No exact figure covering the entire period from 1989 to 1999 is available in the sources found. However, there is data for individual years and periods that allow for an assessment of the scale of this process. The main stream of immigration to the United States in those years consisted of Jewish and Christian refugees, as well as their relatives.

The most intense period of immigration was from 1989 to 1994. According to data from several sources, nearly 300,000 citizens of the former USSR moved to the United States during this time. These figures are confirmed by both academic research and news reports from that period.

If we consider the data by year in this peak period, the picture looks like this:

• 1989 - approximately 39,500 refugees.
• 1990 - approximately 50,700 refugees.
• 1991 - approximately 38,700 refugees.
• 1992 - approximately 61,300 refugees (peak year).
• 1993 - approximately 48,600 refugees.
• 1994 - approximately 43,500 refugees.

It is important to note that the figures for 1989 would have been even higher if it were not for the change in American policy in October 1989. It redirected a significant portion of the flow of Soviet Jewish immigrants to Israel, which sharply reduced their number in the United States in subsequent years.

As for the period from 1995 to 1999, there is no annual breakdown in the sources found. However, the aggregate data allows for an assessment of the overall outcome over the decade. According to one study, by 1990, there were already 333,725 immigrants from the USSR in the United States, and an additional 340,000 people were added to them between 1991 and 1996. This suggests that the total number of Soviet and post-Soviet immigrants in the United States by the mid-1990s exceeded 670,000 people.

From these estimates, it follows that from 1989 to approximately 1996-1997, about 400-450 thousand people arrived and remained to live and work in the United States. Taking into account that immigration continued in 1998-1999, although at a slower pace, the total number of people who moved from the USSR and post-Soviet countries to the United States over the entire decade can be estimated in the range of 450-500 thousand people.

It is important to emphasize that these data relate to the total number of arrivals. The majority of them obtained the status of refugees or immigrants and remained in the United States for permanent residence, as the goal of immigration at that time was generally final resettlement, rather than temporary work.

Permanent link to this publication: