Client Payment Portal

State Dept. Announces F/M/J Nonimmigrant Visa Processing Posts Outside of Moscow for Applicants Resident in Russia

Feb 4, 2022 | Consular Services & Travel, Global, Individual Services

The Department of State (DOS) announced on January 21, 2022, that due to “severely limited consular operations in Moscow,” DOS has designated multiple posts for processing certain nonimmigrant visa applications from persons resident in Russia. Russia-based student visa applicants (F and M categories), academic exchange J visitors (student, professor, research scholar, short-term scholar, and specialist J visa categories), and participants in U.S. government-funded exchange visitor programs may apply at Mission Kazakhstan and the U.S. embassies in Belgrade and Yerevan.

DOS encourages applicants to check each post’s website for the latest information on services and appointment availability at that specific post.

The agency noted that this designation does not prevent Russia-based F, M, and J applicants from applying at other posts where they are physically present. This designation also does not exempt travelers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) requirement that all air travelers to the United States be vaccinated against COVID-19 with a World Health Organization emergency use-listed vaccine, DOS said.

Details:

Related Posts:

Obtaining a Visa from an Embassy or Consulate During COVID

Although COVID-related restrictions have begun to ease in parts of the U.S. and other parts of the world, countless foreign nationals are still running up against travel restrictions and U.S. consular shutdowns and delays that are frustrating travel plans and preventing many from entering the U.S. for work or to reunite with family. Many embassies and consulates remain closed for routine visa services, while others are operating only on a very limited basis. This has stranded many people outside the U.S. unable to obtain timely appointments to apply for visas. Others are stuck in the U.S. unable to travel abroad because they may not be able to obtain a visa in order to return. How to Schedule Visa Appointments The State Department maintains a website that lists visa appointment wait times, and individual embassy websites have updates and information regarding their current level of operations. However, the only way to determine with accuracy when an appointment is available at an embassy or consulate is to pay the required visa fee and schedule an appointment on the embassy’s appointment website. Foreign nationals who are unable to schedule visa appointments in their home country or the country where they are currently present […]

Read More

White House: All Foreign Nationals Flying to the U.S. Required to be Vaccinated – Some Regional COVID Travel Bans to be Waived

The White House announced on September 20, 2021, that all foreign nationals will be required to show proof of full COVID vaccination to board a flight to the United States. Some exceptions may apply to children, COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial participants, and individuals traveling for important reasons who lack access to a vaccine in a timely manner. The CDC will provide details on which vaccines will be accepted. The new vaccine requirement will be in addition to existing COVID test requirements for air travelers, which require a negative COVID test taken within 3 days prior to traveling, or documentation of recent COVID recovery. This requirement will coincide with cessation of the regional COVID air travel bans currently in place for the countries of Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, or the United Kingdom. For those areas, this policy is a shift from imposing restrictions on specific regions towards focusing on the individual. However, current travel bans for all “non-essential” land travel from Canada and Mexico have been extended to October 21, 2021. Hopefully, the US will be able to adopt similar policies at our northern and southern borders soon. Important to note – foreign nationals who […]

Read More