BALTIMORE -- The 11 News I-Team tracked down the stories of two local families -- both American -- caught in the effort to tighten U.S. borders and toughen the rules of immigration.

The question they ask: Are the rules going too far? Lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller has the story.

Anne Marie and Rob Bouse have been married for nearly two years -- very happily, they'll tell you, except for something that threatens to force them apart. Rob is American, but Anne Marie is Canadian. And U.S. immigration authorities won't grant her the status she needs to legally remain in the United States.

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Jayne Miller Reports: Families Upset Over Law Keeping Them Apart

Anne Marie Bouse: "They don't see our situation, we're good people, have never done anything wrong. We just want to be together, live a happy marriage."

The problem for the Bouses dates back to the fall of 2002. After a lengthy visit to the U.S., while she and Rob were dating, Anne Marie returned home to Canada for a quick visit with her family -- apparently too quick for customs agents at the Toronto airport, who, the following week, refused to allow Anne Marie to return to the U.S.

Anne Marie: "The guy looks at me, he says, listen, I have the right to do whatever I want to. He said I'm not letting you take the plane tonight. And he said end of discussion, now I'm stopping for you six months."

Jayne Miller: "Anne Marie was bitterly disappointed, but followed the custom agent's mandate. For the next 7 months, she made no attempt to go to the U.S. Instead, Rob visited her, where the two decided to get engaged, and filed with U.S. immigration for a fiancé petition.

Then in May of 2003, Anne Marie traveled with her parents to Vermont for a weekend wedding involving family friends. They crossed the border by car, which, at that time, required very little documentation.

Anne Marie: "When you pass by car, they only ask for a piece of identity to show you're Canadian and they tell you have a good time, that's about it."

Rob saw the Vermont trip as a chance to be reunited with Anne Marie, so he sent her a train ticket to join him in Maryland.

Rob Bouse: "I didn't want her going back to Canada. We're only a train trip away from one another and I think she wanted the same thing -- to stay with me and work this out."

Two weeks later, Rob and Anne Marie went to an eastern shore courthouse and were married by a judge. They then sought permanent residency for Anne Marie through immigration authorities -- the so-called green card.

Anne Marie cleared the background check. But six months later, she was informed her application was being denied. The reason: there was no record she made legal entry into the U.S.

Anne Marie: "Well, of course they have no proof of me entering the country because that's the way it worked when I came through. I went through, driving with my parents, they asked for my license, told me to have a good time."

Rob: "This one makes us look bad."

Naima Said is the Bouse's attorney. What frustrates her about the Bouse's case is that the couple is being required to produce something border agents don't issue.

Naima Said: "They want a passport with a stamp in it, but the regulations say you don't need a passport if you're a Canadian to enter the U.S.

Immigration authorities say it appears the Bouses used marriage as a convenient short cut to gaining legal status.

Naima: "In that case, Jayne, they should go through their files and deport half the people. Because many people come to this country as visitors and meet people and get married."

Alan and Kay Brench face a whole different immigration hurdle. They are American citizens. Their 25-year-old son, Richard, is not.

Since March, after returning to the U.S. from his grandmother's funeral in Great Britain, Richard has been locked up in a Maryland jail -- not because of anything he did wrong at that time, but because of a drug problem he had as a teenager.

In 2001, Richard was convicted for possession of drug paraphernalia in Carroll County, put on probation, and sent to residential treatment.

Kay Brench: "He's rehabilitated. He has a full time job, he's going to school, six credits away from an A.A. degree. He goes to church; he's done everything that's been asked of him."

Eighteen months ago, U.S. authorities renewed Richard's green card. In February, he successfully completed his probation on the drug charge, with his agent noting he had remained arrest free and had shown a willingness to take a positive direction in his life.

But when he went through customs at BWI in March, his green card was pulled, he was put in jail and notified he was subject to deportation under a 1996 immigration law that declares him an alien who has been convicted of any law or regulation of a state.

Alan Brench: "I understand the situation after 9/11 that we need to be on guard because of internal threats. But I have a great deal of difficulty casting my son as a threat to the U.S. The only person he's been a threat to is himself."

Jayne Miller: "The Brenchs will be in immigration court next month. Rob and Anne Marie Bouse are still waiting for a court date. Both families will try to overcome the rigid rules of U.S. immigration -- knowing that if they lose, Rob Bouses' wife and Alan and Kay Brenchs' son will be forced to leave the country and stay out for years to come."

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