Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, July 25, 2023 --  

America's summer resorts have long relied on Russia's youth for seasonal work. The war in Ukraine has interrupted this system just when it is needed the most.

The mostly twenty-something workers share crowded rooms in cheaper neighborhoods out by the highway and are regularly seen ride bikes along the back roads leading to Rehoboth Beach. The summer jobs give the young Eastern Europeans a chance to immerse themselves in American culture, practice their English, save some money, and have some fun along the way.

These foreign workers come mostly from middle class families where the right of passage later turns these young adults into de-facto ambassadors from the United States. When traveling across Russia on the trans-Siberian railroad in 2017, I met numerous of former resort workers who fondly recalled their days in the United States. A bartender in Moscow had worked in Maryland's Ocean City. A waiter in Novosibirsk had worked in Branson, Missouri.

But while the war in Ukraine has not stopped the flow of seasonal workers from the region, it has made it much more difficult for Russian citizens to take part. Shortly after the war in Ukraine started, the U.S. and Russia began a diplomatic tit for tat that saw American consulates in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg suspend operations, and even the U.S. Embassy in Moscow stop processing visas for Russians.¹ Even in neighboring Belarus, all American consular services have also been halted.²

This makes it difficult for Russians to apply for America's J-1 visas that are used for seasonal work. The visas typically require an in-person interview at an American embassy or consulate.³ Russians seeking to get such a visa must now travel thousands of miles to countries where the U.S. still offers consular services. This combined with an end to direct flights from Russia to the United States and the European Union makes Russian travel to the West much more difficult. Russian flights in the western direction are limited to Belarus, Turkey, and a few Persian Gulf emirates. Travel in the other direction means a much more circuitous and expensive route through China, India or Thailand.

Americans sympathetic to the victims of Russia's war on Ukraine often have little sympathy for these seemingly minor impacts on Russian nationals. But consider the fact that America's J-1 visa program is one of many programs that enables Russians who want nothing to do with Putin's war on Ukraine to flee the country, even if it is for a temporary stay. Also consider that many of the twenty-something men who might staff the ice cream stands and boardwalk games might otherwise end up conscripted to shoot guns at Ukrainians from trenches on the front line.

Russia bans men of draft age (18-27) from leaving the country once they receive a military summons online.(4) Wealthy Muscovite families use their connections to keep their sons from being drafted, but middle-class families in the provinces must rely on foreign travel to get their sons out of the country before it is too late.

Since the war started, Russians have had to take more extreme measures to try to enter the United States, including tens of thousands who have shown up at the U.S. border with Mexico along with migrants from many other countries around the world.⁴

This is insane. Young Russians who wants to flee Putin's regime for America should be welcomed, and bureaucratic obstacles should be kept to a minimum. While the short-term nature of the J-1 visa program for seasonal workers is hardly ideal for those fleeing a regime, it can sometimes serve as a stepping stone for those looking for longer-term options. Americans don't usually think of running carnival games as a great career move. But given the terrible alternatives faced by Russia's young men, even a dead-end job can be a lifesaver.

Notes:

1. US Embassy and Consulates in Russia, as posted July 25, 2023

2. US Embassy Minsk, as posted July 25, 2023

3. The Coastland Times, Russian J-1 Student Overcomes Numerous Hardships to Make It to the United States, August 30, 2022

4. Open Democracy, Russia Plans Crackdown on Men Avoiding the Draft, April 11, 2023