As a result of the Russian government’s personnel cap imposed on the U.S. Mission, the U.S. embassy in Russia has announced that all nonimmigrant visa (NIV) operations across Russia were suspended as of August 23, 2017, and will resume on a “greatly reduced scale.”
Beginning September 1, NIV interviews will be conducted only at the U.S. embassy in Moscow. NIV interviews at the U.S. consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok are suspended until further notice. As of August 21, the U.S. Mission began canceling current NIV appointments countrywide. The embassy said that NIV applicants who have their interviews canceled should call the number below to reschedule their interviews at the U.S. embassy in Moscow for a later date. NIV applicants originally scheduled for an interview at the U.S. consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok should call the number below if they wish to reschedule their interviews at the U.S. embassy in Moscow.
The staffing changes will also affect the scheduling of some immigrant visa applicants, the embassy said. Affected applicants will be contacted if there is a change in the time and date of their interviews.
For rescheduling of nonimmigrant visa interviews and other questions, call: +7 (495) 745 3388 or 8 800 100 2554 (ITFN).
The U.S. embassy in Moscow and three consulates will continue to provide emergency and routine services to U.S. citizens, although hours may change. (For U.S. citizen services hours, check the U.S. Mission to Russia website.)
Also, the U.S. embassy in Moscow and the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg will no longer accept new visa applications for residents of Belarus. NIV appointments for Belarussian applicants who have already paid the application fee will be rescheduled. The embassy encourages residents of Belarus to schedule NIV appointments at the U.S. embassies in Warsaw, Kyiv, or Vilnius.
The announcement can be viewed at the U.S. embassy in Russia’s website and includes questions and answers.