Hello,

Could you please help me with my expedite letter to USCIS ( my children will be 18 soon. If the process will be done before their 18 birthday, they will receive the citizenship together with me; if not, they will have to wait 3 more years (they are twins - boy and girl; live in the US and have their green cards ) ? As you can see, English language is not my first language.

I have added a few articles to my letter and if possible, could you please read them and make all changes you think there are necessary into my letter to USCIS?

One of the reason for expedite which I try to use you can find below:

Expedited Treatment Based on Emergency or Urgent Humanitarian Reason

In the context of an expedite request, humanitarian reasons are those related to human welfare. Examples may include, but are not limited to, illness, disability, extreme living conditions, death in the family, or a critical need to travel to obtain medical treatment in a limited amount of time.

An emergency may include an urgent need to expedite employment authorization for healthcare workers during a national emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, an expedite request may be considered under this criterion in instances where a vulnerable person's safety may be compromised due to a breach of confidentiality if there is a delay in processing the benefit application.[4] A benefit requestor's desire to travel for vacation does not, in general, meet the definition of an emergency.

Could you please read my letter and the articles and, if possible, add some arguments saying my reason is the urgent humanitarian reason?

Thank you very much.

My initial letter to USCIS

USCIS Service Center

[Address]

[City, State, Zip Code]

Subject: Request to Expedite Naturalization Process for My Children

To Whom It May Concern,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to respectfully request the expedited processing of my naturalization application and the citizenship status of my minor children. As a concerned parent, I wish to ensure that my children are granted American citizenship alongside me, and I kindly seek your assistance in ensuring their safety and well-being.

As indicated in the enclosed questionnaire, my children, including my son Fedor, will reach the age of 18 on October 18, 2023. Unfortunately, I have recently become aware of a concerning law enacted in Russia that stipulates conscription for military service of all men aged 18 and above will now take place online through the official website. This new law applies not only to military service but also to war mobilization concerning Ukraine. Previously, a physical summons had to be served to the conscript, and Fedor, residing in the United States, would have been exempt from conscription. However, under this new law, once he turns 18, he will receive an electronic summons and will be required to appear before the draft board, regardless of his current place of residence. Failing to comply with this summons could result in the loss of his civil rights and potentially lead to unpredictable circumstances.

Considering the urgency and critical nature of this situation, I humbly request your kind assistance in expediting the naturalization process for my children. By granting them American citizenship in a timely manner, they would be able to live securely in the United States as American citizens and avoid the adverse consequences of the new conscription law in Russia.

I have taken the liberty of including newspaper articles that provide additional context and support to my request. These articles, titled "Russia moves to tighten conscription law, pressing more men to fight" (Dixon, R., 2023), "Russia's New Conscription Law Brings the Digital Gulag Much, Much Closer" (Stanovaya, T., 2023), and "'Leave As Soon As Possible': New Conscription Law Raises Fresh Fears Of Mobilization At Home And Abroad" (Aronova, M., Aleksandrov, A., & Standish, R., 2023), highlight the new conscription law in Russia, its implications, and the concerns it raises. I believe these articles serve as compelling evidence of the urgent humanitarian reasons supporting my request for expedited processing.

Given the potential risks and uncertainties my children may face if their naturalization process is not expedited, I sincerely hope that you will consider my request and prioritize their application. Your favorable decision in expediting their naturalization would not only bring peace of mind to a concerned parent but also secure the well-being of my children.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I am ready to provide any further information or documentation if required. Please do not hesitate to contact me if needed.

Sincerely,

43714923

Democracy Dies in Darkness

EUROPE

43714924Russia moves to tighten conscription law, pressing more men to fight

By Robyn Dixon April 11, 2023 at 11:43 a.m. EDT

RIGA, Latvia When Russian President VladimirPutin announced a mobilization in the fall to commandeer reinforcements for the war against Ukraine, thousands of men fled the country or went into hiding. But tough new measures approved by Russia's lower house of parliament on Tuesday will make it almost impossible for Russians to dodge conscription in the future.

The law provides for electronic militarysummonses with bans on drafteesleaving the country,making it possibleto quietly sweep up thousands more men to fight even as the Kremlin is denying plans for a controversial new mobilization.

The State Duma, which is the lower chamber,approved the legislation with just one abstention. The upper house, the Federation Council, is expected to adopt it Wednesday, and send it on to Putin for his approval, which is widely expected.

