Articles and publications

A Parent's Guide To Preventing International Child Abduction in Russia

Every year, countless children are taken illegally from the United States to countries that do not have an extradition agreement with the United States. Typically, these abductions occur during or after divorce proceedings by a parent who holds citizenship in the country of destination. International abductions pose a unique challenge to U.S. immigration law, which does not enforce border control at its points of exit. As such, a parent under the restriction of a court order from leaving the country with their child can effectively travel using their non-American passport without being stopped by law enforcement.

These restrictions hold different legal implications for those with dual citizenship versus those without dual citizenship. A solely American citizen (i.e. one without dual citizenship) may have their passport canceled by court order, but a dual citizen may still leave the country because their second passport is not affected by American court orders.

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Medicaid vs. Russian Pension

In this article, I will share an example of how the enforcement of Russian pension law can interfere with Medicaid coverage for immigrant families.

This story is about a married couple who immigrated to the United States in 2001. They are naturalized U.S. citizens, and they each received a Russian pension every quarter that amounted to about $350 U.S. dollars each month. To meet the pension requirement, they made routine trips to the Russian Consulate in New York to present an annual proof-of-life certificate. However, the couple both started having health problems that delayed the trip repeatedly and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit they were unable to travel entirely. Their last pension payment was in 2020, and they were not informed of how to continue the pension other than going in person to the consulate. This couple had also fallen into financial hardship. They lived very frugally and depended on family to support them. They did not pursue any legal action through power of attorney to pursue the continuation of the pension, not knowing that this was an option for them.

Today, the husband lives in a nursing home and is seeking government benefits (Medicaid) to help defray the cost of that residence and care. His failure to pursue the continuation of his pension has resulted in various problems.

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Karina Duvall, also known as Karina Krasnova, against Eliza Devorah Greenberg

As such, Karina Duvall has demonstrated her prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, thereby shifting the burden to Eliza Devorah Greenberg to raise a triable issue of fact.

Furthermore, defendant’s assertion in her affidavit that the lease ended on February 19, 2017, is insufficient to raise a triable issue of fact, as it is contradicted by her testimony in a prior holdover proceeding, wherein she acknowledged, on multiple court dates, that the lease term ended on January 31, 2017 (Duvall Reply Affidavit, Exhibits F, G)(see Lipsker v 650 Crown Equities, LLC, 81 AD3d 789 [2d Dept 2011][self-serving affidavit contradicting prior sworn testimony failed to raise a triable issue of fact]). Read More »

Divorce order between Russian and foreign individuals

The parties have lived separately for an extended period of time, and do not share a household together. The defendant does not oppose divorce, and there are no property disputes.

THEREFORE, the court decides to grant the divorce.

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Can I get divorce in Russia if marrige was registered in Cyprus?

According to Article 15 of the Treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Republic of Cyprus on Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal Matters, which was signed in Moscow on January 19, 1984, any Documents issued or certified in the prescribed form and affixed with the official seal of a competent state institution or an official of one of the Parties do not require any authentication in the territory of the other Party. This also applies to signatures on documents and signatures attested in accordance with the rules of one of the Parties.

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