ABSTRACT
Mikhail Sebastian is proficient in the English language, he is educated, and he participates in political discourse online without fear of repercussion. Despite the challenges of statelessness, Sebastian made a comfortable life for himself in Los Angeles, California. Access to new media platforms, and receiving help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), made it possible for Sebastian to disseminate information about his statelessness and assert his claim to United States (US) citizenship in a visual way. The US media picked up Sebastian's story, and several of the published articles linked to, or embedded, the UNHCR documentary. Sebastian's performance of citizenship takes advantage of the interactivity provided by new media platforms. The majority of Sebastian's own assertions of his citizenship occur on his Tumblr page. The juxtaposition between Jenkins's words and the image of Sebastian's restriction from the fenced-in area visualize his prohibition from the United States.
