NYLAG’s Jodi Ziesemer spoke to Financial Planning about the hardship many Ukrainians are facing when transitioning to the U.S. for safety. In particular, Kostiantyn Dmitriiev’s and his family were forced to leave their home country for safety reasons and have used most of their savings to live in the U.S.
“On Feb. 24, 2022, Kostiantyn Dmitriiev woke up at 5 a.m. to the sound of his phone ringing. It was his parents.
“’Guys, it’s started,’ his mother told him. ‘So, you have to pack your belongings and get out of the town right here, right now’…
“The couple applied for what’s called “humanitarian parole” under Uniting for Ukraine, a U.S. program that allows Ukrainian refugees to stay in the country for two years. After about three months of paperwork—mostly for their dog—they got in. Kostiantyn and Kseniia arrived in Philadelpia in September 2022.
“But their troubles were far from over. Though they were now out of harm’s way, the Dmitriives were just beginning their long, difficult struggle to afford life in the United States—a struggle that ultimately burned through most of Dmitriiev’s life savings…
“’Unfortunately, our immigration system is very bureaucratic and broken in a lot of ways,’ said Jodi Ziesemer, director of Immigration Protection Unit at the New York Legal Assistance Group, a nonprofit in New York. ’We have seen some clients and Ukrainians who have left the United States because it is just not viable for them,’ said Ziesemer…
“’That’s sort of where the gap is, Ziesemer said. The fact that we’re sending status to people to enter the United States and not simultaneously processing documentation for them to actually begin their life here in the United States is a huge issue.’…
“’We’ve seen a few people who have been frustrated by what is offered in the United States and not fully understanding that there’s no housing assistance,’ Ziesemer said. ‘It’s expensive to live here. And there’s no subsidy, and people have to just find housing on the open market…
“Ziesemer also emphasized that while the U.S. system for Ukrainians is difficult, it’s far harder for almost every other nationality of immigrants, especially those from Central and South America.”
Read the full piece by Nathan Place in Financial Planning on August 17, 2023.
