Ukrainian Americans try many ways to bring in relatives

Yuliya Day poses for a picture in front of a blended United States/Ukraine flag that hangs in front of her home in Fullerton, California, U.S., April 21, 2022. Picture taken April 21, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake

(Reuters) -Twice daily, Yuliya Day reaches out by phone from Los Angeles to see how her mother and aunt are doing in the attic they’ve rented in Warsaw. The sisters, 68 and 70 years old, crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border with two cats and few belongings after fleeing Kharkiv.

Between calls, Day resumes her months-long effort to bring her mom and aunt out of Europe and into the United States. The 42-year-old special needs instructor is among six Ukrainian Americans who spoke to Reuters about navigating any route they can find through what they described as the difficult and confusing legal process of bringing in loved ones fleeing war.