Johna moved to the UK in 2014, and simply moved for love. She had fallen for a young man online, and the two quickly arranged a marriage so that they could be together. Life as it happens though, is no fairy tale.



With that said, Johna ended her marriage since she was simply no longer happy. For now though, I'd like to explain how I met her and why it is so important to me that she stays.



I had first met Johna at work, in a company that specializes in selling animals and animal related wares. She was merely a customer at the time, however she very clearly appreciated the work we did and expressed interest in finding a job there herself. A few months after meeting her a job did come up, and I mentioned to her that she should apply. She did apply, and she got it, success! If we fast forward a little we see that Johna has come a long way from her previous life in America.



Johna comes across as a somewhat nervous person, one who you might consider to be constantly on edge. She suffers from serious anxiety problems, and it was not until she moved in with me during her relationship breakup that it became so apparent. She very much relies on the company of others, and struggles to cope alone. I have witnessed this from so many different angles and so with that I simply cannot stand back and watch without trying to do something.



Since moving out of my place Johna has once again found love with as it happens, one of my best friends. The young man in question himself once had serious issues with anxiety and has since overcome them. What this then means in my eyes is that he relates to her more than anyone else, and understands how tough depression and anxiety can be. Johna at current lives with him very happily, and the chemistry between them is unmistakable.



Disregarding her romantic life for a second, lets take a look at her professional one. She has been work for a while now, at least long enough to be recognized by masses of customers as one of our most caring members of staff. Seriously, Johna looks out for every single creature big or small we stock beyond how anyone would be expected to. The company should be incredibly proud to have employed such a talented and caring worker. She has taken a particular shine to the fish section, and spends hours of her free time not only doing courses to improve her knowledge, but also printouts detailing different fish and why. She is NOT paid extra for this, she simply does it to help.



Johna will happily stay behind without any kind of backlash to help out, and she will always do her best to help the company when we need it.



If Johna leaves the UK then not only will I be incredibly upset, but so will a ton of others. She will lose her friends, her job and everything else based in the UK. She has a very limited amount of time until she is to be thrown out and left to fend for herself. I believe that if Johna is snatched away from all who love her, then she will be in a very dire position. Her anxiety will worsen tenfold, and she will struggle to cope.



Imagine building up a life, a career and a real future for it all to be taken away. She is told she will face a massive fine if she does not comply and leave as soon as her passport arrives. The fine being up to £5,000 or 6 months imprisonment. Johna has done nothing but work hard and live her life, please spread the word. Her anxiety issues alone should be more than enough to keep her here.



Thankyou for reading.



Owen,





BIG UPDATE - An important note from Mike (Johna's boyfriend).





Just an update with some more information for anyone who is interested in signing but would like some more details. Johna applied to stay here on her own right after her marriage ended. After an extremely long delay from the Home Office and multiple issues (which I shall get into a bit further on) her application was unfortunately denied and she will have to travel back to the US.

During the application process, the Home Office passed the application along to a caseworker. Many months after this Johna received a letter and part of her application back, claiming that there were multiple sections of the application which had not been completed. Sections Johna knew she had completed as she had a copy of her original application. The Home Office had managed to mix up her application with someone else's. Not only this, but they also claimed she had not paid the full application fee. She had used information on the Home Office's website to pay what she deemed to be the correct amount. This information turned out to be outdated and the price had in fact increased. Something Johna had no way of knowing at the time of her application. The Home Office insisted she pay the rest of the fee, which she was willing to do. They then proceeded to charge her the full amount rather than the amount she owed.

After some time she eventually got a decision from them, informing her that she would have to leave the country. They did not include her passport with this letter. As of this message she is waiting for them to "locate" her passport, at which point she can book a flight to the US.

It is the opinion of Johna and many of her friends and supporters, that the Home Office have acted unprofessionally and it doesn't seem they have read her application thoroughly. They appear to have completely disregarded a letter from her GP, in which he strongly recommended she be allowed to stay due to her struggles with mental health.

We do not expect this petition to change the outcome of this application, however, at the very least it could aid her appeal. A successful appeal will mean that the Home Office will be obligated to look at her application again. Hopefully giving them a chance to deal with this application properly and professionally.

She has built a life for herself in the UK. She was looking forward to having a future here. She had plans involving life in this country. She had built up close friendships and relationships with many people here. She was happy. It may not be the end of the world if she has to stay in the US for now, but she will have to start again in many different aspects of her life. For anyone who has experienced depression or anxiety, you can imagine how tough it is to create a life for yourself over two years only to have to start over again because you're from a different country.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.



Mike,