Help Valentino go to University

Help Valentino Go to University

Hi, my name is Mike Nolan and I am the sponsor for a Ukrainian family under the United for Ukraine (U4U) program of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service. I sponsored Lyuda, and her husband, Vladimiro. I was not able to sponsor their 20-year-old son, Valentino. I met them in 2011 when I asked them to take care of my house while I was deployed to Iraq for a year. Although Ukrainian, Valentino was born in Italy. When he turned 18, if he sought out a Ukrainian passport, they would have put him immediately into the Ukrainian Army. Frightened they might lose their only child, Lyuda and Vladimiro had their son obtain an Italian passport.

After I flew the family here on February 5th of this year, I sent Valentino back to Italy to try and obtain an F1 Student Visa. He was able to get the visa. However, he is treated like some rich trust fund baby with unlimited funds. In reality, his family, though hard-working, is not rich and cannot afford the tuition. I am paying all their living expenses but cannot also pay his tuition without some help.

But why should we help this 20-year-old? There are lots of people that need help. However, Valentino is different. He speaks five languages fluently, he is a division 2-3 level tennis player and his favorite thing to do is to coach young people in tennis. But he is not allowed to work except at school, cannot get a driver's license without a social security card, and cannot get in-state or resident tuition because he is considered a foreigner. I am still trying to get him into the U4U program which would grant him residency, health insurance, a work permit, and a social security number.

I am looking to raise $19,427 for his first semester. BTW, St Leo was the only school to offer him some assistance. We are hoping his parents will have enough work by the spring semester to be able to pay for school themselves in the future.

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