Is It Still Possible for a Russian to Get a US Tourist Visa?

[JayFromTexas 69]

Is anyone having success getting a B1/B2 visa for the US? My Russian girlfriend wants to visit me in the US. She's filled out the DS160 and filed it with the Mauritius embassy, but appointments don't seem to be coming available. Now travel has become prohibitively expensive. Are there any Russians out there who have been successful in getting a US tourist visa? If so, from which embassy location?

Edited April 8, 2022 by JayFromTexas

[millefleur 5,046]

58 minutes ago, JayFromTexas said:

She's filled out the DS160 and filed it with the Mauritius embassy, but appointments don't seem to be coming available.

If she already paid the fee for that one and decides to go to another embassy or consulate, that fee is lost. Just be aware the fees are non-transferrable. To get an idea of wait times, check here:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html

 

The answer to the question is yes, Russians can still apply for visitor visas. There was a recent thread about this. Please read for more info on potential embassies/consulates to go through:

 

 

[Boiler 45,467]

In the circumstances I would think it will be very difficult to show non immigrant intent but you can apply 

[JayFromTexas 69]

10 minutes ago, millefleur said:

If she already paid the fee for that one and decides to go to another embassy or consulate, that fee is lost. Just be aware the fees are non-transferrable. To get an idea of wait times, check here:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html

 

The answer to the question is yes, Russians can still apply for visitor visas. There was a recent thread about this. Please read for more info on potential embassies/consulates to go through:

 

 

Thanks Millefleur! I've just now read that thread and understand the process. We were already pursuing the visa as the thread describes, but I don't see anyone saying they've actually received a visa, recently.

 

People traveling to the US under a tourist Visa now, probably received the visa prior to the war. It seems like every day more sanctions are added and relations between the US and Russia get worse. I was wondering if anyone has been successful receiving a Visa in the past week or 2 or if it is wasted effort right now.

 

Thanks again.

[JayFromTexas 69]

13 minutes ago, Boiler said:

In the circumstances I would think it will be very difficult to show non immigrant intent but you can apply 

Kinda what I was thinking. Was just curious if anyone had heard of someone getting a tourist visa under these circumstances.

 

Thanks for your reply.

[Boiler 45,467]

I have seen quite a few Ukrainian denials

 

Probably not that many Russians applying not an obvious time to go on holiday

[millefleur 5,046]

Just now, JayFromTexas said:

Thanks Millefleur! I've just now read that thread and understand the process. We were already pursuing the visa as the thread describes, but I don't see anyone saying they've actually received a visa, recently.

Unfortunately there are no examples on VJ of any Russians who obtained a B visa since the invasion started. That doesn't mean it's not possible, it's just that no one here has posted about it yet.

 

2 minutes ago, JayFromTexas said:

It seems like every day more sanctions are added and relations between the US and Russia get worse. I was wondering if anyone has been successful receiving a Visa in the past week or 2 or if it is wasted effort right now.

There has been no sanction or ban of visas between Russians and Americans (except diplomatic visas but that goes back way before this war even started.) Thus, nothing has fundamentally changed in terms of tourist visas for Russians. The process is the same as it was before: find an embassy or consulate who will accept appointments, pay the fee and fill out the form, make an appointment, attend interview and then wait for the outcome.

 

The applicant still has to prove the strong ties/good reasons to return to Russia and overcome suspected immigrant intent to stay in the US. Having a USC significant other makes this a challenge. It's not impossible, just means the odds are stacked against you. With the current political situation in Russia and many people fleeing daily, the odds are probably harder to overcome. I don't think the chances are good but nobody here can say with certainty what the decision will be as that's the CO's job and it depends on each applicant's individual circumstances.

[Wouter 141]

4 hours ago, millefleur said:

There has been no sanction or ban of visas between Russians and Americans (except diplomatic visas but that goes back way before this war even started.) Thus, nothing has fundamentally changed in terms of tourist visas for Russians. The process is the same as it was before: find an embassy or consulate who will accept appointments, pay the fee and fill out the form, make an appointment, attend interview and then wait for the outcome.

 

The applicant still has to prove the strong ties/good reasons to return to Russia and overcome suspected immigrant intent to stay in the US. 

I have been doing some research on this and have come to the same conclusion as millefleur. Although there are many sanctions against Russia and diplomatic relations are pretty bad, there are actually no changes in the rules, laws, or proclamations or EOs that restrict Russians from applying for a visitor visa to the US. The only problems are practical, i.e. the US consulates in Russia are not processing visa applications and it's incredibly difficult to find a US consulate outside Russia that is willing to accept visitor visa applications from Russia.

