Mission Moment – A LUM Immigration Clinic Love Story
John & Andrea Njuguna met in Indianapolis nearly 21 years ago. They began dating, fell in love, and were married in 2002. Their relationship became complicated when John was detained in 2005 and deported back to Kenya. Prior to this, he was eligible to stay in the United States, but his paperwork did not get processed quickly enough to avoid him being detained in 2005. For many weeks, Andrea did not know where John was being held; and therefore, had no way of communicating with him. When Andrea located John, she visited him every weekend (driving five hours, one-way). After he was deported to Kenya, she was able to visited him five times. They spoke every day by phone, text and video chat.
Not able to resolve John’s issues on their own, Andrea reached out to the LUM Immigration Clinic for help in 2014. When John’s case finally looked promising, COVID-19 hit and travel was prohibited. John also had health issues and had an operation during this time. Andrea and John lost their house during this time but then used the money saved from not being allowed to travel and purchased a new house. They found their new home together using online real estate sites. For several years the LUM Immigration Clinic worked on John’s case, resulting in him finally being allowed to return to the US in 2021. The LUM Immigration Clinic was an integral part of the whole process.
Today, Andrea and John live in their new house in Lafayette, IN, and enjoy making home and landscaping improvements. John has obtained a commercial driver’s license and is a local truck driver, and Andrea works as a medical assistant. Andrea has embraced John’s culture, and they often dress in traditional Kenyan dress. Andrea also can be seen in the photo above wearing a special Kenyan dress and necklace given to her by John’s mother.
It was agonizingly hard worked but with persistence, faith, love, and the assistance from LUM, their love story has a happy ending. The LUM Immigration Clinic team is thrilled to have been a part of this heart warming love story between John and Andrea.