MADISON (WKOW) — The owner of Michael’s Frozen Custard in Madison is closing its Monroe Street location on Sept. 9 and may have to shut down the business entirely after his spouse was denied a U.S. visa.

Michael’s Frozen Custard’s Monroe Street location to close next month; owner cites spouse’s inability to obtain visa and leave Mexico #WKOW pic.twitter.com/9tVy9lvSSg — Tony Galli (@galli_wkow) August 21, 2019

Michael Dix and his spouse, Sergio De La O Hernandez, remain in Mexico after Hernandez was denied a visa that would have allowed him to gain legal status in the United States and rejoin Dix in their Wisconsin home.

Hernandez, an undocumented Madison resident, traveled to Mexico to attend his visa interview in August of 2018, according to Jessica Slind, an immigration attorney with Lotfi Legal LLC, a Madison-based immigration law firm, who is handling Michael and Sergio’s case.

He was told that he would neither be given a visa, nor would he be able to rejoin his spouse in Wisconsin, the only home he has known for the last thirty years.

After their marriage in 2015, Dix sponsored Hernandez so he could come out of the shadows where so many undocumented people are forced to live their lives, according to a news release.

Hernandez began directing daily operations of Michael’s Frozen Custard, and under his management, the business saw a period of exceptional growth and expansion, according to Slind.

Due to Hernandez’s absence, however, Michael’s Frozen Custard has suffered significant losses in revenue, according to Slind.

The couple remains in Mexico considering their options.

“Tomorrow will be the 33rd anniversary of opening Michael’s on Monroe St. and with a sad ending it will be closing because of our government decision,” Dix said in an email to 27 News. “This has been extremely hard for my employees, my husband Sergio, and myself.”

“Our government would rather I close my business and have me move to Mexico,” Dix said.

“It will be difficult to live in Mexico as a openly gay man with the violence against LGBT community,” Dix said. “I don’t know how I’m going to survive.”

Dix said his custard recipe came from his maternal grandmother who was an immigrant who fled Germany, along with his grandfather, to come to the United States.

“I am grateful for the foresight that they had to come to America to start a new life,” he said. “Without them, I would not be here today. I am happy my grandparents were immigrants.”

Slind said the couple is extremely disappointed with the government’s decision.

“He has lived in the United States for more than 30 years. He has spent that time working hard and contributing to this community, he has a spouse and a daughter here, and he has no criminal record; Mr. Hernandez’s case is more than deserving of an approval under our laws. The denial of his visa is causing this family an enormous amount of pain. And the effects will reverberate throughout the entire community,” Slind said.

Slind said Hernandez’s bid for a visa was denied due to his undocumented status, and a waiver application followed. Slind says that request was denied Aug.14, even though Slind says a compelling case was made to meet the criteria of an extreme hardship being involved in the couple’s inability to be in the U.S. together. Slind said Dix has medical challenges requiring the assistance of his spouse, as well as Hernandez’s involvement with the frozen custard business.

U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services Spokesperson Genevieve Billia declined comment on the case.

“We are not done fighting for Mr. Hernandez. He should not be barred from the United States. He should be in Wisconsin with his family. The cruel immigration policies and rhetoric of the Trump Administration are causing needless suffering to this family and to families around the country. These policies are bad for people, bad for families, and bad for business,” Slind said.