My wife is American, I'm not, we got married in 2002 and a year and a half
later we moved back to my native country. She couldn't stand it there, and our
relationship was already rocky. In the Christmas of 2003 she went to the US to
spend it with her family, my nine month old daughter went with her. While she
was over there we fought over the phone, till at one point she simply informed
me that she wasn't coming back. I had just joined a job at that point and
couldn't go back to the states. Eventually we agreed to a divorce. My wife
went to court and got a ruling that said my daughter couldn't leave the US.
Which meant she wouldn't be able to visit me until she was 18.
At one point, my wife made me give up my greencard which I had through my
marriage, it wasn't really a big deal for me except that it meant it would make
it a hell of lot harder for me to visit my daughter and live and work near her.
I miss my daughter so much that I break down and cry sometimes when I'm alone,
but I put on a happy face in front of others. She's 2.5 now, I go and try to
visit her at least twice a year, I can't afford to do any more than that. She
is yet to understand the concept that I am her father. I also call and webcam
her every other day, as well as write her letters every week, I also keep a
journal to her that I hope to show her one day when she grows up. So she knows
that even thought I wasn't physically close to her I always thought about her.
PS: I have already told one person on GAF this story, he and I are of the same
nationality.