Posted on 04/01/2006 11:31:20 PM PST by Romanov
Ask the AmbassadorLast Week Q & A (03.20-26.06)
Honorable Ambassador, could you tell me, what kind of tendency exists in immigration from Russia to the U.S.? Is it decreasing or growing? And what are the reasons for this? Aleksei Loginov (Nizhegorodskiy) Ambassador Burns: Dear Aleksei,
In recent years the level of Russian immigration to the United States has increased to the point that Russia is, in fact, no longer eligible for the Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery program, which is designed for countries with low levels of immigration to the U.S. Last year, 12,109 Russians received permission to immigrate to the U.S., compared to 5,729 the year before. The primary reason for the increase was a jump in numbers of refugees and asylees, predominantly those immigrating under the Meshkhetian Turk resettlement program. Other immigrants to the U.S. included individuals marrying Americans, people joining family members who had previously immigrated to the United States, a small number of previous Diversity Visa Lottery winners, and orphans being adopted by Americans.
The increase in numbers is not only being seen in the area of immigrant visas. Last year, the Embassy issued approximately 80,000 non-immigrant visas, an increase of 20 percent over the year before. Looking just at student visas, the number issued last year was 45 percent higher than the year before. On a related note, the percentage of non-immigrant visa applications ultimately refused has also decreased in the last year, falling to 15 percent. I am very pleased that the Embassy has been able to process the increased number of applicants while still maintaining high levels of customer service and efficiency. Please explore our website for further information on Consular operations.
An answer about the Meshkhetian Turks and the impact on Russia's invovlement in the diversity lottery.
Last year, 12,109 Russians received permission to immigrate to the U.S., compared to 5,729 the year before. ==
Those "Russians" probably are not ethnic Russians at all.
If they were Mexicans, they'd have little trouble gaining entry.
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