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Proud in a New Country

Hers had been the dream of so many immigrants — to find a better life for herself and her family: a comfortable home, a good school for her son, a good job. And find it, she did. Indeed, in many ways, Yelena Belilovsky, who immigrated to this country from Kiev in 1993, had found all that she ever wanted. "She loved living in this country," said Ross Tisnovsky, her younger brother.

Mrs. Belilovsky, 38, lived with her husband, Boris, and son, Eugene, 13, in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Despite an early struggle with English, she managed to go back to school, received a Master of Library Sciences degree and landed a job at Fred Alger Management, where she had recently been named assistant vice president for information. She took pride in her job and the fact that everyone at work knew her by her Americanized first name, Helen.

She was so enamored of her new life in the United States that she eventually persuaded Mr. Tisnovsky and their parents, Leonid and Emma Tisnovsky, to leave the familiar surroundings of their homeland and to take a big gamble on this country as well. "It is devastating," Mr. Tisnovsky said. "The only reason our parents came here was to be with Helen and me."

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on November 27, 2001.