Klobuchar’s office helped secure an expedited visa for Valentyna to leave Kharkiv and join her daughter, Anna, in Minnesota in time for Mother’s Day

MINNEAPOLIS – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) met today with Anna Hansen and her mother, Valentyna Zinchenko, a Ukrainian mother and daughter who have been reunited in Minnesota.

“This is an amazing Mother’s Day story of a daughter making sure her mom got to safety,” said Klobuchar. “I am so pleased that we were able to help. So much of Minnesota’s growth has been fueled by refugees and immigrants coming in, and we’ve always had open hearts.”

“After February 24, everybody’s lives have changed. For me it won’t be the same – ever,” said Anna Hansen. “I knew that Amy was one of the first politicians in America who actually ran to the border and welcomed Ukrainian women and kids, and asked them their stories…I was like: ‘She knows, she’s seen these people, she knows what they had to go through.’ I am so thankful for everything Senator Klobuchar did to bring my mom to safety in the United States.”

Last month, Hansen, an immigrant from Ukraine who recently graduated from Minnesota State University Mankato with a Master’s in Accounting, reached out to Klobuchar’s office asking for assistance in expediting her mother’s pending visa petition. Her mother, Zinchenko, was living in Kharkiv, a city in northeastern Ukraine which has been targeted by Russian forces since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Following a 36-hour train ride from Kharkiv via Poland to Germany, Zinchenko and Hansen were reunited in Frankfurt, where Hansen helped her mother apply for the immigrant visa at the U.S. Consulate. Klobuchar’s office reached out to the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany and successfully secured approval for Zinchenko’s visa petition. Zinchenko traveled to Minnesota on April 28 in time for her daughter’s graduation and Mother’s Day.                                                                                                                                  

Klobuchar has actively worked to help Minnesotans affected by Putin’s senseless invasion of Ukraine. In March, she helped secure the release of Tyler Jacob, a Winona native unjustly detained by Russian forces. Her office worked closely with Tyler’s family, the State Department, and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to locate Tyler and facilitate his safe return to Minnesota.

In March, Klobuchar also successfully pushed the Biden administration to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukrainians living in the U.S., to prevent them from being forced to return to Ukraine during the ongoing conflict.

Photos can be downloaded HERE.

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