On July 28, 1912, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed the long-awaited law to ease the visa regime between Russia and the United States. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) promises that the registration of permits to enter America will be simplified as early as September 9. If the agreement comes into force, a Russian will need no more than 15 days to obtain a visa to another continent.
Five years ago, it was quite difficult for an ordinary Russian citizen to get a visa to America, but already in 2011 the United States took some measures to simplify bureaucratic formalities. Representatives of the Russian Federation and the United States began to discuss the problem of the visa regime between the countries in May 2011. This was reported by the RBC news agency.
Since the end of the summer of 2011, a Russian can already fill out a visa application form on the Internet, as well as make an online appointment at the American Consulate for an interview before crossing the border. On March 9, 1912, the American diplomatic mission began to issue permits without an interview at all. True, this only applies to tourists who have recently been to the United States (the validity of the old visa must be completed no earlier than the past 47 months)
As political analysts write, the work on the visa facilitation treaty turned out to be quite difficult for the United States. However, an agreement was reached. US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul noted in an interview with RIA Novosti that the softening of the bureaucratic system is of particular interest to US businessmen.
The new regime provides for the issuance of multiple-entry visas to Russians and Americans. They will have a period of up to six months from the date of each border crossing and remain valid for 36 months. The Russian Federation is going to issue a variety of visas based on direct invitations from the host country: business, humanitarian, private and tourist. America, in turn, is ready to provide only tourist permits of category B1 / B2.
All applications for a visa to America after September 9, 2012 must be processed within a maximum of 15 calendar days from the start of document processing. Until the new law comes into force, the bureaucratic process may drag on for 2 months; The current regime allows a Russian citizen to obtain a multiple-entry tourist visa for only 12 or 24 months.
