US Consul General: Number of Russians Emigrating to US Will Keep Growing

On Monday, James Warlick, the US Consul General in Moscow, said at a press conference, the number of Russians emigrating to the US would grow constantly.

According to Mr. Warlick, in 2001, 12,000 Russia's citizens left their country heading for the United States. Most of them have relatives in there. Others found employment in the country. The Consul General said there was also a 'special category', which included Russian fiancйes and adopted children. He said, in 2001 alone, Americans had adopted 5,000 children from Russia, US authorities closely monitoring their living conditions.

Mr. Warlick said, the absolute majority of immigrants from Russia were still people joining their relatives. He said, both immigrant and non-immigrant visas were issued to 3 Russian citizens out of 4. The consul dismissed the accusations of his staff as concerned discriminating against Russian applicants. 'The questionnaires applicants fill out are the same everywhere', he said.

According to the US Consul General, 132,000 Russian citizens received American entrance visas in the year 2001.