ABSTRACT
The purpose of the survey was explained as an attempt to make improvements in the resettlement program for future immigrants, thus enlisting the respondents' cooperation in the achievement of a positive goal. The number of Soviet immigrants settling in the United States has substantially increased. The special conditions which pertain to the Jewish minorityand which give its members a qualitatively different perspective on the Soviet environment--must be taken into account in assessing the data obtained from the group. There are several problems associated with obtaining reliable information about the Soviet Union from the current wave of emigres. From the perspective of the nearly starved Sovietologist, the new wave of immigrants represents a "living data bank" of information about the Soviet system. The general pattern seems to be that the immigrants who are employable spend several weeks in English classes and then gradually improve their skills by contacts over time with the English-speaking community.
