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The way this is going to work is that I am going to go through the basic rules of emigration and immigration as they would apply to a Russian hockey player who wants to play in either Canada or the USA. Then, once we have that baseline, I’m going to talk about the canon Hollanov timeline and what sorts of immigration concerns Ilya would have had at the time. From there, we will talk about ways it could all go wrong if Ilya and/or his relationship with Shane are outed.
The Basics of Emigrating from Russia
Some countries require their citizens to get exit visas in order to leave them. This was the case in the USSR, but it is not the case for Russia in the 2000s up to the present day. There are rumors going around currently (summer 2026) that they may start requiring exit visas again, but it could also just be propaganda. For what reason? Couldn’t tell you. But for Ilya’s purposes, he does not need an exit visa.
This means, even with his father having pull with the government, that Ilya cannot be prevented from leaving Russia because of “visa issues.”
He can, however, be stopped at any border for a few reasons that could be manufactured in order to prevent his leaving. Those reasons fall under three general categories: unpaid debts, outstanding criminal warrants or investigations, or being drafted into the military as a draft-eligible young male.
For debt reasons, they typically have to amount to 30,000 rubles, which was only about 1,000 USD in 2010. Unpaid child support and alimony do count toward this total, though it’s not very relevant for Ilya. I believe, in the case of debt in the form of loans, a person would have to have defaulted on the loan for it to prevent travel, but further research may be necessary.
What counts as criminal activity in Russia is obviously very different from in Canada and the United States, but with Ilya’s father and brother both being enmeshed in the police, manufactured crimes are a real possibility. I recommend further research into the Russian criminal code to determine the sorts of things with which they could charge him.
Finally, Russia has a compulsory military draft. At the time of Heated Rivalry, all males between the ages of 18 and 27 were required to register for the draft, and can be called up at any time to serve in the military for 12 months. There are circumstances that can exempt you from the draft, at least temporarily, including attending university or having a medical condition that precludes service. There are no exemptions for international hockey players, so it is possible that any time Ilya returns home, he is at risk of being forced to serve, especially since draft call ups tend to happen in bulk in the spring and fall. Up until 2024, draft notices had to be presented in person, so Ilya would know he was drafted before he left, or they’d present the papers at the airport. The war in Ukraine changed quite a few of these procedures, starting in 2022, so if your timeline extends past that date, further research is recommended.
Immigration to the USA for Professional Hockey Players
Listen, is this hyper-specific? Yes. Why? Because the US government is highly specific about immigration in the most annoying ways possible, and getting worse all the time. That said, let’s dive in to these specifics, because they affect our beloved characters.
The majority of foreign-born professional hockey players playing for a US-based team start out with a P-1A visa. This is a temporary visa that is specifically designed for professional athletes of various types. In order to get one, your employer must apply on your behalf to prove that you will be employed while in the country. In Ilya’s case, this would be the Boston Bears/Raiders. The initial visa can last for up to five years, after which it can be extended for another five.
A player can only be on a P-1A visa for up to a total of ten years. After that, they will need to apply for a different type of visa. If they player plans to move out of the United States at the end of their career, they will want to apply for the temporary O-1A visa. If, however, they plan to live in the United States permanently, including applying for citizenship, they will want to apply for the permanent EB-1 visa.
The O-1A visa is for a person of extraordinary ability in a few categories, including athletics. It is also filed by your employer, has an initial period of 3 years, and can be extended yearly after that. There is no hard time limit to this visa, but you do have to prove you have said extraordinary talent, so the burden of proof is higher than that of the P-1A visa.
The EB-1 visa is also for a person of extraordinary ability in athletics, but does not require proof of employment. You must, however, provide evidence that your ability is recognized on the national or international scale. You apply for this on your own, and once you get it, you do not have to extend it.
Winning a Stanley/MLH Cup would likely qualify Ilya for both of these visas, as would his various record-breaking performances, but it’s truly up to the whims of the US Customs and Immigration Service.
In the event of a trade to a team within the USA, the new team would have a 30-day grace period to refile for the two temporary visas. This would not be necessary for the EB-1 visa.
