Russians will no longer be able to apply at any US diplomatic mission to obtain an American visa, according to new State Department rules introduced on Sept. 6.
The US Embassy in Moscow has not issued non-immigrant visas since May 12, 2021, after the Kremlin banned the mission from hiring both local and foreign staff, which led to a 75% staff reduction.
About 200 Russian employees were dismissed as a result, according to the State Department.
Now, Russians can only submit applications in Astana (Kazakhstan) or Warsaw (Poland). The rules apply to non-immigrant visas such as tourist and student visas. However, already scheduled interviews remain valid.
Under the new regime, applicants are strictly limited to undertaking interviews in their country of citizenship or permanent residence. Since applications have not been accepted in Russia since spring 2021, Russians previously turned to US consulates abroad. The new regulations tie citizens of Russia and 16 other countries to specific diplomatic missions.
Russians with residency in another country can apply there, while others may turn to different consulates only in exceptional cases, such as humanitarian, medical, or political emergencies.
It is unclear whether Russians will actually be able to apply in Poland, which in 2023 restricted entry for nearly all Russian citizens, where entry is prohibited even with Schengen visas issued in other EU countries.
Poland has also banned the entry of passenger cars with Russian license plates, regardless of the driver’s citizenship or purpose of travel.
Before the restrictions, the US Embassy in Russia issued about 200,000 visas annually, according to Russian media. At its peak, the mission employed over 1,200 staff, with consulates operating in Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, and St. Petersburg, until they were closed following Kremlin-ordered staff cuts.
In late August 2022, both the US and EU made clear that they opposed the idea of denying all Russians visas to travel abroad.
Earlier that month, President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Washington Post: “The most important sanctions are to close the borders - because the Russians are taking away someone else’s land.”
But Washington and Brussels firmly rejected that approach. The US stressed that critical refugee pathways must remain open for dissidents and victims of human rights abuses.
“The US wouldn’t want to close off pathways to refuge and safety for Russia’s dissidents or others who are vulnerable to human rights abuses,” a State Department spokesperson said.
“We’ve also been clear that it is important to draw a line between the actions of the Russian government and its policies in Ukraine, and the people of Russia,” the spokesperson added.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also weighed in: “To forbid the entrance to all Russians is not a good idea.”
German Chancellor back then Olaf Scholz echoed that sentiment, saying that Russians should be free to leave their country if they disagree with the government.