After two years of living in Los Angeles, a young Ukrainian woman who fled the war made a decision that surprised her followers: to leave the United States of her own free will. In a video posted on TikTok, she explained that she chose to leave “ailessly and with a one-way ticket,” tired of living amidst fear, loneliness, and immigration uncertainty.

According to the young woman, identified as Iry, her departure was not driven by a new personal project, but by the feeling that the American dream had become an emotional and bureaucratic burden. “I didn't leave because I wanted to start over, but because I didn't want to continue being trapped between fear and uncertainty,” she stated in her testimony.

A life built on uprooting

According to Iry in her video, she arrived in the United States shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She was looking for refuge, not economic opportunity. In Los Angeles, she had to learn from scratch how to navigate a culture that felt alien to her. She learned to drive, looked for work, changed jobs, and tried to integrate into an environment where she knew no one.

The young woman recalled that the only friend who helped her start her life in California died shortly after in a motorcycle accident, leaving her completely alone. That loss, she said, marked the beginning of a period in which "surviving" became a daily task. "I slept in the car if necessary, worked until dawn, and learned to depend only on myself," she explained.

Between stability and fear

Despite the setbacks, I managed to stabilize and build a routine in the United States. However, when she finally felt she had found balance, she decided to leave. The reason, according to her testimony, was the deterioration of her immigration status. He commented that the US government had granted temporary residence and work permits for two years to Ukrainian refugees, with the possibility of extension, but that the renewal process had become almost impossible.

“In theory it can be extended, but in practice almost no one succeeds. The permits expire, Employers refuse to hire you and everything gets complicated,” she explained.She also noted that, when their legal status expires, many of their fellow countrymen live in fear of immigration raids or being detained by ICE. Faced with that scenario, she said, she preferred to leave rather than be “trapped in legal limbo.”

A farewell with no clear destination

In her story, I would acknowledge that she has no concrete plan or country to go to. Her decision, she said, was a way to protect herself: “I didn't want to play the system or stay longer than allowed.” She explained that she voluntarily self-deported to avoid problems with the authorities and keep her record clean, even if it means starting over from scratch.

Meanwhile, Iry continues to share fragments of her journey on social media, where many other refugees say they identify with her decision to leave without a destination, but in peace.