Visas
Consular Section News
Waiver of Interview Requirement for Certain Visa Applicants
Certain applicants for a U.S. visa may no longer be required to appear for a personal interview at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow or Consulates General in St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, or Vladivostok.
Since November 2007, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Russia have collected ten fingerprints as part of the U.S. Government’s Biometric Visa Program designed to increase the security of U.S. visas and facilitate travel to the United States by persons with biometric visas.
Effective Monday, November 10, 2008, a visa applicant who has already provided ten fingerprints at the U.S. Embassy or a Consulate General in Russia may not need to return to be fingerprinted and interviewed for a subsequent visa if:
- The applicant reapplies within 12 months after the previous visa expires;
- The applicant applies for a visa in the same visa classification as the previous visa;
- The applicant applies in his or her country of usual residence; and
- The applicant has complied with the immigration laws and regulations of the United States.
Thus, for example, an applicant who applied for and received a twelve-month, multiple entry B-1/B-2 (business/tourist) visa on December 12, 2007 (expiring December 11, 2008), and who wishes to renew his visa on January 6, 2009, will not be required to appear in person for a visa interview. If the same applicant applied for an F-1(student) visa on June 4, 2009, he would have to appear for a visa interview since the visa classification is different. If the same applicant sought to renew his B-1/B-2 visa on December 22, 2009, he would need to appear for a visa interview since the application date was more than twelve months after the expiration of the previous visa.
Visa applicants who fulfill the conditions listed above and who obtained a previous visa in Russia may submit visa applications through Pony Express to either the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy or to any of the Consulates General, regardless of where the previous visa was obtained. Through the Visa Interview Waiver Program, the applicant may not need to come in for an interview. However, a consular officer, after reviewing the application, may determine that a visa interview is required. Detailed instructions concerning the nonimmigrant visa application process are located on the Embassy website: http://moscow.usembassy.gov
The U.S. Embassy anticipates this procedural change will ease considerably the application process for the majority of Russian applicants who wish to renew their U.S. visas.
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates General continue to welcome Russian citizens who wish to visit America for tourism, business, cultural exchange, and study.
