Figure 1.--Ukranian boy Walter Polovchak at the age of 12 years became an internationally known figure in the Cold War (1980). Here isalter and his big sister Nataly with their lawyer. The case was fought out in the courts. The Ukranian community in Chicago and the Reagan Administration supported Walter and Nataly. The Soviet Embassy supported their parents.

The Polovchak family emigrated to the United states (January 1980). Michael and Anna Polovchak had three children. They settled in Chicago which has a sunstantial Ukranian ethnic community. America proved to be a disappointmnt to the parents, especially the father. Unlike the Soviet Union there was no guaranteed job and it was not the paradise he had expected. The two oldest children, Nataly (then aged 17), and Walter (12) had different opinions. They very much liked their new country. They did not want to go bavk to the Sovirt Union. As a resukt they left there parents home and moved in with a cousin (July 1980). Their parents wanted them back and went to the police. The police contacted the Federal Government because of the international ramifications. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the State Department recommended that the police not intervene and to allow the courts to adjudicate the matter. The parents initiated custody proceedings in an Illinois court. The issue wasrather clkear cut withb Nstaly because of her age. As Walter was much youngder, it proved to be much more controversial. The Ukranian community attemoted to assist Walter. They helpe him get a lawyer and Walter 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 defector. The application was granted. Subsequently his legal status was adjusted to that of a lawful permanent resident (October 1981). Soviet authorities used the Polovchak case to try to prove that not only was life in the United States no whst may believed, but ght American authorites woukd steal children. The Reagan Administration which took power (January 1981) was sympathetic to Walter and helped drag out the continuing court procedures until walter turned 18 and was no longer a minor over whichb his parents could exert custody. Walter after the fall of the Soviet Union (1991) restablished relations with his parents and regularly visits them in the now independent Ukraine.

Created: 8:38 AM 6/20/2012
Last updated: 2:12 PM 7/9/2019