Alla Globchak Ward makes it to America; then, last week, becomes a US citizen
ROANOKE COUNTY - By 9 a.m. on the morning of November 18 the second floor of the Poff Building located in downtown Roanoke was full with friends, family members, and 44 people waiting to officially become American citizens. They came from all over the world: Morocco, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, United Kingdom, India, China, Turkey, and more. For one southwest Roanoke County citizen, her journey here began in the Ukraine.
Alla Globchak was living in the Ukraine when she met David Ward, of Littlehorn Drive, via an international dating site online in the Fall of 2000. He had seen her photo and began writing her. She was learning English at the time, and in their back and forth letters she would ask him to write all the details of his day to help her learn English better. “I couldn’t just write that I went to the Coffee Pot, for example, for lunch,” explained Ward, “she’d want me to write that I had gone to the Coffee Pot for lunch, had ice tea to drink with a slice of lemon, and had this or that to eat.”
Alla holds up the American flag and packet of information given to her by the US marshal during the naturalization ceremony. - photo by Carrie E. Cox
Writing gave way to phone conversations, with a translator needed to help the couple communicate. After talking for two years Ward finally flew to the Ukraine to meet Globchak in May of 2002, a visit that lasted twelve days and was Ward’s first trip abroad. On March 18, 2003 Globchak was finally able to come to America. The process was a long one because of all the legal hurdles the couple had to endure. They were married on June 17, 2003 – the day before her 90 day visa expired.
Since then, Alla Globchak Ward, has been acclimating to life in America. Since she barely spoke English, the couple kept a dictionary on the kitchen table for a long time to help them communicate. She then began taking ESL (English as a Second Language) Classes at a vocational school on Roanoke Boulevard. She found herself liking the classes and the teacher, Linda Kelly, so much that she continued taking classes there for almost three years.
She had to learn to drive and to get her driver’s license. Living in the Ukraine she had been accustomed to simply walking everywhere she needed to go. However, Roanoke County was a little bit more spread out than city life. The driver’s license was something she would need in order to obtain her green card and citizenship.
She also had to find new employment, which allowed her to open a bank account, which was another requirement for the green card and citizenship. In the Ukraine Ward had co-owned an air conditioning business called “Jupiter.” The company sold both commercial and residential air conditioning units. “It wasn’t just for apartments,” she explained, “we sold commercial as well, to factories.” Like so many immigrants though, her job skills didn’t transfer over as well as they ought to have. She instead found work at Famous Anthony’s in Roanoke, prepping food in the morning. She began working there on December 8, 2004 and still does to this day.
In August of 2003 Ward applied for her green card. She finally got it in July of 2005. “The procedure to become a citizen is long” she said, noting that at first she had to get re-fingerprinted every 18 months. That happened three times before they finally made the trip to Charleston, WV where she could be fingerprinted electronically, making the process a permanent one. After obtaining her first green card it was required that she lives here for three years before she could apply to become a citizen.
Since moving here, Ward has made a yearly trip back to the Ukraine to visit family. She left behind her daughter Alinea, now 31, and her mother, who passed away not long after she moved to America. Alinea is now married. She and her husband Yurii, 39, have two sons: Michael, 3, and Ivan, 10 months. On her visits back to see her family, Ward stays for a couple months at a time.
Despite any emotional hardship caused by living in a different country than her daughter, and now grandsons, Ward has no plans to move back. “Even 15 years ago I hadn’t considered the possibility of moving to America,” she said, “but now, this is my home. This is where I live.”
Alla and Dave Ward of Roanoke, sit with their grandsons, Shannon and Tristan Cox of Salem, inside the Poff Building as Alla becomes an American citizen. - Photo by Carrie E. Cox
The ceremony on November 18 took over three hours, with applicants checking in at 9 a.m. and the official ceremony not getting underway until almost 11 a.m. Attorney Joseph Mott noted how nice it was to be in court for such a positive reason, with so many happy people. Judge Glen Conrad told the newest American citizen how proud he was of them saying “we’re very proud you’ve chosen to join us as citizens, each of you should be proud as well.”
Judge Conrad also offered a challenge to the new citizens: “Be sure to volunteer, participate in community services, run for office if you’d like, but become involved. That is my challenge to you, my admonition to you.”
Though immigrants can obtain a permanent resident card, many choose to go through the lengthy process to become a citizen. When asked what inspired her to go through the process Ivanovna Ward’s response was simple. “As a permanent resident you can’t vote, you cannot try to change the situation, you cannot express yourself. I wanted all these rights. I wanted to be part of this country.”
Story by Carrie E. Cox