Last year's chaotic mobilization in which military officerswere obliged to physically hand out paper notices created scenes of young men being grabbed from the streets and at subway stations, or wrestled to the ground in shopping malls. In some cases, passersby filmed men fleeing military officials.

Under the new rules,electronic summonses will be issuedto conscripts underRussia's compulsory militaryservice for men ages 18 to 27, but also potentially to members of the Russian military reserve and others. Under Russian law, conscripts must not be deployed to Ukraine, however complaints have surfaced that in some cases they have been sent there and killed in action.

Andrei Kartopolov, head of the State Duma defense committee, spelled out tough penalties for those who do not respond to electronic summonses, including potential bans on driving,registering a company,working as a self-employed individual, obtaining credit or loans,selling apartments, buyingproperty or securingsocial benefits. Thesepenalties could applyto the thousands of men who are already outside the country.

The electronic summons will be issued via a government services portal, Gosuslugi, used for all manner of state paymentsand services including taxes, passports, housing services, social benefits, transport documents, medical appointments, employee insurance and countless other matters.

Under the law, personal data of conscripts including identity documents, personal tax numbers, driver's license details, phone numbers and otherinformation will be transferred by Gosuslugi to military enlistment offices. Universities, businessemployers, hospitals and clinics, government ministries, law enforcement agencies, the electoral commission and the tax authority are also required to transmit data to the military.

With the Kremlin anxious to avoid unpopular mobilization measures, the new rules highlight Russia's need for more military personnel, after a largely ineffective winter offensive that gained little ground despitehigh casualties, and ahead of an expectednew Ukrainian counteroffensive ahead.

As the Kremlin preparesRussians for a long war, the need to continually reconstitute depleted Russianmilitary units could drag on for years.

Russia's Ministry of Defensehas recently recruitedhundreds of prisonerson 18-month contractsto fight in the war, according to Russia Behind Bars, a prisoners' rights group, after the Wagner mercenary group was blocked from recruiting in jails.

The military has also been offeringRussian passports to foreigners who join the Russian armed forces and has been running a voluntary recruitment campaign.

In December, Defense MinisterSergei Shoigu announcedplans to increasethe size of Russia's militaryby 30 percent to 1.5 million servicemen, including 695,000 volunteer contract soldiers.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the new law is "absolutely necessary" but added that it is not connected with the mobilization of more Russian men to fight in the war.

"We need to improve and modernize the military accounting system," Peskov said.

However, Putin's written mobilization decree was never rescinded and legally remains in force.

Last year'smobilization triggered angerand public protests, with many conscripts drawnfrom Russia's most impoverished regions, while the privileged sons of officials such as Peskov and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said they would not fight in Ukraine, when contacted by members of the team of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Russian political analystAndrei Kolesnikov, of the CarnegieEndowment for International Peace, wrote in a recentanalysis that the Kremlin's claim it was fightingthe West, not Ukraine, had created a "people's war," in which citizens are expected to lay down their lives for victory and critics of the war or the Kremlin are branded traitors.

The goal of defeating the West much like the goal of buildingcommunism in Soviettimes is ever recedinginto the future,he continued. "The specificparameters of what such a victory would look like or how it may be achievedremain entirely unclear,but the rest of eternity can be spent moving toward that horizon," Kolesnikov wrote.

The new measures follow a flurry of denialsfrom Russian officialsthat summonses would be issued through the state services portal.

Once an electronic summons is issued, a citizen is bound by it until his military duty is discharged.

The deputychairman of the Duma's defensecommittee, Yuri Shvytkin, told Russian mediathat conscripts who deleted their accounts on the state services website would be deemed to be draft dodgers and face arrest and punishment.

"It was just one of the goals, to minimize the percentage of dodgers," he told Russian media outlet Ura.ru.

The bar on departing the country takes effect from the moment the draft notice is electronically sent. Military draft offices can register draftees in the military in their absence,ditching the currentpractice where conscripts and draftees appear in person to sign forms and undergo medical examinations.

The new measures come with mobilized soldiers from regionsacross Russia postingdozens of videos on Russian mediacomplaining that they are sent to the slaughter in near-suicidal assaults on Ukrainian positions without adequate training, arms or equipment, a problem that has haunted Russia throughout the war.

State Duma member AndreiLugovoi, one of the bill'sdevelopers, said on Telegram that problems duringlast year's mobilization operation had proved the need for a more efficient way of calling men up for military duty.

