2025-26 US Pairs Discussion - Milano-Bound By Way of Beijing & St. Louis

nylynnr said:
BS. They were asked repeatedly about citizenship issues and replied, in essence, that "they were working on it and wanted to keep it private." They were also asked at nationals and Champs Camp.
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By who? I didn't see those responses on the USFSA instagram page or anywhere? That response is a non-response and it would require a follow up at least. And now that we find out that they have been married OVER a year they just look like they are in a sham marriage.
 
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Jarrett said:
By who? I didn't see those responses on the USFSA instagram page or anywhere? That response is a non-response and it would require a follow up at least. And now that we find out that they have been married OVER a year they just look like they are in a sham marriage.
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Well, the claim was that the reporters didn't ask and @nylynnr - who was THERE at said press conferences/media days during Nats and Champs Camp - would know what was asked, how many times the question was asked in various ways to try and elucidate the matter, and how EfiMit chose to not be forthright about why they were hopeful that she might obtain citizenship in time for the Olympics. If I was a reporter who attended either of those events & asked some of those questions, I'd feel like they'd dodged and weaved around the truth of the matter and I'd probably be a little annoyed that I hadn't bothered with doing some real investigative work, especially while up in Boston for Champs Camp, to ferret out the truth of the matter since marriage records are a matter of public record in this country provided one is inclined to make a personal visit to the courthouse.
 
Karen-W said:
Well, the claim was that the reporters didn't ask and @nylynnr - who was THERE at said press conferences/media days during Nats and Champs Camp - would know what was asked, how many times the question was asked in various ways to try and elucidate the matter, and how EfiMit chose to not be forthright about why they were hopeful that she might obtain citizenship in time for the Olympics. If I was a reporter who attended either of those events & asked some of those questions, I'd feel like they'd dodged and weaved around the truth of the matter and I'd probably be a little annoyed that I hadn't bothered with doing some real investigative work, especially while up in Boston for Champs Camp, to ferret out the truth of the matter since marriage records are a matter of public record in this country provided one is inclined to make a personal visit to the courthouse.
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And what I am saying if those questions were asked those non-response answers were definitely not reported widely. Keep it private? The reporters aren't asking for SS numbers. Instead I just see fluff questions asked to the skaters all over social media. This all should have been nailed down last year.
 
They did comment on it, though, and those comments were reported. There's a Boston Globe article from March saying they were working on options, possibly derived from their post-skate media comments as recorded by Golden Skate. Those were just a couple of the top Worlds-era hits on Google, but it's come up more than once; they always just gave the hand-wavey "our lawyers are dealing with it" response that generated some fan amusement at how it seemed like they were trying to obtain citizenship by vibes.
 
jmtfti said:
They did comment on it, though, and those comments were reported. There's a Boston Globe article from March saying they were working on options, possibly derived from their post-skate media comments as recorded by Golden Skate. Those were just a couple of the top Worlds-era hits on Google, but it's come up more than once; they always just gave the hand-wavey "our lawyers are dealing with it" response that generated some fan amusement at how it seemed like they were trying to obtain citizenship by vibes.
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Unfortunately can't view the paywall Global but from Golden Skate's post "On Alisa’s citizenship status: “We are focusing on what we can do. For now it’s the results we can show. But we've given all the paperwork to our lawyers, and so they're taking care of that”

Some questions to ask:
You would become a citizen on the basis of what? Are you married Alisa? You have only been in the country X amount of years. Do you have a green card? The law requires 3 years if have your green card based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. Is it a different type of green card which requires even more years (5)? Seems like very basic questions to me. Since this is after they already won Nationals and are at 4CC.

Like I'm all for they are adults and can do what they want but this screams marriage fraud and this is coming from someone who has always liked their skating.
 
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I am a big fan of a U.S. pair whose chances for a trip to the Olympics would be affected by Efimova's citizenship (whenever it were to become a reality), and I don't find anything wrong with the choice of Efimova/Mitrofanov to keep their personal lives private (until recently speaking more openly on the SCOB site).
Nor do I assume that their marriage is fraudulent. Before she received her green card, USCIS would have interviewed them, right?

I do assume that Efimova/Mitrovanov long ago brought USFS into the loop regarding matters of citizenship.
The skaters (and the federation) did not owe the public any explanation.
 
