U.S. State Department Suspends Visa Operations in Russia

The U.S. Department of State announced today that all nonimmigrant visa operations throughout Russia will be suspended as of August 23, 2017. Thereafter, the United States will conduct visa operations in Russia on a significantly reduced scale. This action is a result of the Russian government's personnel cap imposed on U.S. Citizens.

Starting on September 1, 2017, nonimmigrant visa interviews will be conducted only at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. All nonimmigrant visa interviews at the U.S. Consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Vladivostok have been suspended until further notice. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has started canceling current nonimmigrant visa appointments across Russia.

Nonimmigrant visa applicants who have had their interviews canceled or were originally scheduled for an interview at the U.S. Consulates located in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, or Vladivostok should click here or call +7 (495) 745 3388 or 8 800 100 2554 (ITFN) to reschedule their interviews at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

Additional information from the U.S. Department of State is available here. 

Note: This change only applies to citizens of Russia and it does not apply to citizens of other countries.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss a specific matter, please contact Eric Ledbetter at (312) 715-5018/eric.ledbetter@quarles.com, Grant Sovern at (608) 283-2668/grant.sovern@quarles.com, or your local Quarles & Brady attorney.