Walter Polovchak
Encyclopedia
Walter Polovchak is a Ukrainian
-American
who, as a child, became the center of the legal case Polovchak v. Meese
after refusing to leave Chicago, Illinois and return to Ukraine
in the Soviet Union
with his parents when he was 12.
in January of 1980 and settled in Chicago. Later that year the parents decided to move back to the USSR, but the two elder children, Nataly (then aged 17), and Walter (12), disagreed and on July 13, 1980, left their parents' Chicago home to stay with a cousin in the same city.
The parents sought the assistance of the police to get their children back, but upon the advice of the US Federal Government (the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the State Department) the police decided not to return the children to their parents but to start custody proceedings in an Illinois court.
On July 19, 1980, Walter Polovchak, with the help of his lawyer, filed an application for asylum
with the INS, on the grounds of potentially being disadvantaged and persecuted in the USSR as being a member of the Baptist
church. The application was granted; later, in October, 1981, he was able to adjust his legal status to that of a lawful permanent resident.
The case became a Cold War
cause célèbre
after the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) allowed him to stay
against his parents' will, even as his parents pursued legal means to retake the custody of their son.
Polovchak and his 18-year-old sister Natalie went to live with a cousin during the dispute, and a sympathetic Reagan
administration helped drag out court procedures until Polovchak turned 18 and was no longer a minor.
Since becoming a U.S. citizen, Polovchak visits the now-independent Ukraine every second year on average, and has re-established relations with his parents.
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who, as a child, became the center of the legal case Polovchak v. Meese
Polovchak v. Meese
Polovchak v. Meese, 774 F.2d 731 was an American federal legal case involving a 12-year-old who did not want to leave the United States and return with his parents to Ukraine....
after refusing to leave Chicago, Illinois and return to Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
with his parents when he was 12.
The Polovchak case
The Polovchak family — the parents Michael, Anna and their three children — came to the United States from Soviet UkraineUkrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
in January of 1980 and settled in Chicago. Later that year the parents decided to move back to the USSR, but the two elder children, Nataly (then aged 17), and Walter (12), disagreed and on July 13, 1980, left their parents' Chicago home to stay with a cousin in the same city.
The parents sought the assistance of the police to get their children back, but upon the advice of the US Federal Government (the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the State Department) the police decided not to return the children to their parents but to start custody proceedings in an Illinois court.
On July 19, 1980, Walter Polovchak, with the help of his lawyer, filed an application for asylum
Asylum in the United States
The United States honors the right of asylum of individuals as specified by international and federal law. A specified number of legally defined refugees, who apply for asylum either overseas or after arriving in the U.S., are admitted annually. Refugees compose about one-tenth of the total...
with the INS, on the grounds of potentially being disadvantaged and persecuted in the USSR as being a member of the Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church. The application was granted; later, in October, 1981, he was able to adjust his legal status to that of a lawful permanent resident.
The case became a Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
after the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) allowed him to stay
Asylum in the United States
The United States honors the right of asylum of individuals as specified by international and federal law. A specified number of legally defined refugees, who apply for asylum either overseas or after arriving in the U.S., are admitted annually. Refugees compose about one-tenth of the total...
against his parents' will, even as his parents pursued legal means to retake the custody of their son.
Polovchak and his 18-year-old sister Natalie went to live with a cousin during the dispute, and a sympathetic Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
administration helped drag out court procedures until Polovchak turned 18 and was no longer a minor.
Since becoming a U.S. citizen, Polovchak visits the now-independent Ukraine every second year on average, and has re-established relations with his parents.