Now, in order for Ilya to be forced home, the visas would have to be revoked by the United States. In the case of the temporary visas, losing employment is one way to lose the visa. For all three types, if any criminal or security issues came to light, the USCIS reserves the right to revoke visas. Russia has no right to force someone on US soil to return to Russia, though they could cancel Ilya’s passport and make his life difficult that way, as visas are connected to your passport. Extradition & repatriation, however, are at the behest of the U.S. Government. Does that mean Ilya is safe? Absolutely not. We all know there was a megalomaniac in power in 2017 who might do anything his Russian role model asked of him.
On the other side of the immigration spectrum, if Ilya wanted to become a citizen in the United States, he would need to first apply to become a lawful permanent resident; this is also known as getting a Green Card. In order to qualify, he would either need to get approved for the permanent EB-1 visa or be family to a United States citizen (thus his suggestion he marry Svetlana). In the former case, he would then need to wait five years before he could apply for naturalization, while in the latter he would only need to wait three years. For those three-to-five years, however, he would have to make sure not to leave the country for longer than six months at a time, and also that he accumulated enough time on U.S. soil.
The application process varies wildly in processing times, but once they reviewed his application and didn’t dismiss it out of hand, he would be called in for an interview where they grilled him on his background. Should he pass that stage, he would need to take an English exam and a civics test. There is only one opportunity to retake either test should you fail, and it happens between 2 to 3 months after the initial exam. If he passed both, he would then take an oath of citizenship.
As a final note, please remember that the United States federal government did not recognize same-sex marriage as legal until 2015. When Ilya is at the cottage, it is only two years since the Obergefell decision at the Supreme Court came down. Various states recognized same-sex marriage as valid at various earlier times, but that did not mean the federal government would honor it for immigration purposes. This means that same-sex couples were unable to use the familial pathways to citizenship until 2015.
Immigration to Canada
Canada, bless their kind hearts, are much less specific about immigration. I will still be talking about how their process affects professional hockey players, but much of it will apply just the same to anyone who counts as a skilled worker in Canada’s eyes.
Foreign-born professional hockey players must apply for an employer-specific work permit. This requires filling out the application and providing supporting documents from both the applicant and the employer in question. If your employer is in Quebec, there are more requirements, but we will leave those as an exercise for the reader.
Work permits tend to last between 1 to 2 years and can be extended beyond that as needed. They are, however, only valid so long as your passport is valid, which means if Russia invalidated Ilya’s passport for any reason, he would be in trouble. In order to be forced to return to Russia in this scenario, Ilya’s work permit would need to be revoked or invalidated. Reasons for revocation include the termination of employment and emerging criminal or security issues.
From there, Ilya could apply to become a permanent resident in one of two ways: as a Skilled Worker—and yes, NHL/MLH players do qualify—or by being family to a Canadian citizen. The application process typically takes about a year, but once approved, opens the pathway to citizenship. Permanent Resident status can be removed in a variety of ways, including: criminal or security concerns, not residing in Canada for enough days of the year, having lied to the Canadian government about your eligibility, or being unable to financially support yourself or your family.
In order to become a Canadian citizen, Ilya would need to live in Canada for five total years, with three of those years being spent on Canadian soil and being a Permanent Resident for at least two. The time spent in Canada does not need to be consecutive, but in the case of a hockey player, would need to be tracked religiously to make sure he qualified. From there, the applicant would need to pass an approved English or French exam, submit the application, and pass a citizenship test. If all of those were achieved, the oath of citizenship is taken!
Canada, being more humane than the United States in some aspects, made same-sex marriage legal at the federal level in 2005, before Ilya even set foot on the continent, so that is not a concern in this case.
The Canon Hollanov Timeline, What Status Ilya Likely Had, and How It Could Have Gone Wrong
This is going to be a non-exhaustive rundown of the Hollanov situationship/relationship timeline, because we’re focused on the immigration implications. If you want to see a very pretty, more thorough timeline, check out the Heated Rivalry Wiki!
In December 2008, Ilya is in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada for the International Prospect Cup. Because he is Russian and only an amateur player—meaning he’s not paid for his performance as an athlete—at this stage, he only requires a Temporary Resident visa, which is the standard for traveling to Canada. These are valid for up to 6 months, but would likely only be granted for the length of the tournament.