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" General Application Process
The steps you must take to apply for a Green Card will vary depending on your individual situation. However, here is the general application process that most applicants will go through:

Someone usually must file an immigrant petition for you (often referred to as sponsoring or petitioning for you). In some cases, you may be eligible to file for yourself.
After USCIS approves the immigrant petition, and there is a visa available in your category, you file either a Green Card application with USCIS or a visa application with the U.S. Department of State.
You go to a biometrics appointment to provide fingerprints, photos, and a signature.
You go to an interview.
You receive a decision on your application. "


I realize that the passage above says, "most applicants." (As opposed to "all applicants".)
Anyway, I will just repeat that I do not assume that E/M's marriage is fraudulent. I wish them well.
 
Jarrett said:
Like I'm all for they are adults and can do what they want but this screams marriage fraud and this is coming from someone who has always liked their skating.
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Erotic love and advantageous citizenship are strange bedfellows. It’s hard to know where one ends and the other begins.

I just don’t know how to explain to my nonskating friends -who watch skating with me and pepper me with questions- why I’m a fan of a sport that promotes citizenship marriages. It sounds positively archaic.
 
Karen-W said:
Getting back to skating itself... McBark just scored 69.18 in the SP at CoC. Really, really looking like a dumber and dumber idea to send ShiNagy to Beijing last month.
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Would McBark want to win a slot for an Olympics they cannot attend, though? I am assuming he’s a Russian citizen, correct?
 
Wow, the news about E/Mit...I am so happy for them. Reading that article that was posted, makes perfect sense about how their relationship blossomed so quickly. I'm a sucker for love at first sight...as far as the citizenship goes, it'll work out eventually. And really proud of Mc/P, they are quietly showing that they are a pair to get behind. Katie has certainly worked hard over the years. US pairs is looking brighter, imo.
 
Well, I slept through the CoC Pairs and just finished watching on replay. So, McBark with a hot mess of s FS still managed a score that would have easily earned the 3rd spot.

Yeah, I'm not letting this go anytime soon - not until ChanHowe get that SkAm host spot the USFS still lists as TBD.
 
To remind people: Private citizenship bills are granted by Congress not the President and not his administration. Now, a President can ask the appropriate agency for your citizenship process to be expedited but the Executive Branch doesn't make laws so that's all they can do.

That said, historically, these bills have become much rarer in modern times and rarely make it out of committee. And this has nothing to do with who is the President. Belbin's bill wasn't just for her and other bills giving citizenship to individuals that do pass are normally to alleviate significant hardship or a gross injustice.

I think the optics are great for Alisa (pretty girl who will help the US win a team medal and has a romantic love story) but the other conditions aren't there as far as I can tell.

Good luck to her!

chameleonster said:
Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov got married six months after meeting and they're still married with kids and coaching together.
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Even if they had gotten divorced at some point, that doesn't mean their marriage was a sham. People get divorced all the time after having real marriages.

Honestly, deciding which adult marriages are 'shams' and which are real just doesn't sit well with me. I know plenty of people who married after months of dating who had real marriages and plenty of people who waited years, got married, and were divorced within a short period of time. These are adults who are making these choices and we are not privy to their thoughts or motivations unless they tell us.

Jarrett said:
By who? I didn't see those responses on the USFSA instagram page or anywhere? That response is a non-response and it would require a follow up at least. And now that we find out that they have been married OVER a year they just look like they are in a sham marriage.
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Maybe to you, but to me, they look like people who don't want to talk about their private lives. I have friends like that. 🤷‍♀️
 
About Alisa and Misha: I was at Nebelhorn as a reporter and talked to her after the free skate - in German (she still speaks it quite well). She talked about her time in Oberstdorf and still having friends there. When I asked about the citizenship issue (not knowing about the
marriage) she hesitated a bit and said that the federation was working on it.When I asked whether she was hopeful it would work out, she said neither yes nor no but only that they decided to work towards goals they can achieve regardless of citizenship like a good result at worlds. It sounded a bit like a non-answer that she practised saying. But she has been a bit cautious with her press interviews before (when skating for Germany) so I took it to mean: We know I won‘t get citizenship but we do not want to really talk about it.
 
sus2850 said:
About Alisa and Misha: I was at Nebelhorn as a reporter and talked to her after the free skate - in German (she still speaks it quite well). She talked about her time in Oberstdorf and still having friends there. When I asked about the citizenship issue (not knowing about the
marriage) she hesitated a bit and said that the federation was working on it.When I asked whether she was hopeful it would work out, she said neither yes nor no but only that they decided to work towards goals they can achieve regardless of citizenship like a good result at worlds. It sounded a bit like a non-answer that she practised saying. But she has been a bit cautious with her press interviews before (when skating for Germany) so I took it to mean: We know I won‘t get citizenship but we do not want to really talk about it.
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That's pretty much exactly what Alisa/Misha said during the 10 minutes of press availability we had with them at the Champs Camp show in August.
 
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