The Ambassador has the honor to enclose as of possible interest to the
Department three copies of a mimeographed statement prepared in the
Consular Section of the Embassy with regard to the issuance of Soviet
exit visas.1
The Embassy believes that this statement may be useful in replying to the
many inquiries received from individuals in the United States concerning
the prospective immigration or repatriation to the United States of
persons residing in the Soviet Union. It is felt that the statistics
quoted therein serve as impressive evidence of the difficulty which
individuals who are regarded by the Soviet Government as Soviet citizens
may be expected to encounter in their efforts to obtain permission to
depart from the U.S.S.R.
The numbers quoted in the enclosed form represent a reasonably accurate
estimate, based on a thorough check of available records, of the number
of cases contained in the Embassy’s files.2
[Enclosure]
Information Concerning Soviet Exit Visas
In order to depart from the Soviet Union, it is necessary to be in
possession of an exit visa issued by the appropriate authorities of
the Soviet Government. This is true regardless of the citizenship
status of the person concerned. The regulations concerning the
issuance of exit visas are made by the Soviet Government and the
Embassy is not in a position to make representations concerning the
application or interpretation of such regulations except in the
cases of persons who have a clear and uncontested claim to American
citizenship and who are not regarded as Soviet citizens under Soviet
law. In this connection, it is pertinent to point out that, with
rare exceptions, all persons residing in territories which have been
incorporated into the Soviet Union are regarded as Soviet citizens
by the Soviet authorities. Although this fact does not in most cases
affect the American citizenship status of individuals having a valid
claim to American citizenship, such persons, as residents of the
Soviet Union, the country of their second nationality, properly come
under Soviet jurisdiction and must comply with the regulations for
Soviet citizens in order to leave the country.
On the basis of the Embassy’s experience, it appears to be the policy
of the Soviet Government at the present time to refuse in almost all
cases to issue exit visas to persons considered to be private Soviet
citizens under Soviet law, regardless of the compelling reasons for
their desire to proceed abroad. This policy apparently is in effect
with regard to persons who have Soviet citizenship only as well as
to persons who possess dual nationality, that is, persons who have a
claim to both Soviet and American citizenship.
The stringency of the present Soviet policy with regard to the
issuance of exit visas is illustrated by the fact that there are now
on record with the Embassy approximately 5481 cases of persons who
have expressed a desire to travel to the United States from the
Soviet Union since 1940. Of this number, 3481 are applicants for
immigration visas into the United States with no claim to American
citizenship.
[Page 808]
Only 11
persons in this category have been successful in obtaining exit
visas since July 1946, Of the 350 Soviet wives of American citizens
who have applied for permission to depart from the U.S.S.R. not one
has received an exit visa since August 1946.97 of this group are
wives of veterans.
In connection with the problem of obtaining exit visas for the Soviet
financées of American citizens, it should be noted that a decree of
the Soviet Government published on February 15, 1947 prohibits
Soviet citizens from marrying foreigners.3
The Embassy has on record 500 cases of persons residing in the
U.S.S.R. whose claims to American citizenship have been verified but
who are dual nationals, i.e., they are regarded as Soviet citizens
under Soviet law despite their status as American citizens. In
addition to this number, there are approximately 1500 claimants to
American citizenship in the Soviet Union who are probably dual
nationals but whose claims to American citizenship have not been
verified. Of the total of approximately 2000 cases of persons
claiming American citizenship but who are believed to have dual
nationality status, only 12 persons have received exit visas from
the Soviet authorities since 1940.
Although the Embassy has always done everything within its power to
facilitate the issuance of exit visas to persons wishing to proceed
to the United States from the Soviet Union, its efforts in this
regard, as demonstrated by the figures quoted in the preceding
paragraph, have usually been unavailing. In view of these
circumstances, therefore, the Embassy is unable to offer any
assurances that Soviet exit visas will be issued to persons residing
in the Soviet Union who are regarded by the Soviet authorities as
having any claim whatsoever to Soviet citizenship.