In June 2009, Ilya is Los Angeles, California, USA for the NHL/MLH Draft. As far as I can tell, the draft would qualify as the equivalent of a business conference, so Ilya would need a B-1 visa—also known as a temporary business-visit visa. He could have a combination B-1/B-2 visa, meaning he’s planning on being a tourist, too, but both serve the same purpose. Both of these visa options are valid for a stay up to six months, but would only be issued for the length of the planned stay.
He would need to go to a consulate or embassy in Moscow to perform an interview, but given his purpose for going and the media attention he’s already garnered at this stage, it’s likely a formality and would be easily done.
As a small aside, neither Rachel nor Jacob made any mention of the NHL/MLH combine. This could indicate it does not exist in the Game Changers universe, but if it did, and mirrored reality, it would also be held in June, before the draft. The combine is a week-long event in which prospective players are subjected to grueling physical and psychological tests, medical exams, and interviews with interested teams’ leadership groups. In our reality, the NHL tends to hold the combine at the beginning of June and the draft at the end, so Ilya’s visa would need to be issued for at least a month in this scenario.
In December 2009, Ilya is at his second International Prospect cup, this time in Shane’s hometown of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The same visa as the year previous applies, as Ilya is still not being paid for his athletic performance.
July 2010, Ilya and Shane are in Toronto, shooting the CCM commercial. Weirdly, because this is for a commercial and he’s going to be performing in it, Ilya likely doesn’t need a visa. One of Canada’s special circumstances, which is interesting in its own right.
If Ilya were outed up to this point, he could theoretically request asylum from the Canadian or U.S. governments, but otherwise would likely be endangered upon his return home to Russia. His career with the Boston Bears/Raiders would be endangered, likely on the basis of being a Public Relations problem. If Shane were implicated in the outing, the same could be said for his career with the Montréal Voyageurs/Metros. Their acceptance into the league would be solely based on the goodwill of their teams’ leadership and the NHL/MLH Commissioner’s office. There could potentially be contract-cancellation implications. It would be very hard to prove discrimination, and even if they could, the league as a whole would always look askance at them for fighting back. Who wants to hire a litigation risk, after all?
By September 2010, Ilya is in Boston for training camp and is doing his level best to get on the Bears/Raiders. He already has a contract with Boston, but they could send him down to their affiliate/feeder teams if he doesn’t perform to the level they would like. Obviously, in canon, he does. Either way, Boston will have filled out all the forms to get him his first P-1A visa, and will likely have applied for it to coincide with his rookie contract for simplicity’s sake. In the NHL, it would be three years, because he is (just barely) 19 at the time of signing. There are special agreements between the US and Canada to allow athletes in international sports leagues to travel easily, so Ilya doesn’t have to do anything except make sure he has his passport with him every time they travel, or else.
If he were outed during this period, it’s likely Boston management would put him on waivers and try to offload him to another team. It wouldn’t, officially, be because of his sexuality, because that would be illegal, but they would have plausible deniability as long as they could come up with a legitimate reason. Shane would face the same fate if they were outed together, and the reason for their contracts being sold would be simple: suspicion of colluding to fix games. They could fight back, but neither of them have very much pull yet. If Ilya’s contract was ended—implying no team picked him up—he would need to apply for asylum in the United States or risk his freedom and/or life by returning to Russia. If he were in Canada at the time of his U.S. visa being revoked, he could attempt to claim asylum in Canada.
In June 2013, Ilya re-signs with the Boston Bears/Raiders. We know this contract expires in June 2018, so he signs it for 5 years. At this stage, Ilya likely still feels like he must maintain his ties to Russia, especially with his father deteriorating. I take this to mean he would get a temporary visa again, rather than a permanent one. Therefore, Boston would help him with the visa again, and would likely get him the same P-1A visa, as he hasn’t won them the Cup yet and the burden of proving he’s one of the most elite hockey players of all time would be a bit harder without that under his belt. The maximum renewal length would be five years, so it’s likely they designed his contract to match, as NHL regulations in the real world would have allowed them to renew for seven.This would put his total time on the P-1A visa at 8 years by 2018.
