Couple split between two countries gets married on U.S.-Mexico border bridge

Yesenia Hernández and Takeshi Torres live on opposite sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. But on Monday, the couple tied the knot in international territory.

Hernández, 28, and Torres, 26, met eight years ago while playing soccer at the collegiate level in the United States. However, since Torres’s visa expired, they have been living in separate countries — Hernández in the United States and Torres in Mexico. Still, they officially started their life together as a married couple on the McAllen-Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, which sits on the Texas-Mexico border.

“We had to get married here in the bridge so that we can get married over there in the U.S.A,” Torres told Harlingen, Texas news station KGBT.

Immigration attorney Margie Villalobos told the outlet that the pair is not the first to be married on the international bridge, but adds that it isn’t necessary for immigration purposes.

“For whatever reason, they feel like they have to do it here at the bridge to be able to get a Texas marriage license, but honestly, that’s not necessary,” Villalobos explained to KGBT. “If they want to get married, they can get [married] in Mexico too, that’s a valid marriage too. It just has to be a bona fide marriage.”

The couple was joined by family and a judge for their special day. Now, they’re reportedly working with an immigration attorney for Hernández to petition on behalf of Torres to become a permanent U.S. resident.

Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Hernández for comment and will update this post when we hear back.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

? Beto O’Rourke shares video from dentist appointment to discuss the border: ‘Boundaries, Beto, boundaries’
? GoFundMe raises more than $60K for ladders to help immigrants get over Trump’s border wall
? Family who has legally lived in the U.S. since 1993 may be deported because of misplaced paperwork

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