Nonimmigrant Visa Services Suspended at US Consulates in Russia

The U.S. Embassy in Russia has announced that starting August 23, 2017, all nonimmigrant visa (NIV) operations across Russia will be suspended. Beginning September 1, 2017, nonimmigrant visa interviews will be conducted only at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and interviews at the St. Petersburg, Yekaterininburg and Vladivostok will be cancelled.

What is the Reason for the Suspension?

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow cites the Russian government’s personnel cap imposed on the U.S. Mission as the reason for this suspension and cutback on NIV services.     This cap was imposed as part of the escalating diplomatic measures taken by both the United States and Russia over the past several months.

Extreme Visa Issuance Delays to be Expected

With the one-week suspension for all visa issuance and with only one U.S. consulate designated to process all interviews, with decreased staffing levels, it is expected that U.S. visa processing times in Russia will increase dramatically.      Wait times for U.S. visa appointments for Russia had doubled over the past weeks and we expect this increase to continue, especially considering that according to the State Department there were more than 190,000 non-immigrant visas issued to Russians during the 2016 fiscal year.

Options and Alternatives to Russian NIV Applicants

The U.S. Consulate has issued a fact sheet regarding this suspension which calls on NIV applicants who are affected to contact the Consulate and to reschedule their appointment.      It is possible for Russian nationals to apply for a U.S. visa stamp at another U.S. consular section which is not affected by this suspension and there are many U.S. consular sections in (eastern) Europe which are able to process applications and can do so within a very reasonable timeframe.

Conclusion

At this time we do not know how long this suspension and limitations on the U.S. visa issuance will continue.      We urge affected applicants to seek alternative options as soon as possible because the number of possible applicants is likely to cause significant delays in visa processing throughout Russia.

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