DENVER -- Immigration is a word that triggers all kinds of emotions, images and stereotypes. While many feel the laws aren't tough enough, Susan and George McLennan found out how devastating immigration mistakes can be.

George McLennan, or Mac as his friends call him, is originally from Scotland. Susan is from the United States. They met playing dominos over the Internet and fell in love. Susan and George McLennan got married on May 28, 2004.

"This is Mac and me on our wedding day cutting the cake, this is my Mac, this is us dancing in Jamaica," said Susan as she pointed to pictures that told the story of happy newlyweds. They filed Mac's immigration paperwork and settled down in Aurora, Colo.

"It was a happy, happy time. Little did we know what we had in store," Susan said.

After four years of life, love and marriage in the United States a vacation to Jamaica in July 2007 triggered a landslide of consequences the McLennans never saw coming. When the McLennans returned to the U.S. they learned that Mac had overstayed a previous visa by one day. Mac was denied entry into the United States. The violation meant he had to return to Scotland.

"I ran home and packed a bag. I had an hour before they put him on a flight," Susan tearfully recalled. "It was like a nightmare. It was an absolute nightmare."

The nightmare didn't end there. They learned that Mac's divorce in Scotland was still two weeks from being finalized at the time of their marriage.

"It was stupidity on our part," Susan said. "We didn't do anything to hurt anyone; we hurt ourselves."

Mac was barred from entering the United States for 10 years.

With Mac in Scotland and the marriage declared invalid, Susan was about to get even worse news.

"I got very ill with appendicitis," she explained. "And that's when they found the cancer."

Susan was diagnosed with an advanced stage of colon cancer.

Several surgeries and weekly chemo treatments kept Susan from traveling overseas to visit Mac. He called during her chemo treatments, but it was Susan's son who sat by her side.

"But it's not the same as having your husband there," Susan said. "He's the light of my life."

There are exceptions that can be made in cases like the McLennans' but after filing multiple appeals and paying extra fees to make the process move faster, things weren't progressing fast enough.

"I don't mean to be morbid, but they said 12 to 18 months is what I could have left," Susan said.

When Mac and Susan contacted CALL7, we went straight to Susan's congressman.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter said in some cases his office can help cut through the red tape of federal government.

"A lot of times at least we can open the door for them," Perlmutter said. "We're in dire need of reform of how we bring people into this country."

Perlmutter staffer Aaron Greco is working on this case and dozens like it.

"Solving immigration issues can be both complicated and arbitrary," said Greco. "There's a lot of trying to catch the right person at the right time."

The McLennans found that "right person" on the Canadian side of the border after Susan's doctors cleared her to travel to Canada to meet up with Mac. They headed straight to the U.S. Custom's Office there to plead their case in person. A few days later a U.S. immigration agent at Niagara Falls granted their request for humanitarian parole for the maximum time frame of one year.

For the first time in 15 months Susan and George McLennan are together again in Colorado. Shocked but happy, Mac said, "I was hoping I'd end up back here, but the way things have gone, I didn't stand much of a hope."

The McLennans know the appeals process is not over yet, but they are savoring every single moment they have together. Beaming, Susan gave Mac a big kiss and said, "Welcome to Denver, baby."