GLENTORAN FC manager Mick McDermott's wife has told of her visa "nightmare" in which she must leave Northern Ireland for the Middle East while immigration officials decide whether to allow her back.
Mother-of-four Karla McDermott (43) said she must fly to Dubai in order to trigger her visa application with the Home Office.
She then faces a six-week wait for civil servants to make a decision, but there are "no guarantees" she will be granted permission to return and live in Northern Ireland.
Mrs McDermott, who was born in California and has a US passport, lived in Dubai for 12 years while her husband was working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city.
The family moved to Newtownabbey when Belfast man Mr McDermott became manager of Glentoran earlier this year.
Mrs McDermott said she has been "suffering heart palpitations and cold sweats as panic sets in" over the visa process.
"The thought of leaving my children, of leaving Mick and the possibility of not being able to get back to them is awful," she told the Daily Mirror.
She added: "We've done everything in our power to do the right thing, get the right paperwork, play by the rules but we're still faced with no guarantees and a six-week nightmare until we hear if the nightmare will end or continue, if I can return to my family, or be stranded in Dubai."
The couple met at Rhode Island University where they were both on sports scholarships and married in 1996 when she was 19 and he was 21. They have four children – Kali (19), Kiera (17), Michael (12) and nine-year-old Malakai.
Mr McDermott (45) said: "I'm really uncomfortable with my wife being alone in UAE and separated from our family for an extended period of time. The children are at a critical time in their education and settling into Northern Ireland.
"Karla is the very heart of everything, she makes the whole thing work as the manager of our household – we can't do this without her."
Their lawyer Sinead Marmion, of Belfast-based firm Phoenix Law, told the Daily Mirror: "The immigration rules dictate that an application is made out of country. Families are separated for unknown lengths of time, mothers like Karla are separated from children and the hostilities and impracticalities are endless."
The Home Office said immigration applications are "considered on their individual merits and on the basis of the evidence available, in line with the immigration rules".
