United States embassy in Russia stated on Monday that all nonimmigrant visa (NIV) issues will be halted for Russian citizens due to an imposed personnel cap of the American mission in the country, according to an official statement. The embassy said the suspension of such visa operations will come into force on August 23 this year.
The US diplomatic mission also noted that the visa issue will be greatly reduced and delayed while the NIV interviews will only be conducted at the US Moscow embassy from September 1. Consulates in St Petersburg, Vladivostok and Ekaterinburg will be suspended "until further notice." The restrictions will remain in place for as long as the US mission in Russia remains understaffed. "We will operate at reduced capacity for as long as our staffing levels are reduced," the statement said.
Earlier in July, Russian Foreign Ministry proposed to cut the members of the US diplomatic mission in Russia to the exact number of members working in the Russian diplomatic mission in the US as of September 1.
