July 8, 2008 Couple separated by an international border Play video

(Amy Sinclair, NECN) - Twenty-five years of marriage is a sweet milestone for most couples, but Mark and Barbara Myers will spend their silver anniversary on opposite sides of an international border, wondering when they'll be together again.

The U.S. Government won't let Barbara Myers, a Canadian citizen, return to her family in Maine.

BARBARA AND MARK MYERS LIFE TOGETHER STARTED AS A SUMMER ROMANCE. SHE WAS VACATIONING IN MAINE WITH HER FAMILY FROM ONTARIO.

THEY BUILT A LIFE TOGETHER IN WELLS, AND TWO GROWN CHILDREN LATER, THE MYERS SHOULD BE CELEBRATING THEIR 25TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY..INSTEAD..THEY'RE LIMITED TO HEARTWRENCHING, LONG DISTANCE PHONE CALLS...

THE COUPLE'S FORCED SEPARATION BEGAN LAST NOVEMBER AT THE HIGHGATE SPRINGS BORDER CROSSING ON THE CANADIAN BORDER IN VERMONT. BARBARA WAS ON HER WAY BACK TO MAINE AFTER VISITING HER AILING PARENTS IN OTTAWA.

THE COUPLE'S FORCED SEPARATION BEGAN LAST NOVEMBER AT THE HIGHGATE SPRINGS BORDER CROSSING ON THE CANADIAN BORDER IN VERMONT. BARBARA WAS ON HER WAY BACK TO MAINE AFTER VISITING HER AILING PARENTS IN OTTAWA.

BARBARA WAS PHOTOGRAPHED AND FINGERPRINTED BY A U-S IMMIGRATION OFFICER AND SENT BACK TO CANADA, WHERE SHE'S REMAINED FOR SEVEN LONG MONTHS.

TURNS OUT SHE'S AN ILLEGAL ALIEN AND NO ONE'S MORE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT THAN THE MYERS.

AFTER BEING GIVEN THE WRONG FORMS AT THE BORDER, MARK HAS SINCE FILLED OUT THE RIGHT ONE..THE I-130-WHICH IS THE FIRST

STEP TOWARD PERMANENT LEGAL RESIDENCY, BUT PROCESSING IT COULD TAKE ANOTHER YEAR. AND THAT'S NOT THE ONLY HURDLE..IN THE EYES OF U-S IMMIGRATION, BARBARA'S A CRIMINAL..ACCUSED OF living and working within the united states for the last 25 years without any immigration status and and intended to continue this course of action."

AND BECAUSE OF THAT, SHE'S BARRED FROM REENTERING THE U-S FOR FIVE YEARS!. TO MARK, THE IDEA THAT THEY INTENTIONALLY DECEIVED THE U-S- GOVERNMENT IS PREPOSTEROUS.

NECN's Amy Sinclair reports.