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60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, September 20, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 6, 2004 Inessa Polk has returned to Medford from the Ukraine after being deported Aug. 25, 2003. She says she�s eager to get back to running the Samovar restaurant with her husband, Steve, now that she has permanent resident status and a green card. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Home sweet Samovar After a year in the Ukraine while her status was being ironed out, Inessa Polk is glad to be back By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Inessa Polk paused for a moment as she searched for the right words to convey her feelings. "I feel so much more comfortable in this country, even if I had a problem with immigration," she said as she sat beside her husband, Steve Polk, in Samovar, the Russian restaurant they own in Medford. "I like to be around the people here," she added. "I feel good energy here, not like in Ukraine." After nearly a year’s absence caused by her earlier illegal immigration status, the native of Ukraine is back greeting customers in her rich East European accent, this time legally with permanent resident status and a green card. Inessa, 33, and her son, Nikita, 13, returned Aug. 21, nearly one year after they left after overstaying their visa limits. Advertisement Now the couple are rebuilding their business and their personal lives after a year apart. The legal battle over her immigration has been both a financial and emotional strain, they say. "By the time she got back, I figure we lost about $40,000," said Steve, 40, noting it has been difficult keeping the restaurant going without her. "We’re struggling now to keep the house and the business. "But we are both young and strong and we don’t give up," he added. "We are going to recover from this and move forward." It all began when Inessa arrived in Medford from Ukraine in spring 2000 on a three-month visa. She had traveled to the Rogue Valley specifically to marry a man in Medford. However, that relationship did not work out. She and Steve Polk later met at the Samovar where he had been a longtime chef. The couple were married on July 24, 2000. She applied for legal status shortly after getting married. The couple figured she eventually would receive a green card, allowing her to stay. Meanwhile, they moved on with their lives. In addition to buying a home in Central Point, the Polks purchased the restaurant several years ago from Gogi and Jenna Tenyashvili, who opened the business in March 1992. But the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement hadn’t forgotten about her illegal status. Although she would not comment on specifics in the case, a spokeswoman for the agency told the Mail Tribune earlier this year that visa violations are grounds for deportation. In addition to overstaying her visa limit, Inessa had violated her visa requirements by marrying a person not listed on the document, said Dan Larsson, an immigration attorney from Bend who represented the Polks. Under what is known as a "fiancee visa," regulations required that she return to her native country after plans to marry the other person were canceled, then reapply from her country of origin through the visa process to marry Steve Polk, he explained. "The processing period is ridiculous but the system is set up in such a way there is no way to expedite it," Larsson said. "She had to file waivers from there (Ukraine) before she could legally come back here." Inessa and her son left Aug. 25, 2003, to return to Odessa, Ukraine, where she applied for the required waiver. And waited. "Every day I’m checking mail, every day I’m praying, every day I’m waiting," she said. "Even after eight months, they say, ‘No! You broke the law!’ " she added. "It was so difficult. ... I felt like a big criminal or some kind of terrorist. They took my fingerprints a thousand times." Her relatives moved out of an apartment in Odessa so she and her son would have a temporary place to stay. But that became a problem as the temporary stay became longer and longer, she said. Since she was in limbo, finding a job was a problem, she said. When she did find work, she was not paid. Nikita also missed a year of school. "You wait every day for something to happen," she said. "I felt like I wasn’t in an apartment in Ukraine. I felt like I was in jail." Back in Medford, Steve was racking up a big telephone bill each month from calling his wife in Odessa. In the restaurant, customers kept asking about Inessa, he said. "While she was here, we jumped through every hoop immigration wanted us to do but it wasn’t enough," he said. "After she was gone, I worked every day I could to move the process. There has been a lot of stress. We are thankful but it has been very hard." Now they are focusing on their future. She wants to thank customers and friends who wrote letters to the immigration service in her behalf. "This business to me is like my home," she said. "When people come in, it is like they come into my home. I appreciate every person who come in." Located at 101 E. Main St., Samovar is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner. As they sat in their restaurant, they talked about their future together. She chatted about the work ahead, about school for her son, about renewing acquaintances with old customers. "I make your brain busy?" she asked her husband at one point. "You make my brain very busy," he said with a chuckle. "I never know what’s coming." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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