Temporary Visas Extended For 30K Ukrainians Working In U.S.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- President Joe Biden extended temporary visas for 30,000 Ukrainians working and studying in the U.S., including in Minnesota. The move came after a bipartisan coalition of 41 Senators wrote a letter asking Biden for the immediate extension.
Mariana Pykivska, 34, has been working on a Waverly farm six months a year for more than a decade.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar was in Washington D.C. just before the extension was granted.
"The last thing we want is to have these brave Ukrainians who are watching their families take shelter, in some cases fight for their country, to force them to become refugees in their own country," Klobuchar said.
Pykivska's family is in a small town in central Ukraine.
"It means a lot for me and my family and for Ukraine, being safe for my parents means a lot. I am the only one in my family who still continues working, so being able to stay in the country will support my family and my country," Mariana Pykivska said.
She says. for now, her family has not been attacked.