"There were so many complaints about the military registration and enlistment offices, people erroneously mobilized, and those who were able to hide under the pretext of a non-received summons," he said. The bill allows the military to "put things in order" and "eliminate any inconsistency or erroneous actions in the future."

The move to bar real estate sales makes it difficultfor conscription evadersto flee the country withoutlosing assets. It also means that those who fled Russia last year to avoid fighting in Ukraine will not be able to cash out of their Russian property.

Although conscripts are not supposed to be deployed to combat zones, including Ukraine, those completing their compulsory military service have come underintense pressure from superiors to sign militarycontracts making them eligible for deployment to the front, according to Russian independent media interviews with the mothers of conscripts.

The war is hitting Russia's economy, depleting the nation's ranks of young workers.

Last year's combination of migrants fleeingRussia and the military call-upled to a sharp declinein the number of Russianworkers younger than 35, which dropped by 1.3 million workers from 22.83 million, including mostly men, according to a study of Russian state statistics published on Tuesday in RBC newspaper. The drop was most apparent among workers ages 25 to 29, falling by 724,000 to 7.2 million workers.

Natalia Abbakumova contributed to this report.

43714934Russia's New Conscription Law Brings the Digital Gulag Much, Much Closer

17.04.2023

Tatiana Stanovaya

The government wantsto cr eate a digital systemof social controlby regulating individual access to rightsand benefits. Being outside of this system will effectively spell social death.

New legislation on drafting Russian nationals into military service rushed through the Russian parliament last week dramatically changes the relationship betweenthe state and the people.With nothing to stop this approach from being expanded to other spheres to establish a state system of complete digital surveillance, coercion, and punishment, the Digital Gulag that has been widely discussed ever since the COVID-19 pandemic is now taking shape.

Underthe new law passed at breakneck speedby both chambersof parliament, the authorities can issue call-uppapers online and will set up a digital database of all Russians eligible for military service (most Russian men aged eighteen to thirty are expected to perform obligatory national service). Previously, people had to be served their draft papers in person, making it relatively easy to dodge the draft. Now draft notices can also be issued via the state services website Gosuslugi, used by millions of Russians for a plethora of day-to-day administrative tasks such as paying fines and applying for passports.

Regardless of whether a person has a Gosuslugiaccount, or even uses the internet, they will still be penalizedfor failing to report to the recruitment office once a digital draft notice is issued. Those penalties include a ban on leaving the country, as well as on driving, buying and sellingreal estate, taking out loans, and registering a small business.Regional governments will also now be able to add other restrictions to the list, such as suspending social benefits.

The planneddigital registry will gather information about potential drafteesfrom every possiblesource, from medicaland electoral records to courts and tax returns. Gosuslugi will merely serve as an interactive interface for this new digital reality. People can still appeal to be exempted from military service to the draft board or the courts, but by that time they are likely to have become subject to all of the above restrictions.

The Russianauthorities came up with the idea of a digitalmechanism for instantmobilization soon aftertheir invasion of Ukraine, since the shortcomings of the existing draft system were already obvious, but the change proved hard to implement. Last November, following the partial mobilization carried out earlier in the fall, Russian President Vladimir Putin tasked several government agencies with creating a digital draft registry. Although military recruitment offices managed to digitize a significant part of their data, nounified database was created. The Defense Ministrywas unwilling to provide civilian officials with access to their databases, nor was there any law obliging other government agencies to transfer information to it.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian counteroffensive expected any day now may require Russiato commit more troops to the front line. Accordingly, following a series of discussions and Putin's personal involvement, the Kremlin decided to drastically accelerate the process and pass corresponding legislation with very little regard for either public discussion or preparing Russian society for the changes.

The passed amendments don't just accelerate the creation of a digitaldraft registry. They also facilitate the emergence of an entirely new system of controlling civic behavior in Russia. The authorities first conceived of such a system back in 2019, long before the war. Back then, they started discussing a new political order paradigm that would link people's comfort and well-being to their political loyalty by rewarding pro-government behavior and punishing dissent. Special administrative centers were set up in Russia's regions whose official job was to handle complaints from members of the public. In reality, they were tasked with scrutinizing any kind of public activity for political risks.

People labeled unreliablefor putting "likes" on social media posts by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, for example could laterface problems in school or at work,and might even be branded"foreign agents," an official labelthat carries a wide range of onerous restrictions. This approach affords the state far more flexibility in punishing dissenters than traditional courts.

