A widowed Mexican immigrant has been denied entry into the United States to attend her late husband's funeral, after he died in a boating accident in Alaska. Adriana Gonzalez, the wife of Vincent Frank Short, has been unsuccessful in her attempts to obtain an emergency visa, The Seattle Times reported.

Short, 36, died in July after falling from the mast of a commercial fishing boat in Akutan, Alaska. His funeral is scheduled for Saturday at Poulsbo chapel in Washington. Gonzalez and her stepmother-in-law, Vanessa Brower, visited the US Consulate General’s office in Tijuana, Mexico, to arrange for Gonzalez's travel.

The couple had an existing tourist visa interview scheduled for September, as Short had planned to visit his family in Washington for Christmas. Gonzalez sought to convert her original appointment to an emergency visa application interview. Following her evaluation, she was informed that the denial was due to code 214(b), which signifies that the interviewer did not believe there was sufficient evidence of her intent to return to Mexico after her visit.

Gonzalez attempted a subsequent interview at the San Ysidro crossing in Tijuana the following week, requesting humanitarian parole, which allows temporary entry into the US for emergency situations. After a lengthy wait, her request was denied, and she was cautioned against attempting to reapply at another location.

She has since contacted the offices of US Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Michael Baumgartner, seeking their assistance in initiating a petition to waive the denial of her visa application. Gonzalez expressed her desire to tell her husband, "I'll be with him forever, that I'll take care of the kids and be brave like he always told me."

Gonzalez wanted to tell her husband that 'I'll be with him forever, that I'll take care of the kids and be brave like he always told me'

Short's family has initiated a GoFundMe to support Gonzalez and their three children, describing him as "a devoted father, a loving husband and a hardworking provider who always puts his family first." The campaign has raised over $47,000 of its $100,000 goal.

Short was described as 'devoted father, a loving husband and a hardworking provider who always puts his family first'

Gonzalez stated, "I want him to know I did not leave him alone. That I did everything possible to be with him, because the distance never separated us, or the border. I just want to say goodbye."