Alex Krasnozhon is chasing two dreams simultaneously – United States citizenship and Olympic glory. One must happen in order for the other to materialize. Just last month, the skater was granted a green card, getting him one step closer to becoming a citizen ahead of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
Krasnozhon can currently represent Team USA domestically and internationally, but when it comes to the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) requires all athletes to be a full-fledged citizen of the country they are representing.
His immigration journey has been a bit like skating on thin ice. As a young teen, he moved an ocean away from his family in Russia to pursue figure skating in the Dallas area. In 2018, he began working with his current coaches Alexey Letov and Olga Ganicheva.
Krasnozhon has been living and training in the United States on a visa, and when he turned 18 in 2018, he hired an attorney to begin an employment-based petition for a green card. He applied for status as an extraordinary ability athlete.
"It has been a very long procedure," he said. "I had one of my longtime friends and mentors come over to my apartment every night and we worked for hours at a time getting the evidence together to prove that I have extraordinary ability. I had to go back and get records of every single competition I competed in, explain what that competition was, plus I had to attach a picture of the medal, picture of me on the podium, and prove that I actually went to that competition."
"It's kind of like getting your driver's license after you pass the driving test," he explained. "You show that you have been approved for your status, the immigration services collect your fingerprints and your picture, they conduct a background check on you, and then they schedule an interview."
Because of the high number of immigrants who apply for green cards, all Krasnozhon could do was wait for his turn in line. Then, COVID-19 hit earlier this year and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services furloughed numerous employees. With a much smaller staff, the department got even more backlogged.
The skies cleared when the department received a stimulus package and was given the green light to re-open offices. Krasnozhon went in for a biometrics screening on August 27. On September 10, he was approved for his long-awaited green card.
"I remember the day as if it were yesterday!" he said with excitement.
A New Beginning
Getting his green card has opened up a whole new set of possibilities for the skater. He will now follow his coaching team to the new Skating Club of Boston facility in Norwood, Massachusetts. Krasnozhon will keep his apartment in Dallas and maintain Texas residency, but will primarily train in Boston where he is splitting an apartment with fellow Team USA skaters Jimmy Ma and Misha Mitrofanov, who have also made the migration from the Lone Star State.
"This is probably one of the best, if not the best, skating facilities in the world because two ice rinks are completely dedicated to figure skating," he enthused. "It's a performance arena. It's like skating at the U.S. Championships every day."
He is also very impressed with Boston's strict mask-enforcement policy and believes in leading by example. "I think when people see figure skaters doing quad jumps and triple jumps in a mask, it inspires parents [and others] to wear their masks outside," he said.
Competitive Edge
Krasnozhon was excited to record his second set of routines for the International Selection Pool (ISP) Points Challenge, a virtual competition hosted by U.S. Figure Skating, from the new arena. "They have a special audio system just for figure skaters that fills up the arena [and] really retains the music," he raved.
Looking back at his first opportunity at the challenge, he joked he is the greatest comeback skater because he placed last in the short program. He admitted to feeling paralyzed and nervous, but made a major leap in the rankings to third place after the free skate.
"I think U.S. Figure Skating did an amazing job providing an opportunity for figure skaters to compete. They also have prize money. To have feedback and to have this competition feel, I think it's really cool," he praised. "You don't have to really travel anywhere. You can just film it at your rink. I think it really encouraged many skaters, and I'm mainly speaking for myself and Jimmy (Ma), to really train their programs."
In his second opportunity, Krasnozhon topped his score to finish fourth overall with 219.46 points, collecting $2,000 in prize money.
This year, he is skating to the Imagine Dragons and Avicii track "Heart Upon My Sleeve" for his short program. He really relates to the song's lyrics and story he's portraying through his choreography, because the travel restrictions due to COVID-19 have prevented him from visiting with his parents in Russia for 14-plus months.
"I really miss them. They came every summer," he said. "Everywhere I looked this summer, it reminded me of my family being there and that's kind of what I'm feeling inside and that internalizes [it for me]. I want to see my family. I miss them and I just can't stop thinking about them."
Krasnozhon has kept last season's "Dracula" routine for his free skate.
Looking at Life Beyond Skating
Krasnozhon hopes to get citizenship ahead of the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships and to be named to the Olympic team. After that, his experience going through immigration has inspired him to eventually pursue a law degree and practice immigration law to help people like himself who want to make the United States their home.
"There is no better country in the world than the United States of America. I think this is the country where you can truly be yourself, the country where if you work hard enough you can achieve [dreams], [and] the country where there's the least amount of corruption," he praised. "I'm so proud to be in a country and represent a country and call this country my home country. Everything in the United States is so much better…You can truly be who you want without being judged and express your opinions. It's just so amazing to me because I think…there's nothing better than democracy."
One thing Krasnozhon will miss about Texas is the warm climate. Boston is known for brutal winters, but he is looking forward to stocking up on a new winter wardrobe and perhaps experiencing a White Christmas. Maybe he'll be donning some Team USA jackets, mittens, and hats.
"I would love to have that logo all over me," he said. "Representing this country is a big, big honor for me."
