ABSTRACT
The American Embassy in Moscow began beefing up its consular department in the summer months. The custom of accepting an Israeli visa issued by the Dutch Embassy in Moscow as the basis for an application for refugee status, when the person in question reached Italy or Austria, was to be discontinued. A circular issued by the American Embassy in Moscow on 1 November 1989 announced that henceforth any Soviet citizen seeking to emigrate to the US must apply to the American Embassy in Moscow and that applications for an American immigration visa would not be accepted anywhere else. The only exception to this requirement, according to the announcement, would be the bearer of a Soviet exit visa issued before 1 October 1989, and an Israeli visa issued before 6 November 1989. Such a person could proceed to Rome or Vienna as before.
