Stateless for 16 Years, exiled in Samoa for 17 months, Mikael Okuns publishes Memoir

Mikael Okuns, formerly known as Mikhail Sebastian, has published a memoirMikael Okuns, once stranded in American Samoa for 17 months due to statelessness, now lives between the U.S. and Latvia. His memoir Stateless in Paradise recounts the journey. The book, Stateless in Paradise: A Stranded Soul’s Fight for Freedom, is now available through Amazon and Lynx Publishers.

Born to Armenian parents in Soviet-era Azerbaijan, Okuns lost his nationality after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijan denied him citizenship, and Armenia did not accept him. He entered the United States in 1995. His asylum application was denied in 1996, and he remained in the U.S. as a stateless person without legal identity until 2001, when he was placed into immigration custody for deportation. With no country willing to accept him, the U.S. released him under supervision, allowing him to work and live but not leave the mainland.

In December 2011, he boarded a flight to American Samoa after confirming with U.S. immigration and American Samoan authorities that travel there would not violate his status. Upon attempting to return to Los Angeles, he was denied boarding by airline staff and informed he was no longer permitted entry into the U.S. mainland. U.S. immigration authorities considered the trip a self-deportation.

Stranded in American Samoa, he had no income, no legal standing, and no pathway home. The local government placed him with a host family and offered a small weekly stipend. For one year and five months, Okuns remained in this state of limbo, depending on public Wi-Fi at McDonald’s to communicate with supporters and update his blog. Local heat, social isolation, and mounting health concerns compounded his circumstances.

International coverage followed. His case was featured by NPR, Public Radio International, and The Washington Post. Legal support and advocacy from within the U.S. and American Samoa intensified. In 2013, after a year and a half in exile, he was granted humanitarian parole and allowed to re-enter the United States. He became a U.S. citizen in 2020.

His book documents the experience, including his life before exile, the failed asylum process, and the psychological cost of statelessness. It also reflects on the broader issue of people in similar conditions around the world, especially in the U.S., where at least 4,000 individuals are believed to be stateless.

Okuns now lives between the United States and Latvia with his husband. He has visited over 77 countries and continues to speak publicly about human rights and immigration.

The memoir is published by Lynx Publishers and available online.