New York has already said that Ukrainian refugees are welcome to come with open arms, and now there's a new call on Long Island for the White House to step in to help reunite a family that has been impacted by the war.
For Galyna and Jenya Semenkova, a mother and daughter from Oyster Bay, the war has made recent days difficult and even desperate.
"This situation for me is very bad," Galyna said. "I sleep with my phone (on me)."
Watch NBC 4 free wherever you are
WATCH HEREGalyna is worried about another daughter, Kseniia, and her new husband, who are now Ukrainian refugees. The couple spoke to NBC New York on Monday from Northern Italy, where they escaped to after fleeing their home city of Odessa, which was bombed by Russia.
"We left our home because it was a bomb attack near our apartment," said Kseniia.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox with NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP The couple's next stop was supposed to be Long Island, with Jenya saying that they "had a hope that we would get them here with a travel visa." Galyna and Jenya are desperate for their family to be all together again sometime soon, like they were just this past summer.
But Jenya said U.S. officials denied her sister’s visa request because the Ukrainian couple can’t guarantee they can ever return home.
News
"Why can’t they say they’re gonna go home? Because they don’t know what happened to their home," said Congressman Tom Suozzi, who called it a quirk in the law.
The Democratic representative has written to President Biden asking for help. He said that the family situation with the visa is not unique, and is keeping other Ukrainian refugees out of the U.S.
"Your mother is worried about you. But she should be happy you are safe," Suozzi told Kseniia over the phone. "Hopefully we’ll be able to fix this sooner or later."
"We just need to be in safe place for a few months," Kseniia said.
The couple just married in Ukraine last summer has little more than the clothes on their backs. They told News 4 that they are unsure of what to do next.
"All we’re asking is for the government to give them a visa, any kind of visa," Jenya said.
