90 Day Fiancé's Angela Slips, Admits She Wants Michael's 'Visa Annulled'

Summary

• Angela Deem confirmed a fan theory about her motivation in filing for an annulment from Michael on a chaotic 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? Tell All episode.
• Fans believed Angela's goal was to get Michael "kicked out of the United States" by annulling their marriage rather than divorcing him.
• Angela may have given Michael's lawyers exactly what they need to secure his immigration status.

Last night's 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? Tell All was incredibly chaotic, but at the beginning, Angela confirmed a fan theory about her motivation in filing for an annulment from Michael.

Angela Deem and Michael Ilesanmi began dating in 2017, debuted on 90 Day Fiancé in 2018, and wed in Michael's native Nigeria in January 2020 — only to have their immigration process stalled by a global pandemic.

Consequently, Michael didn't actually leave his native Nigeria for the United States until December 2023.

Editor’s note: This article contains mentions of alleged domestic abuse, and related topics that could be triggering to some readers and survivors. If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, please visit thehotline.org for assistance 24/7.

On August 8, we reported that Angela took the unusual step of filing to annul her marriage to Michael, and we briefly explained the difference between a divorce and an annulment:

"Divorces and annulments are both legal concepts (the latter often associated with religion) designed to dissolve a marriage.

"While a divorce ends an existing marriage, an annulment retroactively makes a marriage 'never valid.'"

In that article, we addressed why Angela might have chosen the more complicated process of attempting to annul a marriage over a standard divorce.

Fans of the reality TV mainstay were fairly consistent in their belief that Angela's annulment was filed with the specific goal of trying to get him "kicked out of the United States" — it seemed that Angela reasoned that "undoing" her marriage to Michael would retroactively nullify his immigration status in the US.

The fifth and final Happily Ever After? Tell All focused a bit more on the immigration process than the show normally does, and at the very beginning, Angela explicitly divulged her true motivation in filing for an annulment.

Even though viewers were certain she wanted to "send Michael back," hearing her say it out loud was still shocking.

Angela's Confidence Might Aid Michael's Legal Defense

After news of Angela's annulment filing went public, a GoFundMe campaign was created on Michael's behalf, to assist with his legal fees.

Commenters on the fundraiser strongly supported Michael, and the most recent comment on that campaign read:

"Good luck and prayers Michael during your struggle. It is just heartbreaking to see what you have gone through, no one deserves the treatment that you have endured and are still going through.

"On behalf of every decent hardworking American I apologize for the inhumane treatment you received. Welcome to this wonderful country.

"Remember to always lean on God, because evil comes in many forms. Sometimes evil comes in saggy skinned, bleached burned hair, cigarette stinking, denture wearing hags. We love you so stay strong!"

It's unsurprising activity on Michael's GoFundMe kicked off again after Angela's outburst last night.

Angela began storming off before the Tell All got underway, and in doing so, she articulated her motives explicitly — even outright saying she planned to get her "visa annulled," not her marriage.

The relevant scene begins when Angela and Michael exit a cordoned off room to say goodbye; Angela says she doesn't want to stay because she's "single," and Michael says they are "not single anymore."

Other cast members question Angela and Michael, but Angela does most of the talking — and it is clear from what she says that she is threatening Michael with the specter of deportation, even as he's trying to save their marriage.

As fellow cast members pepper her with questions, she begins:

It's just the facts guys ... Feel sorry for him because he shoulda listened. I worked so hard for seven years ...

There's quite a bit of crosstalk, but there's no mistaking the threat when Angela proudly states:

I just wanna go home, get a lawyer, get my visa annulled from him, send him home, and ...

After that, a visibly panicked Jasmine cuts in, and in the following exchange, Angela clarifies that yes, she believes she has the power to remove Michael from the United States:

[Jasmine]: "Angela when you say 'I'm gonna take my visa,' what do you mean?"

[Angela]: "Yes, my visa, Jasmine, it's mine."

[Jasmine]: "What do you mean, my visa?"

Spousal visas are under the purview of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and USCIS is well aware that some sponsoring spouses use visas as leverage to abuse an immigrant spouse:

"Some petitioners may misuse the immigration process to further abuse their noncitizen family members by threatening to withhold or withdraw the petition in order to control, coerce, and intimidate them."

On the very same page, USCIS further explains that there are pathways to immigration status for situations exactly like Michael's:

"... Congress provided noncitizens who have been abused by their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident relative the ability to independently petition for themselves (self-petition) for immigrant classification without the abuser’s knowledge, consent, or participation in the immigration process. This allows victims to seek both safety and independence from their abusers."

In Angela's annulment filing, she claimed Michael "fraudulently induced [her] into a marriage for the purpose of gaining legal permanent resident status in the United States," but her legal attestation was possibly undermined by the words that came out of her mouth on last night's Tell All.