Inside fake German heiress Anna Sorokin’s immigration battle

 

The immigration case of Anna Sorokin, whose elaborate fraud captured the world's imagination, continues.  The subject of the Netflix series "Inventing Anna", Sorokin served about four years in prison after found guilty of a variety of criminal charges. Sorokin had claimed to be a German heiress named Anna Delvey who had a $60 million inheritance and was raising funds to launch a Manhattan social club. She swindled hundreds of thousands of dollars from friends, banks and New York City luxury hotels to fund a lavish lifestyle.

Sarakshi Rai for The Hill interviewed Sorokin about her immigration case.  She writes:  

 

"While fake German heiress Anna Sorokin may be a household name, that isn’t getting her any special treatment in the American immigration system.

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Sorokin, who acknowledges that she made `so many bad choices,' has now become one of the most high-profile immigration detainees in recent memory, a famous name in a sea of anonymous petitioners.

Authorities say Sorokin, who went by the name Anna Delvey for years, overstayed her U.S. visa and must return to Germany.

She is fighting that move, arguing that while she may have been able to appeal her case from Germany, `it’s not the same' as doing so from inside the U.S. She was released from prison in October.

The process, she told the Hill in a recent phone interview, has been uncertain and frustrating.

`They don’t have rules for the judges or for the BIA, which is the Board of Immigration Appeals, to make a decision. If you file something, they can take a year or two or three — or like one week — to give you a response. And there are no guidelines. You know, so that’s pretty frustrating, especially when you’re in jail,' Sorokin said.

`There’s no guarantee that you will ever get a response,' she added."

KJ