March 1992, Page 40

Demographics

In 1992, 60,000 Immigrants to U.S. from CIS

By John Asfour

The Department of State expects to admit some 60,000 Jewish, Evangelical, Armenian and Ukranian "activists" this year from the former Soviet Union, under the Lautenberg Amendment, which expires Sept. 30, 1992. The amendment, passed in 1989, permitted easing of proof needed for documenting refugee applicants from the Soviet Union, Vietnam and Laos. Certain categories of applicants do not have to prove personal incidents of prejudice or bias against them, nor do they have to prove "well-founded-fear" of physical persecution.

Under the amendment, Jewish applicants qualify almost automatically for inclusion in one of six categories for processing. These categories are political refugees, previous U.S. government employees, employees of U.S. private foundations or groups, people with relatives in the U.S., and refugees of special interest to the U.S. government.

Of some 15,635 refugees within these categories who entered the U.S. during the last quarter of 1991, at least two-thirds were Jewish. Of more than 600,000 persons who have registered at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow since 1989, about 200,000 are expected to qualify under one of the categories. Most are Jewish. They are being processed at the rate of 5,000 a month.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow continues to receive about 7,000 applications a month. By contrast, applications at the Israeli Embassy in Moscow are declining drastically. The number of emigrants from the former U.S.S.R. arriving in Israel dropped to 7,000 in January and was expected to plummet to 3,000 in February. This means the monthly total of 5,000 arriving in the U.S. from the Common-wealth of Independent States will exceed the February total arriving in Israel.

So far, there is no plan on Capitol Hill to renew the Lautenberg Amendment, and it is unclear what will happen to the remaining tens of thousands of would-be immigrants to the U.S. who will qualify but who will not obtain quota spots before Oct. 1, 1992.

John Asfour is a specialist in the political economies of Palestine and Israel.

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