Andrey Plaksin, a Ukrainian-born immigration lawyer based in Miami, wakes up each morning by 6 a.m. and turns on the news in preparation for another long day of fielding calls and emails from potential clients, all hoping to get their relatives out of Eastern Europe.
A solo practitioner who speaks fluent Russian, Plaksin has put in 12-hour days since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in an attempt to keep up with a recent influx in immigration requests from Americans with relatives hoping to flee the region.
“For the last week, it’s been extremely stressful,” Plaksin said. “I feel like I’m actually, you know, sitting with those people at bomb shelters every day.”
