90 Day Fiance The Other Way: Are Paul & Karine coming to the US after his visa was denied?
On the series premiere of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way, fans get to catch up with Before the 90 Days OGs Karine and Paul Staehle as Paul moves to Brazil to be with Karine and their son Pierre. But, as seen in a preview clip for the upcoming season, Paul’s Brazilian visa is eventually denied. As a result, he and Karine made plans to return to the United States after Karine received her US visa earlier this year. Unfortunately, the two got into a HUGE fight less than 24 hours before their flight, potentially delaying their trip — or canceling it altogether.
KARINE AND PAUL’S FIGHT
Paul and Karine (and Pierre) were all set to fly to the United States this weekend, and that’s also when Karine live streamed an altercation with Paul on Instagram. The video was saved and posted in parts on various Instagram accounts, and they show Paul expressing his anger at Karine for strewing clothes all over the floor after he spent the night before packing them all. He even accuses Karine of drinking beer and punching him at one point.
Unfortunately, Karine is speaking mostly in Portuguese throughout the heated exchange, so it’s difficult to get her side of what is going on. Thankfully, a redditor who speaks the language offered up a summary. Here are two clips and u/ana2903‘s recap:
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
RECAP:
In the first one Karine said: Paul, stop lying! My voice is like that (sounding drunk?) because I’ve been sick for over a week! I wish I was drunk right now so I wouldn’t be (mumbled, probably said “sober”) for this!
…the second one: “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but we’re traveling today. I’ve been trying to take care of the baby. I got everything ready for the trip with the baby because traveling with a baby is very hard. Look at all the baby clothes on the floor, it was all organized. I slept the last two nights at my mom’s”
And in English, she’s saying that she didn’t drink beer, and said Paul is lying about her being the one that made the mess.
Here’s another clip in which Paul gets extremely frustrated and makes the punching and drinking beer accusations:
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After the Instagram Live session, all has been quiet from Paul and Karine on social media, so it is unclear if they made their flight to the United States or not. If they did, then I am guessing that was an extra long flight for both of them. ?
WHY WAS PAUL’S BRAZILIAN VISA DENIED?
If you’re curious why Paul’s Brazilian visa was denied, it looks to be because of his criminal record in the United States. We were the first to report on Paul’s legal issues, which included an arrest for arson in 2007, as well as a violation of a protective order in 2013.
#90DayFiance Before the 90 Days' Paul Staehle mentioned getting in "some serious trouble" in his past. Hmmm… https://t.co/115iyYwS3K pic.twitter.com/Qav0ZMrBTI
— Starcasm (@starcasm) August 8, 2017
Instagram user @katie_not_holmes shared photos of the visa denial from the Brazilian courts, and they specifically cited Paul’s previous run-ins with the law as the reason that his visa was rejected. The document includes Paul’s criminal history, which was a little bit more extensive than ours.
From Katie:
Here’s a summary of his charges. I’ll post the full translation in the comments. (Not guilty means no record if he was guilty or not)
– There was an illegal transaction with a minor in 2004 – guilty 6 months of jail, 2 years probation (my guess is underage alcohol bought or sold)
– 2007 Misdemeanor – says charges but not guilty
– 2008 Misdemeanor (seems to be a R.O. Issue here ) AND Terroristic Threats – says charges but not guilty
– 2008 Arson – charged
– 2013 DV – not guilty
– 2013 Restraining order issue – not guilty
– 2014 stalking – not guilty
– 2014 broke court order – not guilty – 2014 arson – 10 years
– 2014 (again) Arson – 10 years (could be a typo or two charges from the same case)
– 2015 parole broken
Paul’s probation stemming from the arson conviction was ended early by a judge in September of 2011. Around that same time, Paul himself posted the arrest warrant from 2013 that details how he violated the protective order granted to his ex-girlfriend.
PAUL HAS APPEALED HIS VISA DENIAL
Paul has since filed an appeal, and it appears that Brazilian immigration officials are willing to hear his case. In the appeal, Paul’s legal rep makes these major arguments:
• Paul’s “terroristic threats” charge “does not correspond to terrorism,” but is instead akin to the Brazilian charge of threat, which is a lesser charge. (The document reveals that the terroristic threat charge against Paul was made by a boyfriend of Paul’s ex-girlfriend.)
• Because the threat charge was lesser, it falls under an exception in Brazilian immigration law that allows for visa approval with a criminal record as long as the offense is considered “a crime of lesser offensive potential,” which the Brazilian crime of threat is.
• Paul completed his probation for the arson charge. The document goes so far as to say “the applicant was not formally charged or convicted, having completed a plea guilty deal and completed the probationary period.” (I’m not sure how Brazilian law works, but I wouldn’t think that completing probation for a crime you were convicted of equates to not being formally charged or convicted?)
• Paul has a wife and a child in Brazil. (Actually, the appeal was filed when Karine was still pregnant, but it is mentioned in the document that Paul is about to become a father.) “In addition, according to the proviso provided in the inc. III, the existence of previous convictions does not prevent the granting of the residence permit for family reunion,” Paul’s legal rep argues.
The appeal looks to have been signed by a federal police delegate on May 16. I do not know if there has been a ruling on the appeal yet.
We will certainly keep our eyes and ears peeled for any updates from Paul and Karine! Meanwhile, you can keep up with their story (on a slight delay) with new episodes of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way airing Monday nights at 9/8c on TLC!
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com