Immigration
After years and years of struggle with many battles won, and even more lost, my legal immigration war ended in my favor about a week ago. I am now officially a permanent US resident. Among my rights are the right to reside and work in the US and the right to leave and re-enter the US freely as I please. The coolest of all is that I'm going to have this status permanently, so I'm not going to have to renew it to keep my rights (except for when I apply for my citizenship in 5 years).
Olga's legal immigration struggles still continue, though now her getting her green-card is really only a question of time. Few Americans have a good idea of what moving to America entails. When we were just thinking of moving to the US, we had no idea the legal side of it was going to be this complex and difficult to get over. It turned out to require a lot more creativity than one would think. I've spent countless hours on it and it's been very stressful for me (and some of the people who helped me out), and now it just feels as if a huge weight's been lifted off my shoulders.
Quite a few people helped Olga and I out with our immigration stuff. This never would have worked if it weren't for them. It's crazy, because some of those people aren't on very good terms with each other, and they were still willing to put their differences aside to help out Olga and I. I'm going to go ahead and list some of the people who tried hard to help us with our immigration issues in appreciation of their efforts:
Vasili and Tatiana Galchenko
Alan Belanger
Jason Garfield
Peggy Reuss
David Deeble
Arthur Lewbel
Andrew Conway
Scott Seltzer
Penn Jillette
Jon Wee
Owen Morse
Masaki Nishikawa
Tim Furst
Benji Hill
Barry and Sue Bakalor
Mark Bakalor
Erinn McNeill
Oprah Winfrey
I'm sure that Oprah lady reads my blog religiously, so I had to mention her. She helped out quite a bit in the final stages of the immigration process.
Comments
Congratulations!
I'm glad to hear that you have attained legal status as a resident of the US! I simply hope that Olga's immigration battles end soon as well.
Posted by: TraxxasJedi | February 10, 2007 09:13 PM
Congrats! I just watched you and your sister on Oprah - good job! Good luck in your future endeavors.
Posted by: Flora | February 12, 2007 04:49 PM
Congratulations and welcome back! I've seen too many very talented and honest people go through the same long, frustrating battles and am very happy to hear of your victory. I hope Olga doesn't have to go through as much pain.
Posted by: Doug | February 13, 2007 03:28 AM
Wow, that is alot of people. I never knew how much hard work it is too get over here.
But seeing all those names means it must take alot. Wow, I still can't believe how many people it took.
Well, congratulations! And happy juggling.
What do you plan to do with your life here in America?
Posted by: nick jantz | February 13, 2007 01:29 PM
Hey Vova, I saw Oprah Today, Good Job! I was wondering how satisfied you were with your apperance on Oprah, because you did some good passing etc. but you and Olga were only on for about 5 minutes, and I would have liked to watch you longer.
Thank
Lucas
Posted by: Lucas Aguirre | February 13, 2007 06:20 PM
Vova,
Welcome, welcome! (and congratulations!)
I just found your web site after hearing about you on Penn Jillette's radio show. I was about to write a letter to my senators and representatives about your immigration situation, and then I find this entry! As for your sister, now that you're in, her chances are excellent as well. (How does juggling compare to jumping through the hoops of the INS bureaucracy?)
For hundreds of years, one of the greatest advantages that we've had in this country, is that we get all of the most highly-motivated people from the rest of the world moving here. You and your sister are carrying on a great tradition.
-jcr
Posted by: John C. Randolph | February 16, 2007 02:02 AM
Congratulations Vova! I really hope things go well for Olga!
Posted by: Nicole | February 18, 2007 01:08 PM
Hey Vova, It has been a while since I have posted. I enjoyed the trip to Novosibirsk. You guys really know how to celebrate the New Year. I am happy that you won the immigration battle. I don't have TV so I missed you on Oprah. I bet you did great. God bless ya bro. I'm still praying for you. - Judah
Posted by: Judah Marx | February 23, 2007 09:47 PM
Awesome. Congrats, Vova!
Posted by: Jason Quinn | February 28, 2007 07:44 AM
Dude... so exciting... seriously. I am happy for you. I hope to see you sometime soon! Good job on oprah!! I loved the reference to gymnastics! Good choice of words.
Take care!
-meg
Posted by: Megan | February 28, 2007 08:30 AM
Big congadulations, and truly WELCOME TO AMERICA. You deserve it!
Posted by: edfred | March 7, 2007 08:33 AM
We are lucky to have you and Olga here in the US. Any time you need a hand let the juggling community know and we will do our best to help you out.
I wish you all the best in whatever you choose to do.
Posted by: Dedwarmo | March 9, 2007 09:08 PM
Thank you, Galchenkos, for choosing our country to amaze and enthrall.
May I offer a quote from "Wayne's World?"
"We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"
Posted by: The Rev. Jenner J. Hull | March 20, 2007 08:10 PM