I am wondering why you went for Mauritius? 

I have written to several US consulates but didn't get a reply.

I guess the only possibility is to just submit an application (and pay the fee) and hope they will process it.

(I am thinking Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan which has a listed appointment wait time of 106 days and there are stories of Russians getting a visitor visa appointment there in the past, but that was pre-war)

@JayFromTexas if you do find out more about a US embassy/consulate willing to take on your girlfriend's visa application please let us know!

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Wouter

[JayFromTexas 69]

Wouter-

 

We chose Mauritius because it has historically had one of the shorter lead times for consulate appointments. My girlfriend frequents a Russian forum where they discuss these topics and, prior to the war, some people were having success there.

 

Instead of writing, I call the Mauritius embassy directly, again prior to the war, and asked if they were accepting application from non-residents for non-immigrant visa requests and they confirmed that they were. If you have mailed other consulates, I recommend you just call them. I assume that since they are all US embassies that they speak english. That has been my experience, so far, but I've only talked to a couple different embassies.

 

The other benefit to Mauritius is you don't have to pay a fee until after you have an interview scheduled. There are several embassy locations where you don't have to pay the fee first.

 

Here is a website the compiles all embassy wait times and other information. You can limit it to embassies in countries not requiring a Visa for a Russian citizen and for those embassies that you can apply to prior to paying the fee. You'll have to translate it, but it is very good information. You can sort it too and easily discover which embassies supposedly have the shortest wait times.

 

The "wait time" seems to be misleading. Many of the embassies that have short lead times don't necessarily have openings. There is a whole industry of "bots" that are poaching interviews and making it difficult to schedule an interview without using one.

 

https://rapidfireball.fawd.workers.dev/

 

We've paused our effort for now, but hope to try to schedule something this summer. If we are successful, I'll report it here. I hope you do the same.

[millefleur 5,046]

6 minutes ago, Wouter said:

(I am thinking Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan which has a listed appointment wait time of 106 days and there are stories of Russians getting a visitor visa appointment there in the past, but that was pre-war)

106 days is not bad at all. A lot of the other places I checked are longer than that.

 

I just checked some random wait times and it looks like Sarajevo is only 16 calendar days? I don't think Russia has been sanctioned at all by Bosnia either, so worth looking into. Podgorica in Montenegro is 42 days. Sofia in Bulgaria is 60 days. Zagreb in Croatia is saying 2 calendar days! Might want to look into these options. Unfortunately I can't verify if any of these places accept 3rd country nationals except Bulgaria, Montenegro and Croatia:

 

https://bg.usembassy.gov/visas/nonimmigrant-visas/

Can anyone in Bulgaria apply, or do you need to be a Bulgarian national to apply?

We will have slots available for Bulgarian nationals and long-term residents in Bulgaria.  In addition, we will offer a limited number of appointments on specific dates for third country nationals interested in applying in Sofia.

 

https://hr.usembassy.gov/visas/

U.S. Embassy Zagreb is processing routine nonimmigrant visa interview appointments. However, please be advised that due to the sizeable backlog of appointments for residents and nationals of Croatia, non-residents of Croatia may face a considerable wait time.

 

https://hr.usembassy.gov/visas/

Announcement for B1/B2 non-resident applicants

Due to extremely high demand for visa appointments for business & travel (B1/B2) visas, appointments for non-residents of Montenegro are only available on the first Wednesday of every month from 9-11AM.  If you are a non-resident and make an appointment through the scheduling system during any other time, your appointment will be automatically cancelled. Please note that interviews are conducted only in Montenegrin and English.

 

According to UStraveldocs, Moldova offers services for non-residents and Russian speaking staff. However, the wait time is currently listed at 254 calendar days.

https://www.ustraveldocs.com/md/index.html

 

 

[Boiler 45,467]

Serbia I think still has direct flights?

[millefleur 5,046]

7 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Serbia I think still has direct flights?

They do but according to the official page, the wait times are 180 days and I'm not able to confirm via their site that they accept non residents.

 

Another possible option:

 

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

https://kg.usembassy.gov/visas/tourism-visitor/

- Russian speaking staff on site? Site is offered in Russian

- 92 calendar day wait

- No mention if they accept Russians or other nonresidents

 

Info about situation in Kazakhstan:

https://www.ustraveldocs.com/kz/en/nonimmigrant-visa/

Important Note: Separate, limited appointment slots are allocated for nonresident applicants. The visa appointment wait time published on travel.state.gov does not represent the wait time for nonresident categories. The nonresident wait time significantly exceeds the wait time shown there.