War in Ukraine forced a lawyer to start over in Florida

On a quiet afternoon at her nail salon in Seminole, Liudmyla Nikohosian gently held a client’s hand while applying a layer of gel to make her nails strong and shiny. A flower arrangement sat in the corner.

A flat-screen TV streamed videos of European cities as soft music played in the background. When clients asked for water or an espresso, Nikohosian brought it with a Ferrero Rocher chocolate wrapped in gold foil.

It’s a calm and carefully designed space, the centr of the new life she’s built in Florida and a world away from the one she left in Zaporizhzhia, a city in southeastern Ukraine. Three years ago, Nikohosian was working as a private lawyer for a construction firm. But after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, she fled her home, leaving behind her career and everything familiar.

She came to the United States through a humanitarian parole programme and settled in Tampa, where she learned English and began training as a nail technician. She opened her own business, Nails by Mila, a reinvention she never imagined but now owns.

“I had to make a decision: stay in a dangerous situation or take a chance,” said Nikohosian. “The world I knew collapsed overnight.” Nikohosian remembers how that happened. It was the morning of Feb. 24, 2022, when a series of explosions erupted only a few blocks from her home, sending fear through the entire community. Zaporizhzhia was suddenly shaken. A week later, she was fleeing her country. She took temporary refuge at a friend’s house in Turkey and later in Germany, while she prepared her move to the United States. “Some of my acquaintances had already arrived in the US by April under the humanitarian programme, and after hearing about their experiences, I decided to take a leap of faith,” said Nikohosian. Launched by the Biden administration, the program temporarily sheltered thousands of Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion and allowed American citizens to sponsor and support those fleeing Europe’s worst conflict in decades.

The program was indefinitely paused by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in response to an executive order a week into President Donald Trump’s second term. Before the war, Nikohosian dreamed of becoming a judge, she said. But when the conflict began, she made the difficult choice to start over, leaving behind her past and her community. “At times, I questioned whether I had made the right decision,” said Nikohosian. “But deep inside, I knew that I had to keep moving forward.” Alina Shaush, a close friend in Tampa, said she admires Nikohosian’s strength, determination and the way she walks toward her goals. They met a month before the war began and arrived in the United States around the same time. “She is a truly wonderful person,” Shaush said. “I honestly don’t know how I would have managed here without her.” In Tampa, Nikohosian temporarily lived with an American family that volunteered to be her sponsor. She also received help and guidance from local groups and volunteers.

“Their kindness reminded me that, even in the darkest moments, there are always people willing to help,” she said. Nikohosian kept trying to adapt to her new life in America. She looked for a job and tried to settle into a daily routine. But the change was far from easy, she said.

“The stress of starting over, the language barrier, and the uncertainty of my future weighed heavily on me,” she said.

Nikohosian searched for something that would give her a sense of purpose and stability. The calling was in her hands. Inspired by a love of aesthetics and beauty, she found a new path as a nail technician. “It was a completely different world from the courtroom,” she said. “But I quickly fell in love with the craft.” Nikohosian soon found a job at a popular nail salon in St. Petersburg. During her breaks, she sketched out a plan to start her own business. She didn’t know much how to run one or where the money would come from. But she had many ideas about how it might look and the kind of service she wanted to offer: a Ukrainian-style nail salon known for bold designs and unique styles. A space, she said, where she could express her own idea of art, beauty and elegance.

Nikohosian got a startup loan to open her nail salon through the Micro Enterprise Development Program at Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services. Later, in partnership with HIAS Economic Advancement Fund, the program awarded Nikohosian an additional grant to help cover other expenses.

Lorene Gregory, the program’s manager at Gulf Coast, said she didn’t learn that Nikohosian had been an attorney in her home country until well into their conversations about her business idea. “It was clear from the start that she was one of those rare individuals destined to succeed,” she said. Two years after arriving in the United States, Nikohosian had to adjust her immigration status as her stay under the Uniting for Ukraine program was limited to two years. She now lives under temporary protected status, a federal designation that used to be renewed every 18 months. Trump and his allies have suggested ending temporary protection status for Ukrainians, a move that could lead many to face deportation. About 240,000 Ukrainians came to the United States through the program.