ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando man embarked on a road trip to reunite with his pregnant wife in Canada due to visa and COVID-19 issues.
What You Need To Know
- Rishi Bagga's pregnant wife was in the process of getting visa to US
- Before key interview, the pandemic happened, the US-Canada border closed
- Rishi and Shelly will live in Canada until safe to return to Orlando
Rishi Bagga drove from Orlando to Ontario, Canada in late-June. Rishi is a lawyer and a Valencia College adjunct professor.
Rishi and Shelly Bagga, his wife, met online in November 2017, married in 2018, then they immediately applied for her green card through the Canadian consulate. Rishi is a dual citizen, U.S. and Canada — his wife isn’t.
Shelly stayed in Canada to continue to work.
“We anticipated it would probably be about a five to six month process, but it’s taking a lot longer than that,” Rishi said. “It’s taken 15 to 16 months.”
Rishi said his wife just needed to conduct her interview to receive her green card after their marital status was verified.
“COVID happened and the U.S. Canada border closed,” Rishi said.
He said they then applied for an emergency expedited visa process because of Shelly’s pregnancy, but it was rejected.
Shelly is expected to give birth in the fall. Rishi said there was no other choice but to leave the country and be there for the birth of his baby.
“It’s been hard,” Rishi said. “The first kick, the doctor’s appointments, getting an ultrasound, I haven’t been there for any of that.”
Rishi said the couple would live in Canada until it is safe to return to Orlando with the hopes both of them are U.S. citizens.
They’ll need to file paperwork for their child to become a U.S. citizen as well.
When he arrived in Canada, Rishi remained in quarantine for 14 days before he reunited with his wife.
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