Non-immigrant visas will not be issued in Russia for 9 days by the US

Non-immigrant visas will not be issued in Russia by the US for nine days and after this, the visa operations will be reduced, said Moscow’s US Embassy. It has also added that the reason for this is the cap imposed by the Government of Russia on the staff levels of the US Embassy in Moscow. The press release of the US Embassy said that Non-immigrant visas will not be issued in Russia by the US till September 1, 2017. Also, the visa operations at the US Consulates will remain suspended for an indefinite period of time. The statement further added that all the appointments scheduled for the visa applicants will be canceled, as quoted by the New Indian Express. In July Russia had reduced the staff strength at US Embassy in Russia by 755 workers to just 455. This is the same number of staff at the Moscow Embassy in the US. This was in reaction to the fresh sanctions passed by the US Congress. The statement of the US Embassy said that the decision by Russia to reduce the staff at US Embassy raises questions regarding its seriousness for better relations. The US has three consulates in Russia at Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg and Saint Petersburg. Now the travelers to the US in Russia will have to go to Moscow for visa application process. Along with stopping issuance of Non-immigrant visas, US will also cease to issue visas to Belarus citizens. They will now have to redirect themselves to Vilnius, Warsaw, and Kiev. US Embassy said that the ability to conduct visa interviews will be severely decreased owing to decrease in the staffing as per the requirement of the government of Russia. If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to the US, contact Y-Axis, the world’s most trusted Immigration & Visa Consultant.