They must suffer throught a neverending battle of daily persecution by a Government that neither desires these people to become a contributing part of everyday society. nor to be able to depart from a land where they are surely not wanted. It is safe to say that the escape valve for any religious minority wanting to leave the Soviet Union has been essentially shut off. Typical of such emigration figures is the Soviet Jew. whose emigration numbers have dropped a startling 98 percent since 1979. Beginning that year. OVIR. the Soviet emigration agency. began refusing exist visas on the grounds of insufficient family ties. They maintained that relatives in Israel who sent vyzovs. affidavits requesting family reunification. had to be firstdegree relatives in order for Soviet family members to qualify for exit visas. This leaves many without even the opportunity to apply for a exit visa. It is this catch 22 situation which is so tragic. Once any individual has requested and made known that he or she desires to leave the country. they are branded as unreliable by the Government and open themselves up to a wide range of discriminatory sanctions.
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family reunification emigration visas visa