Translated material
To America via the Internet
The visa application will have to be filled out on the State Department website
Starting October 25, the US Embassy in Moscow and the US Consulate General in Vladivostok will require electronic applications for non-immigrant visas, and only in English. The previous handwritten application format using a choice of Russian or English is abolished. The US Embassy in Russia reported this yesterday. It referred to the relevant State Department circular and noted that the purpose of the innovation is to “standardize, secure and streamline the visa application process.”Let us remind you that non-immigrant visas are intended for citizens wishing to make a short-term trip to the United States, the purpose of which is tourism, medical treatment, scientific, cultural and other exchange, study, temporary work, journalistic and religious activities. When applying for a US fiancé or fiancé visa, you will also be required to use the Electronic Nonimmigrant Visa Application.
Applicants in the consular districts assigned to the other two US diplomatic missions in Russia, the Consulates General in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, will be able to use both the old and new formats simultaneously for some time. “This is due to purely technical reasons; there is no discrimination against Muscovites or residents of the Russian Far East and Primorye. The electronic application will be the only one for everyone, but later,” the press service of the US Embassy explained to Vremya Novostey.
The electronic form is filled out directly on the State Department website at http://evisaforms.state.gov. Since there is no electronic version of the form in Russian, yesterday a Russian translation of the application form appeared on the website of the US Embassy in Moscow at http://usembassy.ru. This will to some extent make life easier for those who are planning to visit the USA. The form filled out on the State Department website must then be printed out. The paper will contain not only the information entered, but also a barcode on the last page, which, according to the State Department, “will help speed up the processing of the application.” The State Department website also contains a request not to fold the paper printout of the electronic questionnaire.
The US Embassy said in a press release that the new electronic requirements "will not impact the application process through Pony Express." The press service of the embassy explained to Vremya Novostey that “this commercial structure, which has an agreement with the diplomatic mission, speeds up the process of drawing up and passing documents.” The company itself told the Vremya Novostey correspondent that they do not yet have a tariff for preparing and translating an electronic application in English. The price of standard services, including consular fees and home delivery of documents, is 3.5 thousand rubles.