The number of asylum applications by Russian citizens in the United States hit a 24-year high in 2017, jumping nearly 40 percent from the previous year and continuing an upward march that began after Russian President Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin in 2012.
U.S. authorities received 2,664 new asylum applications from Russian nationals in the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, a 39-percent increase compared to 2016.
RFE/RL obtained the 2017 statistics, which have yet to be released publicly, under a Freedom Of Information Act request filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The 2017 figure is more than double the …read more
Source: Voice of America
