Love across the border

Ana Herrejon walks through the streets of her neighborhood in Tepic, in Mexico’s Nayarit state. The UC Berkeley graduate, who was brought as a child to the United States, is unable to find a job in Mexico and is not able to legally return to her home and husband in Los Angeles.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

With a package from her husband in hand, Ana Herrejon climbs the stairs to her tiny bedroom in her aunt’s house in Tepic, Mexico. Ana married an American citizen when she was living in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant. The couple’s application for a spousal visa was denied at a U.S. consulate in Mexico; now she can’t return to Los Angeles.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Ana Herrejon cleans her room, which is decorated with pictures of her husband, who lives in Los Angeles. When Ana was 7, her mother took her to the U.S., where she graduated from UC Berkeley, then married a man 41 years her senior. Their application for a visa to legalize Ana’s immigration status was turned down; the U.S. official thought their marriage was a fraud.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Gerardo Herrejon, 68 and his wife Ana, age 27 on their wedding day in Los Angeles.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Ana Herrejon waits in her Mexican home while she appeals the denial of her visa application. She was an honors student at Glendale Community College when she met her husband, who drove the bus she rode to campus.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Skype and phone calls are how Ana Herrejon and her husband, Gerardo, communicate across the miles. He calls her three times a day.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Gerardo Herrejon talks with his wife, Ana, from his Los Angeles home. They married in 2010, six months after she graduated from UC Berkeley. Last year, they traveled to a U.S. consulate in Mexico to apply for a spousal visa for Ana. It was denied and Ana had to remain in Mexico.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Gerardo Herrejon talks to Ana in his home, which the Glendale bus driver has decorated with photographs of the couple.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Gerardo Herrejon drives his bus along Central Avenue in Glendale. He once showed off his wedding album to his passengers. Now he waits for his wife to be able to join him, hoping their appeal of her visa denial will succeed.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A snapshot of Gerardo Herrejon and his wife, Ana, in 2010. They fell in love despite their differences, but an official’s disbelief that their marriage was real now keeps them apart.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)