Gay American man could be sent back to the US despite being married to a UK citizen

A man from North Carolina in the US could be at risk of having to leave the UK and return to the States, despite the fact that he is married to a UK citizen.

Brian Page had his latest appeal to the UK Home Office for an extension of his visa refused earlier this month, and was told that he must either leave the UK within 14 days, or apply for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, the next stage of the process.

However, he has told PinkNews that he and his husband have been “cleaned out” by the legal fees up until now, having already spent over £16,000 on the application. They are now appealing to the public for help to cover the legal costs of their appeal to the Upper Tribunal.

Brian and Ben Page

Their GoFundMe page is here. If they are granted permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, they expect the legal fees to cost in the region of £1,500-£3,000.

Speaking to PinkNews, Brian said that they had considered returning to the US – however, this process would also require a lawyer and extensive legal fees.

Speaking about the situation, Brian told PinkNews that he would be heartbroken if they were separated.

“When Ben’s mother passed away, he went into a deep, deep depression and it really scared me. We are both suffering from mental health issues and are both on anti-depressants, because our lives are on hold.