November 20, 2025 Back in Ukraine, Drones, and Visa Issues
- robert gamble
- Nov 21, 2025
- 2 min read
Friends,
On Sunday night of Nov 16th (our 1 year anniversary!), the city of Izmail, was hit by 27 drones. The above video (57 sec) records our experience. The answer to my question, "What's that noise?" is the resulting fire at the port aboard a ship filled with flammable gas. We see it burning from our kitchen window, at about 200 yards. It's now Tuesday and the port and our apartment still have no power.
In May, we applied for a spouse visa with an I-485 and had an interview with USCIS on Oct 29th. Because our I-94 was soon to expire, we made a trip back to Ukraine in the summer to lead a program in trauma therapy, not realizing we needed permission to leave the States with another form I-131. It’s not a criminal offense, the officer said, but we were told our I-485 application will be cancelled and our business visa will likely be revoked.
I have written to my Governor, both Senators and our Congressman all from North Carolina, asking for help, for an exception in our case, to gain residency and a green card for Olha Balaban. I understand exceptions are sometimes given. We are uncertain if Oli can return to the states, but have found legal help.
On a happier note, we are currently in Romania, buying two heavy batteries to back up our power at the Center and scouting locations for our summer program. Below, we are at the beach in Constanta, the hotel we were looking at is actually called, "Hotel California."
Grace and Peace,
Robert and Oli
Pictures I like: brother and sister.
Super Bro helping mom get groceries
Guitar Class
This post is deeply moving and powerfully written, capturing both the harsh realities of conflict and the emotional strain of visa uncertainty. The drone attack experience near your home is terrifying, yet your resilience and continued humanitarian work are truly inspiring. Navigating immigration challenges while living through such instability is incredibly difficult, and I hope your outreach to officials brings positive results. Wishing you safety, strength, and peace ahead—and hoping for calmer days, maybe even simple comforts like baseball caps under a sunny sky.
I tried to guess how long a five-minute timer felt without checking the clock and opened Block Blast to test myself. The timer rang right as I cleared a full vertical line, and it felt perfectly timed.