A Lithuanian makeup artist’s trip to visit her fiancé in the United States ended with a 17-hour detention and the collapse of their relationship, according to reports.
“What could I know, but as I say, nothing happens for no reason,” Eglė Šarauskaitė said.
Šarauskaitė, from Šiauliai, Lithuania, had been traveling between Lithuania and the U.S. For two years to see her fiancé, Petras. The recent trip, however, took an unexpected turn when she was detained upon arrival and ultimately denied entry into the country.
“I really wasn’t there for no reason. I’ve actually been a makeup artist for 10 years, presenting my work both in Lithuania and Europe. I wanted to share my makeup knowledge with Lithuanians living further from Lithuania. I looked into where one of the largest Lithuanian communities living outside of Lithuania was located. I chose between Indonesia, Asia, or America,” Šarauskaitė explained.
“And traditionally – Chicago, of course, that’s where most Lithuanians are.”
“I had a conversation with some acquaintances who told me, Egle, you can definitely travel to Chicago – there’s a very large Lithuanian community there. And one of my dreams was to experience a long flight. So it all came together in Chicago – I wanted a long flight, but also to share my makeup knowledge with compatriots living far away,” she said.
“Did you like the long flight and living for two years traveling back and forth?”
“There was no plan to fly for two years. I liked the long flight, but there was no such plan. It just happened that during my first flight I met my former fiancé. And it turned out that I was flying back and forth for two years.”
The case highlights the complexities of maintaining relationships across international borders and the importance of adhering to immigration regulations.
“Now, Egle, two years of travel. It seemed like a newly discovered love, maybe someone across the Atlantic would appear, and it would be possible to build a life there. Did you expect that it would end with a 17-hour detention at the airport and the relationship breaking up?”
Šarauskaitė said she had been flying to the U.S. For two years, legally staying for up to 90 days at a time to visit her fiancé. She said previous trips had been trouble-free, but the last one resulted in her being detained by customs officials.
“For two years I flew back and forth. I could actually spend 90 days in America without interruption, then I would return to Lithuania, then I could fly again and spend 90 days. That is 3 months. The first two times were exotic – new relationships, new people, new culture, new language. Everything is intriguing. But when I flew the 3rd, 4th time, I started to miss my work,” she said.
“One job tripped you up. What specifically happened when you arrived at the airport? Was this at the end of this year or the end of last year?”
“The end of December. When I flew to America for the 3rd, 4th time, I felt that I missed my work. At that time, I received an offer to work in a beauty salon in a suburb of Chicago, but I refused because I didn’t have the opportunity to make it legal and official. I continued the relationship without being able to work, and I wanted to sort out those things as soon as possible, but we didn’t do that. I received a few offers to work with makeup in Chicago and around it. I didn’t refuse that offer, and it remained in my social media and messaging platform. When I flew to America for the last time, at the end of December, I was stopped by customs. They invited me, read my messages and saw that I had worked in November 2024. They just saw it and sent me back to Lithuania because I didn’t have a work permit at that time.”
“But you weren’t sent back immediately. What were those 17 hours like? Tell me, because those who haven’t experienced it probably find it hard to understand.”
“I was actually probably in a state of shock, because personally I didn’t experience much of an ordeal. I was with my kitten, and I knew I had to keep her safe. Now she is dependent on me. Not she has to protect me, but I protect her. It seemed that we gave each other strength and lasted that time. Of course, it wasn’t fun and pleasant. I just knew that it could happen sooner or later.”
“What is your message? Be careful about love across the Atlantic, or get your documents in order correctly, because otherwise trips to America may end before they even begin?”
“If you have a long-distance relationship, like mine – a few months is fine to communicate from a distance, but don’t extend it to two years, so that it doesn’t happen like it did to me. Long-distance relationships really require effort, sacrifice and other nuances. It’s better not to wait two years in uncertainty.”
“So how did it all end?”
“The relationship ended. I was not allowed into America and returned to Lithuania. In order for us to be able to live in America with my former fiancé, we would have had to get married or for him to move to Lithuania. He wasn’t ready for either one or the other. The relationship ended.”
