Application for Registry of an Alien under an Act of Congress Approved March 2, 1929, for Stephan Sevastian Bondareff
8/11/1934
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Additional details from our exhibits and publications
A refugee from the 1917–21 Russian Civil War, Stephan Bondareff served in the White Russian Army that was defeated by the Red Army (Bolsheviks), who created the Soviet Union. After fleeing Russia in 1920, he traveled to Turkey, Bulgaria, and finally to Paris, France, where he was hired by the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show as a “cossack horse trick rider.” After briefly working in the United States, he traveled with the show to Laredo, Mexico, in December 1926. On September 12, 1927, fearing he would not be allowed to enter the United States since he had no visa, Stephan "Waded [the] Rio Grande River” at Eagle Pass, Texas. He later settled in Dearborn, Michigan, and worked for the Ford Motor Company. Seven years later, Bondareff took advantage of a law designed to allow Russians who had fled the Soviet Union without proper documentation to create a record of their arrival and apply for permanent residence. He filed to legalize his status in August 1934, writing that he was without a passport, and that if he returned to the Soviet Union “they would put me in the jail first and then kill me.” Immigration officials created a record describing Bondareff’s river crossing, and he was granted permanent resident status. He became a U.S. citizen in 1937, and died in 1978.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
National Archives Identifier: 6408147
Full Citation: Application for Registry of an Alien under an Act of Congress Approved March 2, 1929, for Stephan Sevastian Bondareff; 8/11/1934; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Record Group 85. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/application-for-registry-of-an-alien-under-an-act-of-congress-approved-march-2-1929-for-stephan-sevastian-bondareff, April 27, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
