If not in Russia: 7 countries where you can get a visa in the US
IN SEPTEMBER, A YEAR WITH TEXT OF POR, how to get a US visa turned into a quest for the Russians. Russia, we recall, obliged the United States to reduce the number of employees in diplomatic missions, and the United States, in response, reduced them and the opportunity to obtain a US visa in Russia. Signing up for an interview in any of the Russian consulates - in Moscow, Yekaterinburg or Vladivostok - is almost impossible, visa centers basically report that "there are no places." These events have led to the natural flowering of visa tourism - now Russians are going to the near and far abroad for an interview, trying to combine business with pleasure.
Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and other CIS countries, except Belarus, can help Russians with paperwork (only citizens of the republic can open visas there). As well as the Schengen countries: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Austria and other countries that attracted tourists. We collected several popular routes - and at the same time asked those who tried to apply for a US visa in each of the countries about the details of the trip.
The most budget goes a trip for a visa to Kiev. Direct train from Moscow or a plane with a transfer, cheap accommodation, cheap food. A sufficient basis for the trip for the Ukrainian border guards will be a printed questionnaire and an appointment for an interview. To go through it and get a passport with a visa, you will have to spend about a week in Kiev - at the same time you can consider in detail one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.
In anticipation, you can walk along the Andreevsky descent, which is screwed in with a corkscrew in Podol - the historical district of Kiev. Go to Hagia Sophia, visit the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and look into the caves with relics. Stand in the place where once was the palace of Prince Vladimir, with a heartbreaking view of the Hem. Walk along the Landscape Alley, which repeats the outlines of the defensive walls of the Upper City. Explore national cuisine in "Puzata hut" and other hospitable cafes.
"The mechanics of obtaining a US visa in Kiev is simple," says traveler and photographer Victoria Rogotneva. She was unlucky - at the time when her passport was on a visa at the US consulate in St. Petersburg, it was closed. Victoria received a passport without a visa (although it was approved and it remained only to be glued in) and lost the paid consular fee. “You can pay the consular fee in Ukraine only in cash at the branches of Raiffeisen Bank Aval, which means you have to either look for friends in Kiev who will do it in advance, or contact an intermediary. I applied to the company that signed me up for an interview and paid for I flew to Kiev, spent five days there and spent about eleven thousand rubles together with staying in an apartment in the center, I have a huge history of travel, so the interview was short and I was approved for a three-year visa. t How beautiful and soulful he is! " - says Victoria. At the same time, it is worth monitoring how the rules for obtaining visas in the capital of Ukraine are changing. At some point, the general queue was eliminated and divided into queues for residents and non-residents - with different waiting times for recording for an interview
Tbilisi is another leader in the field of visa tourism. You feel the mood of the city already at the airport at the sight of cordial border guards, and then only more. Khinkali, khachapuri, hvanchkara - in Tbilisi there is something to do while waiting for a visa, and it is relatively budgetary. Half an hour from the city is ancient Mtskheta with temples made of huge boulders. Two hours away - Kakheti and the "city of love" Sighnaghi overlooking the vineyards of the Alazani Valley. Georgia is so good that you can even forget about the purpose for which you came here. But the goal is to get a visa. The trip itself will take a maximum of a week, the passport can be picked up on the third day after the interview.
Personal experience on his Facebook page was described by DJ and journalist Miloslav Chemodanov: “The interview will not be scheduled until you pay one hundred sixty dollars of the consular fee. You can only do this at the Bank of Georgia, and you don’t have any online. And yes, there is no Bank of Georgia in Russia I was lucky that I have friends in Georgia. So, you paid, filled out a huge questionnaire showing different past jobs, relatives and a list of thirty countries that have visited in recent years. You can sign up for an interview! Or you can not then that the system says that there are no free dates. The visa fee will not be returned, and you check every day whether the dates have appeared - there are three weeks in a row. And now the date appears. It’s five months later, it’s time to buy tickets to Tbilisi and find where stay here for a few days while your documents are in production. "
"The visa center is a room with 58 seats, most of which are occupied. The most popular questions are about work and the purpose of the trip. They speak English or Russian or very bad Russian. It seems that the only thing I am not asked about is work. Instead, about what I did in Sri Lanka three years ago. What I plan to do in New York. "Well, you get a visa," the man congratulates. "
Yerevan is not less beautiful than Tbilisi: the bulk of Ararat rises above it, the houses of pink tuff seem to glow from the inside. And here are the Noy and Ararat cognac plants, and their products will brighten up the expectation of a visa. You can fly to Armenia on the internal passport of the Russian Federation, which means that you should not wait for the exit passport with a visa and order its delivery to the courier service.
