Career
On July 19, 1980, Walter Polovchak, with the help of his lawyer, filed an application for asylum with the INS, on the grounds of potentially being disadvantaged and persecuted in the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics as being a defector. The application was granted. Later, in October, 1981, he was able to adjust his legal status to that of a lawful permanent resident.
Polovchak and his 18-year-old sister Nataly went to live with a cousin during the dispute, and a sympathetic Reagan administration helped drag out court procedures until Polovchak turned 18 and was no longer a minor.