The idea is to collect digital information on every individual so that the state can exercise control over them. This has been happening for several yearsnow on a fairly largescale. So far, the systemis disorganized, but the stateapparatus is gradually learning.

In this respect, the pandemic came in especially helpful. During that time, the regions acquired face recognition systems, and public officials learned to work with variousdigital tools like QR codes,online vaccination registration (via Gosuslugi), and quarantine violation monitoring via cameras and phone apps.

That was essentially the first attemptto create a digital controlsystem, in whichconforming to certainrequirements, like getting vaccinated, would give people full access to certainrights, while disobedience would bar them from some public services like transportation. Ultimately, however, the authorities failed to implement these innovations or enshrine them into law, fearing public discontent.

Now the conditions are different: the public is unlikely to resist, and the negativeconsequences won't be felt immediately (it's no coincidence that the authorities keep repeating that there will be no second wave of mobilization).

The war has takenthe state's need for digitalcontrol to a whole new level, but it's no longer just about regulating the draft or further mobilization. The state is seeking to overhaul the traditional system of government coercion, to automate control of individual behavior without involving those individuals, their lawyers, or the courts. Constitutional rights are becoming conditional upon a person's status within the state system of digital control.

Registers of different categories of "foreign agents" already exist, and another of individuals "associated with foreign agents" is currently in the pipeline. This process of digitizing repression has one goal: forging a loyal digital majority. Presidential administration officialssay off the record that the new reality effectively negates the idea of voters.Instead, "there will be bosses and digital servers, and occasional protest rallies that will have no bearing on politics."

The government wants to createa digital systemof social controlby regulating individual access to rightsand benefits. Being outside of this system will effectively spell social death. Digitization is no longer just a way to collect and store information: now it will tailor social profiles to state needs.

The digital draft notice legislation is the Russian state's first attempt to introduce elements of digital totalitarianism, but certainly not its last. The right mixture of care and fear, along with clearly delineated dos and don'ts, will allow the authorities to shape any politicalbehavior. At this point, these are still mostly the Kremlin's plans, but they illustrate how radically politics can be transformed in the digital age.

End of document

RUSSIA

'Leave As Soon As Possible': NewConscription Law RaisesFresh Fears Of Mobilization At Home And Abroad

April 15, 2023 17:07 GMT

By Marina Aronova Aleksei Aleksandrov Reid Standish

A new bill signedinto law by Russian President Vladimir Putin that allows authorities to issue electronic noticesto draftees and reservists is sparking fears of a new wave of mobilization for Moscow's war in Ukraine and prompting fresh conversations among Russians about leaving the country.

When the Kremlin announced a partial mobilization of reservists in September as part of a driveto call up some 300,000 new personnel to ght in Ukraine, the decision led to a mass exodusof military-age Russian men and their families. Hundreds of thousands of Russians left to neighboring countries and other locations that had few entry requirements and allowed them to live and work for extended periods of time in order to avoid the draft.

But as anxiety over another mobilization wave looms more than sevenmonths later, Russians looking to avoid gettingcaught up in the war in Ukraineare facing a more dificultpath ahead, including policiesthat could make it harderto leave the country and visa changesin many destinations that will limit Russians' abilityto stay abroad for longer periods.

"The universal advice is to leave as soon as possible," Ivan Pavlov, head of the human rights group First Department, told Current Time, a Russian-language networkrun by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, adding that the new law could give militaryplanners a mechanismfor quickly beeng up their ranks in preparation for a new Ukrainian attack.

The new April 14 law modiesRussia's military servicerules that previously required the in-person delivery of notices to conscripts and reservists who are called up for duty. Now, the noticesissued by local military conscription ofices will also be sent electronically and be considered valid from the moment they are put on a state portal for electronic services,known as Gosuslugi. The law will alsoset up an electronic registry of all people required to serve and collect their personal data while creating a public list of all those who have been summonedfor military service.

Unlike in September, however,eeing abroad is not as straightforward of a processas before, with thelist of possiblecountries to receiveRussian citizens shrinking.

Popular destinations like Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Argentina have changed theirlaws and made it more dificult to establish residency and cut down the period that Russians can remain without a visa. Elsewhere, many European Union countries close to Russia -- such as the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland -- have also restricted issuingvisas and entryto its citizens.

