This is a verified U.S.-based emergency repatriation fundraiser for a U.S. citizen and his family. No funds will be sent to or used in any sanctioned country.
Message from the Organizer
On a beautiful day in July 2023, I watched our beloved friends – Valentin and Anastasia – get married in our church, Saints Peter and Paul, here in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were full of hope, ready for a new life.
A month later, they were stranded 5,000 miles away from home.
They are still there. And they need our help to come back.
A Two-Year Fight for Survival
Just one month after their wedding, before her U.S. immigration process could begin, Anastasia had to return to Belarus to complete her state-mandated work assignment from her music college – a legal requirement she could not ignore.
Valentin, a U.S. citizen, went with her, using his life savings and working on remote projects to support them, believing it would be a short-term setback.
They have been surviving in isolation ever since, with no support system or community nearby.
The Breaking Point: Why They Must Come Home NOW
In October 2025, their situation became a crisis.
Valentin’s only source of remote income – a creative project he had worked on for 6 months – ended abruptly when his long-term client chose to end things and replace him with AI. They were left short of the thousands of dollars they were desperately counting on to get home.
Their financial lifeline vanished overnight. Valentin’s life savings are gone. Their living expenses are going on credit cards. They are stranded in a foreign country with no path forward and no way to build a life.
At the same time, the two years of isolation and the daily struggle to find nutritious food locally have caused their chronic health conditions to spiral. Valentin has a permanent hormonal disorder (hypogonadism) that has led to osteoporosis, muscle wasting, and severe fatigue. Anastasia suffers from a nervous system condition (dysautonomia) that randomly triggers debilitating nausea and migraines, often in response to food, leaving her bedridden days at a time. They depend on each other for daily care and cannot leave each other behind.
Because Belarus is a country under U.S. and international sanctions, Valentin is blocked from finding new remote work, despite being a U.S. citizen. American companies refuse to hire anyone located in Belarus, leaving him and his wife legally and financially paralyzed. Even if Anastasia’s health permitted her to work, the average local wage in Belarus is less than $2/hour – not enough to cover their basic needs, let alone save for their return.
They are trapped with no way to earn, no savings left, and no way to leave.
The Only Bridge Home: How Your Support Will Help
This fundraiser is their one and only bridge back to health and safety in the United States.
Every dollar raised will go directly to Valentin’s GoFundMe-verified U.S. bank account to cover these essential repatriation costs. In full compliance with U.S. law and GoFundMe’s rules, all funds will remain in the U.S. financial system and no funds will be sent to Belarus.
Here is exactly how your support will bring them home step by step:
Step 1: Stabilize & Prepare Immigration Case — 100% FUNDED ✅
- ✅ Credit Card Debt: $2,000 (payments to U.S. banks for essential living expenses incurred during the crisis)
- ✅ U.S. Federal Taxes: $2,500 (required tax payments for Valentin’s previous remote work to demonstrate legal ties to the United States for eligibility to file a family-based petition for Anastasia)
- ✅ Polish Visa Application: $200 (long-term 365-day national visa for Poland, ensuring flexibility for planning and travel to the U.S. Embassy)
- ✅ Medical Documentation: $800 (medical evaluations and translation of records required for the U.S. Embassy case and for Anastasia’s medical exam)
- ✅ Legal Expenses: $4,000 (evidence development and case preparation to qualify for Direct Consular Filing, a fast-track process at the U.S. Embassy based on exceptional circumstances)
Step 2: Embassy Processing in Poland — 100% FUNDED ✅
- ✅ U.S. Government Filing and Medical Exam Fees: $1,500 (family-based USCIS Form I-130 Petition fee, Form DS-260 visa processing fee, Affidavit of Support review fee, Medical Exam fee, and USCIS Immigrant Fee for Green Card production)
- ✅ Emergency Relocation & Living Expenses: $4,500 (relocation from Belarus, through Lithuania, to stable temporary housing in Warsaw, Poland, over 4-5 months for the required in-person embassy filing, interviewing, processing, and visa issuance)
➡️ Step 3: The Journey Home & Safe Landing — ⏳ FUNDING NOW
- Transatlantic Airfare: $2,000 (plane tickets to Salt Lake City, Utah, booked upon Anastasia’s case completion at the U.S. Embassy)
- Safe Landing Fund: Goal of $5,000+ (critical support for recovery and resettlement: specialist visits, medical tests, prescription medication, transportation, food, home necessities, stable housing)
The Safe Landing Fund allows Valentin and Anastasia to safely navigate their return, overcome the acute phase of their health conditions, and begin rebuilding their lives in Salt Lake City from scratch after their 2-year exile – without crashing into an immediate medical, financial, and housing crisis upon arrival.
Your Support Is Their Last Hope
Valentin and Anastasia have been fighting this private battle alone for more than two years. They have hit a wall, exhausted every option, and cannot get home without our help.
Your support will make a direct and life-changing difference. It will finally pull them out of this spiral and give them a chance to be safe, healthy, together, and home.
There are three ways you can help today:
1. Donate on this page. Every donation brings Valentin and Anastasia closer to health and safety, gives their campaign strong momentum, and helps their story be found and not forgotten.
2. Share this fundraiser. A share isn’t just a click – it’s a lifeline. It puts their story directly in front of someone who could help.
3. Mention them to others. Tell their story to a friend, your family, or your church group – or share the link in a chat. A single conversation can start the ripple effect that brings them home.
Every act of kindness – every donation, every share, every conversation – will change the course of their lives. It has the direct power to bring them home and help them land safely.
Thank you for your incredible kindness and generosity!
Organizer and beneficiary
Valentin Sergief
Beneficiary