Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

U.S. Data on Soviet Wives’ Exit Visa Processing Times

The Department of State and CIA compiled data for the Commission on Soviet wives of American citizens receiving exit visas. The State Department had sufficient information to measure waiting times in 14 cases, noting that the sampling carried a bias toward lengthy periods since cases were typically brought to State Department attention only when delays occurred. Of the 14 cases, 6 involved women who applied after 1953, with approximate waiting periods of 13 months, 6 months, 3 months, 1 month, and 10 days. The CIA examined 11 cases with known or inferable time periods, finding that Soviet wives typically waited from 5 months to a year for exit visas. The Oswalds’ experience of at least 5½ months was consistent with these normal waiting periods.

第六章

Chapter VI examines the Soviet Union’s treatment of Marina Oswald’s emigration, the Commission’s conclusion regarding the Oswalds’ departure from the USSR, and the Oswalds’ associations within the Dallas-Fort Worth community upon their return to the United States, including their relationships with the local Russian-speaking community, the De Mohrenschildts, and the Paine family.

Soviet Pressure on Marina Oswald’s Emigration

This section addresses the pressure that Soviet authorities allegedly applied to Marina Oswald to dissuade her from emigrating to the United States. While Lee Harvey Oswald claimed in correspondence with the American Embassy and his brother, in his diary, and in post-return conversations that the pressure was so intense Marina was hospitalized for five days for “nervous exhaustion,” Marina testified that no such hospitalization occurred. She did confirm being questioned occasionally and made to feel that her government was displeased with her decision; her aunt and uncle in Minsk did not speak to her for a long time, and she was dropped from the Komsomol. A student who took Russian lessons from her in Texas recalled Marina describing that period as “a very horrible time.” Despite this pressure, Marina testified that she was surprised their visas were granted so quickly—particularly her own.