Vova

From Producer Phil Hirschkorn

MILLBURN, New Jersey (CNN) -- A Ukrainian family that survived the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster is calling on U.S. authorities to let them stay in the United States, saying a forced return to Ukraine could be a death sentence for their son.

"If they decide not to give us permanent residency, it will be a nightmare. It is very possible we will be deported," said Olga Malifienko.

Malifienko is worried that deportation may amount to a death sentence for her son, Vova, who was diagnosed with leukemia in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster.

Vova, whose family lived 35 miles from the nuclear reactor, was among eight Chernobyl boys invited in 1990 to actor Paul Newman's "Hole in the Wall Gang" camp for sick children in Connecticut. There, Vova met a doctor who offered him an experimental cancer treatment.

Vova and his mother moved to the United States for the treatment, and Vova's father, Alexander, followed two years later. Vova's cancer is currently in remission.

Vova has become a spokesman for the children of Chernobyl

All seven of the other boys who went to the camp with Vova died after returning to Ukraine. And the Malifienko family fears that if Vova's cancer returns and he has no access to quality U.S. medical treatment, his life might come to an end, too.

The House of Representatives is to decide in the coming days whether to pass a bill, presented by Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, which would grant the family permanent residency.

The Senate already passed the bill last week. But unless the House does the same before Tuesday -- when the chamber adjourns -- the Malifienko family says it may well be forced to return to Ukraine.

Vova is now an honors student at Millburn Middle School in New Jersey, where he lives with his father, who found a job as a mechanic, and his mother, an accountant.