Soviet Scientists Immigration Act of 1992

(colloquial)SSIANicknamesCommonwealth and Baltic Scientists Immigration and Exchange Act of 1992Enacted bythe 102nd United States CongressEffectiveOctober 24, 1992CitationsPublic law102-509Statutes at Large106 Stat. 3316CodificationTitles amended8 U.S.C.: Aliens and NationalityU.S.C. sections amended8 U.S.C. ch. 12, subch. II § 1153Legislative history

Soviet Scientists Immigration Act of 1992 granted authorization for engineers and scientists from the post-Soviet states to acquire employment within America. The Act of Congress implemented specific provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act providing United States visas for former Soviet Union foreign nationals classified as scientific immigrants being employed in the United States.

The Senate bill was passed by the 102nd United States Congressional session and enacted into law by the 41st President of the United States George H.W. Bush on October 24, 1992.

The 1992 public law was authored as four sections defining requirements for the post-Soviet states whose citizens were seeking residency in the United States while possessing advanced engineering and scientific disciplines.

Short Title

• Act cited as the Soviet Scientists Immigration Act of 1992

Definitions

• Baltic states means the three sovereign nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
• Independent states of the former Soviet Union means the twelve sovereign nations of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan
• Eligible independent states and Baltic scientists means nationals of any of the independent states of the former Soviet Union or the Baltic states
• Scientists or engineers who have expertise in biological, chemical, nuclear, or other high technology fields or who are working on biological, chemical, nuclear, or other high-technology defense projects.

Waiver of Job Offer Requirement

• Foreign national services in the arts, business, or science be sought by an employer in the United States shall not apply to any eligible independent states or Baltic scientist who is applying for admission to the United States for permanent residence.

Classification of Independent States Scientists as Having Exceptional Ability

• Class of eligible independent states and Baltic scientists, based on their level of expertise, as aliens who possess exceptional ability in the sciences, for purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act, whether or not such scientists possess advanced degrees.
• Eligible independent states and Baltic scientists are limited to seven hundred and fifty who may receive visas for four years or as specified by the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Soviet Scientists Immigration Act was amended on September 30, 2002 with enactment of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003.^[1][2] The amendment authorized a four-year extension for admission to the United States by eligible former Soviet Union and Baltic States scientists. The House 1646 bill heighten the 1992 visa provision from seven hundred and fifty to nine hundred and fifty for Post-Soviet states scientists possessing "exceptional ability in the sciences".^[3]

Film and Literature of the Cold War Era

Man on a String (1960)

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)

The Gulag Archipelago (1973)

The Americans (2013)

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Stalin and the Scientists: A History of Triumph and Tragedy (2016)

• Beyond Nunn-Lugar: Curbing the Next Wave of Weapons Proliferation Threats from Russia (PDF). Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. April 2002. ISBN 1-58487-086-9. OCLC 49828141.
• Bush, George H.W. (November 16, 1990). "Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Declaration of a National Emergency Concerning Chemical and Biological Weapons Proliferation – November 16, 1990". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 1618–1619.
• Kolata, Gina (May 8, 1990). "Soviet Scientists Flock to U.S., Acting as Tonic for Colleges". New York Times.
• Bohlen, Celestine (December 14, 1991). "A Soviet (Russian) Academy Is Adrift". New York Times. Moscow, Russia.
• Bereuter, Doug (March 20, 1992). "H.R. 4526 – Commonwealth Scientists Immigration and Exchange Act of 1992". Congress.Gov.
• Hart, David J. (January 26, 1993). "Helping the Bidders for Soviet Scientists". New York Times. Miami, Florida.
• Biden, Jr., Joseph R. (December 11, 2001). "S. 1803 – Security Assistance Act of 2001". Congress.Gov.
• Cook, Michelle Stem; Woolf, Amy F. (April 10, 2002). "Preventing Proliferation of Biological Weapons: U.S. Assistance to the Former Soviet States" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. U.S. Department of Defense. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 21, 2017.
• Woolf, Amy F. (March 26, 2008). "Nonproliferation and Threat Reduction Assistance: U.S. Programs in the Former Soviet Union". WikiLeaks.org. United States Congressional Research Service.
• Sokov, Nikolai (February 28, 2012). "Controlling Soviet/Russian Nuclear Weapons in Time of Instability" (PDF). Nonproliferation Policy Education Center.
• Hargittai, Istvan (2013). Buried Glory: Portraits of Soviet Scientists. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199985593. OCLC 828057677.