KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A couple's summer wedding plans have been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it has also kept them thousands of miles apart.
Claudia Palacios and Michael Armstrong were scheduled to be married in Loose Park in Kansas City, Missouri, over the summer, but their plans have changed drastically.
“I was destroyed," Palacios said. "I felt like a punch in the stomach."
Armstrong and Palacios met in 2015 in Peru where Palacios lives.
“I was volunteering down in Peru and we just happened to meet in a park there," Armstrong said, "and since then we’ve been dating, doing a long distance relationship."
The couple told 41 Action News they have been video chatting and visiting each other every few months. In August 2019, Armstrong proposed, and Palacios began the immigration process. Palacios said March 17 was her scheduled interview for her visa.
“She was going to go and hopefully, like that day, she was going to go and get her visa and then on March 16, the entire country shut down, including the embassy," Armstrong said.
Palacios told 41 Action News that Peru currently is on lockdown due to the pandemic.
In the United States, President Trump signed a proclamation putting restrictions on immigration. The proclamation doesn't apply to U.S. citizens or their spouses, but fiances are not considered.
“If I had a visa in my hands, maybe there’s a chance that I could go visit Michael and we could continue with our plans," Palacios said, "but since we never got the interview, we’re still kind of in limbo."
The proclamation is set to expire after 60 days, but Trump can modify or extend it.
Palacios and Armstrong told 41 Action News they're unsure when they'll be able to see each other next, and started an online petition. The couple needs 100,000 signatures by May 21 to get a response from the White House.
“We just wanted to get married, start our little family and basically close the distance," Palacios said. " It’s just hard to have a relationship through a screen for so long."
