Speaker. yesterdays New York Times describes the agony of the Vashchenkos. a Russian Pentacostal family who have taken permanent refuge for 4 years inside the U.S. Em assy in Moscow. The Vashchenkos and their two daughters. both in their twenties. together with Mariya Chmykhalov and her 20yearold son have lived in the Embassy basement after a futile campaign to emigrate to the United States. The article tells of Avgustina Vashchenko seeing her two youngest children for the first time in 41AV years through her barred basement window In the Embassy. This emotional reunion witnessed by American reporters and diplomats has once again raised the question. "What can the United States do to assist the Vashchenkos?" What we can do is outlined in H.R. 2873. This bill would allow the United States to grant a visa and admit the Vashchenko family as permanent residents. H.R. 2873 is now in the Subcommittee on Immigration in the House of Representatives. A parallel bill. S. 312. was passed in July by the Senate.
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emigrate Immigration visa