How the new law works in practice remainsto be seen. Russian oficialsdeny another mobilization drive is planned and have said the database for electronic conscription notices is unlikelyto be fully operational until the fall.

But the law's swiftenactment -- and its specics-- are also already fuelingfears that the Kremlin is preparing anotherwave of mobilization after it has suffered heavybattleeld losses and is believed to be facing manpower shortages in Ukraine.

Under the new law, recipients who fail to show up for serviceafter getting a summons would be prohibited from leavingRussia and have their drivers'licenses suspended and could be barred from selling their apartments and other assets.Similarly, activists and legal expertssay Russian border guards could now use the onlineregistry to furtherrestrict travel for anyone lookingto avoid military service.

That potentially limited timeline, coupledwith added challenges to leaving the country, is weighing on those inside Russia lookingfor an exit and thosewho have alreadyleft and are struggling with the bureaucratic and nancial constraints of remaining abroad.

Daria, a 35-year old from Omsk who arrivedin Turkey with her boyfriend in October, told RFE/RL's Siberia Realities that they face limitedpossibilities moving forwardand are worriedabout the new law.

Like many Russians who spoke to RFE/RL, Daria asked for her last name to be withheldto avoid repercussions back in Russia.She says she and her boyfriend rst left Russiafollowing the mobilization announcement by car to Kazakhstan and then arrivedin Turkey in early October,but quickly faced dificulties establishing residency in the country after entering on tourist visas.

Turkey becamea leading destination for Russians lookingto ee the country following Moscow's February 2022 invasionof Ukraine due to the affordable cost of livingand a straightforward legal process that would grant a tourist residence permit for a period of six monthsto two years if an applicant was able to show a corresponding lease on a property in the country.The lease could be extended and a residence permitof up to another two years couldbe issued. Afterve years of residency, preparations for a citizenship application could then be initiated.

But Turkish authorities began tightening the screws alreadyin March 2022 by addingrestrictions on which kindsof rental properties could grant a residence permit,which were expandedagain in July. By the end of 2022, a growingnumber of Russiansbegan to have their applications rejected.

Precise statistics on the numberof rejections -- as well as the total numberof Russians who have ed to Turkey to avoidmilitary service -- are dificultto ascertain. However,the moderators of a Telegram channel for Russian speakersnavigating the processin the country -- which has nearly 10,000 members -- say that the number of rejections is growing, with 237 rejections out of 371 applicants among group members alone in January.

Daria says the Turkish authorities are often vagueabout the parameters for which applications are approved and the process, whichoften includes translations and notarization, can be costly.

She says remote work in Turkeyhas begun to strain her nances and after theirapplication was rejected they were given a short time period to leave the countryand have since returned to Russia.

"It was scary, [and] now everyoneis waiting for the second wave [of mobilization]," she said. "The law [seemed] to change every ve minutes there, and we foreigners are denitely not welcome in Turkey anymore."

For those rejected in Turkey, countrieslike Thailand, Vietnam,as well as Kazakhstan, Georgia,and Serbia have been alternative destinations, but room for Russians eeing has been shrinking there as well.

A total of 2.9 million Russiancitizens entered Kazakhstan in 2022, althoughthat gure also includes families and those with personalconnections across the two countries' lengthy border.

Denis, who asked to have his last name withheld to prevent reprisals, said he and his girlfriend chose the country in a panicin September as he was looking to leave Russiaand chose Kazakhstan because it was relatively close to his home city of Novosibirsk in Siberia.

Kazakhstan's policyat the time allowed Russiansto do a "visa run" every 90 days to a neighboring country and then reset the period upon re-entry. But Kazakh authorities changed the law in January to close this loophole, and now citizensof countries that are part of the Eurasian EconomicUnion, which includes Russia,are only allowedto stay in Kazakhstan for no more than 90 days within a single 180-day period.

Like many other Russiansin Kazakhstan who ed and are fearfulof returning to face anotherround of mobilization, Denisfaces two choices:leave or applyfor a temporary residence permit.

While Kazakh wages are lower than those in large Russiancities like Moscowand St. Petersburg, a growing number of Russians have chosen to stay and work in the CentralAsian country for local employers. In 2022, according to oficial government gures, the numberof Russians in Kazakhstan on work permits rose to 63,000 people,more than doublethe gure for 2021.

Denis and his girlfriend are currently exploring other destinations but are not sure what options will be possible for them.

"For the future, we came to the conclusion that you need to move away from Russia, to truly free c