's life and serve as the father figure.
The pair met for the first time in England in late 2017 after getting to know each other from different countries for a year-and-a-half.
90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days' second season documented Rachel and Jon meeting, getting engaged, and tying the knot in Spring 2018, but Jon couldn't relocate to the U.S. due to numerous assault charges under his belt and five convictions from when he was younger and would get into physical fights with people.
RELATED LINK: '90 DAY FIANCE' COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS SPLIT? WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
