Russian international passport

[UK_Fan 192]

i want to hear from someone who had experience renewing their "zagran passport" while in the US. i found one agency in chicago and they seem legit, but charge 400$ for a renewal.. if anybody knows of a better way, can they please share.

thank you!

[jaycali 415]

What's that..?

If it's a Russian province of some sort, the Russian embassy would be the only ones I could think of asking. The US doesn't recognize any country named Zagra..

[UK_Fan 192]

What's that..?

If it's a Russian province of some sort, the Russian embassy would be the only ones I could think of asking. The US doesn't recognize any country named Zagra..

"zagran passport" is an international passport.. russian-speaking people would have understood, sorry, didn't mean to be rude.

[JohnR! 5,495]

What's that..?

If it's a Russian province of some sort, the Russian embassy would be the only ones I could think of asking. The US doesn't recognize any country named Zagra..

In a nutshell, a 'Russian Intl passport' is a passport which is valid for travel outside Russia and it has all the biometric data encoded, very much like US passports. The bio page has become a security feature required by many countries, for admittance. It exists in juxtaposition with a 'domestic passport' which is a document used as a identity card. For most westerners the term 'International Passport' seems like a redundancy, but Russia today still live with a few elements left over from the Soviet era..

[jaycali 415]

"zagran passport" is an international passport.. russian-speaking people would have understood, sorry, didn't mean to be rude.

Aah, sorry, my bad I didn't realize this was in the regional forum! Just saw it on the home page!

Then the Russian Embassy I would assume, but someone with more knowledge of Russian issues will know better than me!

Edited June 19, 2012 by jaejayC

[UK_Fan 192]

nvm, that same agency now charges just 145$, which is reasonable.

[Neonred 3,562]

nvm, that same agency now charges just 145$, which is reasonable.

Which agency is that? Link? We were going to do that instead of making 2 trips to DC, but we have a problem with the name change which is a freaking nightmare. When she had her passport renewed last time it was great and they put the stamp in that showed her married name in the US. Great, but now because of that stamp they say she must actually change her name, and they require so much crazy documentation with translations and appostile.

[UK_Fan 192]

Which agency is that? Link? We were going to do that instead of making 2 trips to DC, but we have a problem with the name change which is a freaking nightmare. When she had her passport renewed last time it was great and they put the stamp in that showed her married name in the US. Great, but now because of that stamp they say she must actually change her name, and they require so much crazy documentation with translations and appostile.

http://www.russianpassportservice.com/index.html&UKC=AMOV-6FYJJV?gclid=CK6ki77G27ACFWQDQAod6E0x0w

[StarGirl 13]

i want to hear from someone who had experience renewing their "zagran passport" while in the US. i found one agency in chicago and they seem legit, but charge 400$ for a renewal.. if anybody knows of a better way, can they please share.

thank you!

I renewed my passport back in 2008. Didn't use any agency, just applied to RU embassy in Washington DC via mail. They had me wait for like 6 months but I got it eventually Just filled in the forms, sent them off, waited and waited and waited, and then got my old passport and new one back in mail.

Edited June 20, 2012 by StarGirl

[Neonred 3,562]

I renewed my passport back in 2008. Didn't use any agency, just applied to RU embassy in Washington DC via mail. They had me wait for like 6 months but I got it eventually Just filled in the forms, sent them off, waited and waited and waited, and then got my old passport and new one back in mail.

We did it that way too, but now they will not do it by mail. For us $125 for an agency would be a lot cheaper and easier than making two trips to DC.

[FanTa 2]

http://www.russianpassportservice.com

Hmm... Apparently, there are 2 web sites and 2 companies, both are based in Chicago:

• www.russianpassportservice.com - ISCtravel.
  
• www.russianpassportservice.org - ASAPVS Inc.
  

The first one (.com) allegedly charges $145, while the other one (.org) - $525 (claiming it to be "all inclusive" price). Not sure what's included and what's not in the $145 price charged by ISCtravel. Otherwise both web sites are 99% identical (same pages, same wording, same almost everything). Kind of suspicious ...

If you use their services, please report your results here.

[UK_Fan 192]

Hmm... Apparently, there are 2 web sites and 2 companies, both are based in Chicago:

• www.russianpassportservice.com - ISCtravel.
  
• www.russianpassportservice.org - ASAPVS Inc.
  

The first one (.com) allegedly charges $145, while the other one (.org) - $525 (claiming it to be "all inclusive" price). Not sure what's included and what's not in the $145 price charged by ISCtravel. Otherwise both web sites are 99% identical (same pages, same wording, same almost everything). Kind of suspicious ...

If you use their services, please report your results here.

Yeah I saw that and thought the same. They look identical and that's why I mistakenly thought that they charged more when in reality they r two different sites. That's why I wanted to know from someone who actually had experience renewing their passports.

[StarGirl 13]

We did it that way too, but now they will not do it by mail.

"great" news..

[FloridaRussian 0]

For those in the South Eastern USA, The Russian-American Community Center of Florida sponsors Zagran passport renewal sessions where you can meet with the visiting Consulate in either Orlando or Miami. You can do your own paperwork (we tried and had to redo it twice) or pay to have one of their contractors prepare everything for you. They also arrange for people to pick up their passports when ready, during the next session.

It's much more convenient than traveling to Washington, especially for seniors or parents with small children.The community center doesn't charge for the service but the contractors have reasonable rates if you go that route, They use www.RussianServices.us as their primary coordinator for processing documents and citizenship cases.