How to renew B2 for Russian Citizen?

[BigRedCat 36]

I am trying to help my mother in law renew her B2 and not sure what the best way to do that is currently. She is living in Moscow but can go to wherever to renew it. Anyone know the best way to do this currently? She travels to Italy frequently and Ive also heard Khazakastan is a good option to renew it. Any advise would be helpful! 

[millefleur 5,045]

I'm in the same boat. There's no renewal without an interview unless the person has residency in the country where they apply (so residency in a third country outside of Russia.)

 

If she can't get residency in another country, then she'll have to apply for a B2 the same as applying for the first time and get an interview.

 

I know these facts to be true because my SIL renewed hers abroad (where she has residency) but my MIL has to go through Almaty and must do an interview.

 

I haven't heard about Italy offering B interviews to nonresidents. I know that Kazakhstan does. 

[Boiler 45,292]

You should be able to interview in Rome

[millefleur 5,045]

According to this:

 

Nonimmigrant visa appointments are offered in Milan, Florence, Rome, and Naples. Appointments for non-residents of Italy are added weekly but are usually quickly booked. We encourage non-resident applicants to frequently check the appointment system at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-it/niv  to see if appointments are available.

 

I'm not exactly sure how you're supposed to check prior to paying the fee? For any B visa you, have to pay the fee first to that specific embassy/consulate, and only then you can see the appointments. So I guess they want you to pay and then just roll the dice hoping you'll find an appointment.

 

[BigRedCat 36]

I am getting a lot of conflicted info on this. Some say Russians have to travel to Warsaw for renewal, others say you can go to Italy or Khazakastan. But as was pointed out you need to pay for the renewal at the embassy before you can request an interview (and it seems most B2 renewals waive the interview anyway). Totally confused what to advise my mother in law. 

[millefleur 5,045]

5 minutes ago, BigRedCat said:

I am getting a lot of conflicted info on this. Some say Russians have to travel to Warsaw for renewal, others say you can go to Italy or Khazakastan. But as was pointed out you need to pay for the renewal at the embassy before you can request an interview (and it seems most B2 renewals waive the interview anyway). Totally confused what to advise my mother in law. 

You can 100% go to Kazakhstan. My MIL has an appointment in Almaty in August. 

 

Does she speak Italian or English fluently? Language barrier with be an issue. In Kazakhstan they have Russian speaking staff so that is why we went with that one.

 

A nitpick but you don't pay for "renewal" you pay for the processing fee. There is no guarantee that the visa will be reissued unfortunately. Just have to go to the interview and hope she won't get rejected. 

 

They do not waive the interview.  The only way she can get the interview waived is if she is a resident in a third country and renews as a resident there. She basically has to start from scratch now since the Moscow embassy is down. The only option of interview-free renewal for Russias is if they have residence abroad and apply in that country where they have residence.

 

Example: My SIL has a student visa in Austria. She applied for a B renewal in Vienna because she was able to prove she has residence in Austria. Her B was renewed via mail and she did not have to attend an interview. This option is not open to your MIL unless she has residency in a country outside of Russia.

Edited July 26, 2023 by millefleur

[millefleur 5,045]

Further example: My MIL has an expired B that she got in Russia. She cannot go to Moscow because it's closed and renewals inside of Russia are no longer offered. Her only choice now is to apply essentially from scratch for a new B visa at a consulate/embassy outside of Russia.

 

She lives in Russia and does not have residency in any other countries so this is her only choice. 

[BigRedCat 36]

She speaks Russian, Ukranian and Italian but it looks like Khazakastan might be the best option. Do they take and hold your Russian passport or visa during this process like they did in Moscow? I think that is why Khazakastan is supposed to be the best option since they dont take your documents (I heard something like that but not sure). 

 

So would I look at the US embassy site for Almaty and pay and make an appointment there? How did you get it set up? She can just as easily go to Italy as one of her daughters lives there but seems it might be an easier process in Almaty. 

[millefleur 5,045]

With either Italy or Kazakhstan, she'll be at the whims of whatever appointments are available. Almaty has more because they have Russian speaking staff who are now handling these nonimmigrant visas. So, she could do either, but with Italy she might have to wait longer or login randomly each day to see what appointment comes up. With Almaty, I can tell you we saw the calendar not too long ago and there were appointments in August and November. (Could be even more now since that was a couple weeks ago.)

 

10 minutes ago, BigRedCat said:

Do they take and hold your Russian passport or visa during this process like they did in Moscow? I think that is why Khazakastan is supposed to be the best option since they dont take your documents (I heard something like that but not sure). 

They take the passport for a few days and in Kazakhstan, you can select a pick up service to go get it yourself. I have no idea what Italy is offering but I would assume something similar. 

[BigRedCat 36]

So would I login to the US embassy site as normal and select the Almaty embassy, pay the fee then check for interviews? Thank you for the info, been trying to get this sorted and its been a bit of a nightmare. 

[millefleur 5,045]

Just now, BigRedCat said:

So would I login to the US embassy site as normal and select the Almaty embassy, pay the fee then check for interviews? Thank you for the info, been trying to get this sorted and its been a bit of a nightmare. 

Yes. You need to decide first which embassy/consulate, pay the fee and then you can see the calendar for that specific location. 

 

All the info is on the ustraveldocs site. 

 

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