Russian Scholars Press US for Visa Changes to Avoid Going Home

Russian scholars in the US on temporary visas are pressing federal agencies to let them stay in the country, asserting that they will be persecuted by their government if forced to return.

But the scholars, who came to the US through the Fulbright exchange program, have been frustrated by a convoluted inter-agency process and year-plus waits for a decision on those requests. Some are running out of time, and options.

Without exemptions, they can’t switch to another visa status and extend their stay here. Requesting US asylum would be prohibitively expensive and not guaranteed to succeed. Moving to another country ...