If he were outed at this time, it’s likely Boston management would try to trade him before putting him on waivers. Again, it wouldn’t be because of his sexuality, but they would probably find a reason. Ilya, in the books, states that he thinks Boston would not be good with him being bisexual, not like Ottawa. Now, of course, we can change whatever we want in fan fiction, but the canon Boston management would probably be hostile, especially if his relationship with Shane was revealed at the same time. They could fight back, and this time they might win, depending on the year. Ilya is Boston’s captain at this point, and by the end of the 2013-2014 season, he’s an Olympian, a Cup winner, and MVP. Shane is a silver medalist and has gotten the Metros to the playoffs multiple times. They still won’t have as much influence as they do later in their careers, so the outcome is a bit up in the air. Everything surrounding Ilya’s visa and potential for asylum claims remains the same.
A special note about the Sochi Olympics in 2014: getting outed while at the Olympics would not necessarily be catastrophic for Ilya. Sure, he would be breaking their propaganda law, but the punishment for that was a relatively small fine and deportation if you were a foreign national. Now, it would open him up to anti-LGBTQIA+ violence, and targeting by the government because he is a particularly public figure, but it wouldn’t be “official” or “state” violence. It is possible that the harshest consequences would be from violence within Ilya’s own family. After the passing of the propaganda law, the prevalence of hate crimes against queer people increased by a factor of 300% and became more violent and premeditated on average. The Russian government also does not classify these crimes as hate crimes because they insist that LGBTQIA+ people do not exist, and justice in these cases is vanishingly rare.
In July 2017, Ilya comes to the cottage. He’s still a Russian citizen, even though he’s in the USA, so he still has to apply for a Temporary Resident visa for this visit. Those have a length of a month at minimum, so he can stay at the cottage longer than planned with no issues. We love that for our boys. If they’re outed while they’re at the cottage, the career implications remain the same, as do the asylum and visa considerations. The only added wrench is that there’s a particularly vile president in office at this point, and he makes a habit of sucking up to Russia. Would he send a Russian national back home to win brownie points with a world leader who is playing him like a fiddle? Hard to say, but I don’t like it.
When June 2018 rolls around, Ilya has officially reached free-agent status. The fact that he has not already signed a new contract with Boston is both obvious and incredibly huge news, and has likely been the talk of the entire league for months. Players can sign contracts up to a year in advance, and a franchise player not doing so would be noteworthy. His visa has a grace period of either 10 days or 30 days—the former is the standard, but the latter is for when an athlete is traded between teams, and I’m not sure which the U.S. government would use in this specific case. When he reaches an agreement with Ottawa, they would immediately begin helping him apply for a Canadian Work Permit. In the real-life NHL, the maximum length of a free-agent contract is six years, and it’s Ilya Rozanov, so I’m guessing Ottawa did that. This means his new contract won’t expire until June of 2024. He’s on a Canadian work permit, and Ottawa would help him extend it as needed.
In canon, Ottawa would not drop or trade Ilya because of his bisexuality, so he’s safe from that. The league may force a suspension on him while they investigate any potential collusion with Shane, should they be outed together, but I don’t believe they can force Ottawa to end the contract. Ilya, at this point, has not returned to Russia even once, so there’s no danger unless Russia engages in some serious espionage shit, or the Canadian government needs to use him as a bargaining chip, which seems unlikely.
Beyond June of 2018, we can determine a few things from context clues. It seems that Shane’s plan is for Ilya to apply for Permanent Residency as a Skilled Worker, then get citizenship. As outlined above, that takes at least five years. He could theoretically get started right away and be a citizen in 2023. It’s never explicitly stated whether he has started the process in the books, so feel free to work with that wiggle room. It should be noted, if he did start that process right away, he would be a Permanent Resident when fucking Brad outs them via Hayden’s unfortunate FanMail mistake, and would have no reason to fear that status being revoked.
In Conclusion: The More You Know
Okay, have fun, my friends. Go forth and torture Hollanov with immigration troubles. Love and kisses, and if you see any inaccuracies or inconsistencies, please let me know!