Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 101 Part 3.djvu/186

 101 STAT. 1484

PUBLIC LAW 100-222—DEC. 29, 1987

Public Law 100-222 100th Congress Joint Resolution Dec. 29, 1987 [H.J. Res. 430]

Galina Goltzman Michelson. Yuri Balovlenkov. Victor Faermark. Elena Kaplan. Victor Novikow. Leonid Scheiba.

Calling upon the Soviet Union to immediately grant permission to emigrate to all those who wish to join spouses or fiances in the United States.

Whereas the Soviet Union is a signatory of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe which states that "The participating States will deal in a positive and humanitarian spirit with the applications of persons who wish to be reunited with members of their family, with special attention being given to requests of an urgent character—such as requests submitted by persons who are ill or old."; Whereas the Final Act further states that, "In dealing with requests from couples from different participating States, once married, to enable them and the minor children of their marriage to transfer their permanent residence to a State in which either one is normally a resident, the participating States will also apply the provisions accepted for family reunification."; Whereas the Soviet Union has denied exit visas or marriage permits to several Soviet citizens who are married or engaged to Americans; Whereas the United States officials have brought these divided spouses and blocked marriage cases to the attention of Soviet diplomats on numerous occasions, including during the recently concluded Washington summit meeting between President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev; Whereas several similar long-term cases have been resolved within the last two years; Whereas the Soviet Union has initiated a policy of "Democratizatsiya" which claims to give greater emphasis to basic human rights, including the right to live with one's family in the family's country of choice; Whereas the Soviet Union and the United States have concluded a major arms reduction agreement, and the spirit of this agreement should foster progress between the Soviet Union and the United States in successfully addressing human rights concerns; and Whereas the Soviet Union, as a signatory of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, is obligated to comply with the Act's provisions regarding the reunification of divided families and marriage between citizens of different states: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the United States— (1) welcomes the recent granting by the Soviet Union of permission to emigrate to several Soviet citizens who have been divided for many years from their American spouses and fiances including Galina Goltzman Michelson, Yuri Balovlenkov, Victor Faermark, Elena Kaplan, Victor Novikow, and Leonid Scheiba; and

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