The US Consulate in St. Petersburg is closed. Where do the applicants go?
From April 2, the consulate USA In St. Petersburg, the work is completed. How to proceed to the applicants registered for an interview in this consulate in the near future, still not clear.
At the end of August 2017, the staff of the U.S. diplomatic mission was reduced, so the appointment for interviews of applicants in all U.S. consulates in Russia was stopped.
Since September 2017, the following categories of applicants can obtain a US visa in Russia: tourists who do not need a fingerprinting procedure, members of government delegations, applicants for a study visa and people who need to travel to the United States due to the death of a relative in the country. Other categories of Russian citizens are recommended to obtain a document in the CIS countries or the Schengen zone.
Since December 11, 2017, interviews at all US consulates in Russia have resumed. Getting a window for an interview is difficult. Mostly now, applicants who paid for a US visa in September are invited for an interview. Payment is valid for a year, and then completely burns.
Margarita Babayan, Chair of the Visit USA Partnership Board, reports that “Often free windows appear in the United States.” Vladivostok. However, there are not many people who want to go there. Since February, “windows” for the initial submission of documents for a visa at the consulate began to appear. ekaterinburg?
Travelers wishing to travel to the U.S. can get a U.S. visa abroad, destinations in Yerevan and Astana are popular. There is a chance to get a visa in Kiev.
Experts of the tourism industry believe that now the flow of travelers from Russia to the United States has become minimal. The U.S. visa is granted to Russians who require a trip to the country for personal reasons (visiting relatives, medical, legal issues).
On April 1, a U.S. State Department official said Russian U.S. visa applicants would need to specify their social media accounts to check. The questionnaire will add a paragraph to indicate all email addresses over the past five years and accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn - this can be another reason for the increase in the number of visa refusals.
According to information: atorus