
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Staten Island resident and his Ukrainian wife have been "safely" evacuated from the war-torn country after "Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion," New York Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis' office announced on Monday.

Due to a backlog and the subsequent closure of the US Embassy in Ukraine, Malliotakis said his wife's request for a spousal visa was never processed a year after she applied with the U.S. State Department.
The Republican said her office's intervention allowed them to transfer "the wife's visa request to the U.S. Embassy in Moldova, to which the couple was able to safely evacuate via a five-hour bus trip."
She added, "In Moldova, the wife received her visa, and I'm pleased to report the couple arrived safely back in the United States late Friday night after weeks of travel and uncertainty."
Her staff is also assisting a constituent in evacuating his wife from Ukraine via the US Embassy in Poland, as well as the parents of a constituent who have fled Georgia and are being processed at the US Embassy in Jerusalem.