Mr. Speaker. the evidence is quite clear. In Moscow for example. it has been estimated that of 400 applications for visas almost 60 percent would be subject to this high exit tax. The average amount per application was estimated at 15.000 rubles. According to many sources there are more than 150.000 applications for visas in the Soviet Union and we estimate that there are about 45.000 applicants who would be assessed an average of 15.000 rubles each. There is no doubt that the whole idea of putting a price on freedom will damper the hopes of those who seek religious and spiritual freedom. This Mr. Speaker. is an intolerable situation. Last April. I returned from a study - mission on the subject of the immigration of Russian Jews with our fine and capable colleague from New York . We observed firsthand the arrival of hundreds of Jews from the Soviet Union in Vienna en route to the State of Israel. We saw them as they arrived.
Keywords matched
immigration visas