The environs of Yerevan can turn the head no worse than amber cognac: the mountain monastery Geghard, the ancient temple of Garni, the huge saucer of Lake Sevan - and all this in an hour or two drive from the city. The prices in Yerevan are slightly lower than Tbilisi, the cost of air tickets is similar - so, choosing between Yerevan and Tbilisi, we recommend focusing on the date of recording for the interview. By the way, the availability of places for an interview in Armenia can be checked before paying the consular fee, and this is a huge plus. Another plus of Yerevan - the consular fee can be paid online and not to look for middlemen or friends.
“Everything went quickly, strictly according to time,” said tourist Tatyana Zhdanova. “They received the visa by courier in a few days. We were received very hospitably, we were eventually even glad that these troubles occurred in Russia. We looked at Armenia and met wonderful people , spent money in a country where we were sincerely pleased. "
Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius are also convenient for obtaining a visa to the USA: you can get to each of the capitals by train from Moscow in just one night or fly in a couple of hours. Accommodation can cost from 1800 rubles per day, life itself is relatively economical compared to the rest of Europe. Small medieval cities are wonderful: Tallinn with towers and paving stones, like a toy, and Riga with its modernity, sprats and the Baltic Sea in half an hour's drive, and Vilnius with luxurious churches and charmingly dilapidated facades that can be seen if you take a step to the side from the main streets. Another plus of Tallinn is that the consular fee can be paid online by bank transfer or debit card, and the interview can be done in Russian.
Expert analyst Nikita Pestrov opened a visa in Tallinn: “I compared the cost of the tickets, the next registration dates for the interview, the waiting time for the visa to be prepared and chose Estonia. The interview took place on Thursday, with a small margin. I spent the trip 40 thousand rubles, this amount included everything except accommodation: the consular fee, and the Schengen visa, and tickets. True, instead of the hotel, I stayed with friends. " However, as in the case of Kiev, in Tallinn you should follow the changing rules: this year the local visa center canceled the entry for non-residents and did not record the Russians all summer.
Warsaw is not the most common tourist route, but it is conveniently located, the cost of a guesthouse or apartment starts from 2 thousand rubles per room, and you can catch air tickets for 10 thousand rubles. Consular fees can be paid by card online. Places in the queue for the nearest dates are mainly for residents - but people in an adventurous warehouse are at risk of pretending to be them. Old Warsaw was ideally restored after the war, and one can only admire the work of architects and restorers who recreated the city from memory, from photographs and even drawings of Canaletto of the 18th century. Waiting for a visa is easy to turn into a small adventure, having traveled to Krakow or to Torun.
Unfortunately, stories about getting a visa are not always with a happy ending. Failures also occur if, for example, the visa officer finds that the applicant does not have sufficient connections with his homeland and he looks like a potential immigrant. There are administrative checks when the visa officer requests additional documents.
“My husband and I were interviewed in Warsaw, but were subject to administrative verification,” says Anna Pelevina. “I think that the visa officer did not like the fact that we worked in the Gazprom structure, which also did work for Rosneft (the officer googled our website) As a result, we were given a list of documents that we have to send by mail. The documents have been sent, there is no answer yet. "
Photo: Jorge Franganillo / flickr, Wikipedia (1, 2), Wikimedia (1, 2, 3)