Needing Visas for Russia

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1006.html

The Russian embassy's Web site states that they no longer accept visa applications by mail, but they do recommend (and name) several independent agencies that will work with you remotely and represent you at the consulate. I'm sure there are other companies, too.

For my work, I've had to coordinate the visa applications for 10-25 people on several trips to Russia, and I've taken the applications myself to the consulate here in Washington. They can be very nit-picky and reject applications for the smallest irregularities. The reps from the professional companies, however, come right into the consulate with boxes full of applications and are greeted with smiling faces and go to the front of the line.

My advice is if you have any worries about the process or if you can't get to one of the regional Russian consulates around the USA, paying one of these agencies to do the work for you may not be a bad idea. Although I haven't used one myself and so won't recommend a specific agent, my experience watching them at the consulate indicates that they seem to know their business pretty well. Enjoy your trip to Russia!

The New York consulate does accept visa applications by mail. At least they did last summer when I applied for my visa. My understanding is that only the Russian Embassy in Washington DC does not accept applications by mail. However, please note that the various Russian Consulates in the US have jurisdiction over different regions of the country. Florida is served by the Consular Division of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington, D.C. I live in Massachusetts, which is served by the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in New York. It is my understanding that someone from Florida cannot mail a visa aplication to the Russian Consulate in NY. I am not sure if the consular division in DC accepts applications by mail. They list three phone numbers so giving them a call to confirm may be a good idea. (202) 939-8907, (202) 939-8913, (202)939-8918.

I have always used Zierer as a visa service. In fact I used them for Russia some 12 years ago and have used them many times since. Their website is also a handy source for info.

Well we just finished up wih this process and have 3 Russion Visas for our trip next week. It was absolutely frustrating and expensive, and for this reason I will see as much as I can on this trip because I will never visit Russia again unless the VISA process changes significantly.

Dealing with the consulate in Washington DC is a waste of time. They don't answer phone calls - ever. Actually I think they mistakenly DID answer one of my phone calls, then they put me on eternal hold and never returned.

You must show up in person which is real convenient for those of us who live elsewhere and HAVE A JOB! Those stupid applications ask for every detail under the sun from 50 years ago. The whole process is designed to funnel business into the VISA processing Agencies which I would not find surprising if they were family members and friends of the Russians.

$900 later I do have 3 Visas and am all set to go. Oh, and if you want to stay in the city center of Moscow while visiting - that will cost you your OTHER arm and leg.

Don't get me wrong I'm excited to see this beautiful country...but it will be the last time.

Tim's experience highlights why Matt's suggestions is probably best. If there's one thing you can say about the Russian government's attitude towards visas, it would be this: fickle! Things change all the time for opaque byzantine reasons, so best to get assistance from the professionals, rather than from some anonymous poster who did a Google search and probably can't even transliterate Cyrillic, much less understand Russian. Doing the visa process by myself, I've had mixed results. Having a company arrange it- no issues.

From my experience with the Russian consulate, yes, they are not a friendly or flexible bunch, even to their citizens. I still have some unhappy memories of having to hand write a declaration 3 times because of one omission on the typed one I had brought in. But hey, maybe they're just bitter because of all the hoops our people have to jump through to travel!

I'm developing a stress ulcer because of the UK Border Agency at the moment. It's useless to try contacting them about anything regarding a visa. They direct you to their WorldBridge service, which means you can spend $12/call or wait 2 weeks for an e-mail response which will be nothing more than a cut-and-paste job from their website FAQ, which I clearly have already read since I'm bothering to contact them. Just a tad frustrating to have no way to verify information before I spend over $100 and send them my passport! And don't forget missing work to go get fingerprinted![/end rant]

So far, the only friendly-ish and helpful consular employees I have encountered have been the Germans.