Business Visas
(Effective April 15, 1999)

To obtain a business visa the following documents should be submitted to the Consulate:
 

1.	A completed visa application form (one per person) available at the Consulate or from the Travel Agencies and Visa Services.
2.	A copy of the pages of the passport thatcontain personal data of the bearer, or any other valid travel document which contains the personal date of the bearer.  However, we reserve the right to request the original passport.  Diplomatic passport holders should submit both copies of the passport as well as the original passport.
3.	Three professional identical passport size pictures of the applicant. Diplomatic passport holders going on official trip should submit only one picture. Pictures can be black-and-white or color, preferably on a matte paper.
4.	A letter of invitation.  from the Russian Foreign Ministry, its regional representatives, Ministry of Interior or its local offices, or any other authorized Russian Agency.  The letter must contain: official seal and legal address of the agency, document registration number, date of registration, signature and name of official authorized to invite foreigners to Russia, travel itinerary, dates of stay, names of persons invited.  The Embassy reserves the right to request original letter of invitation.
5.	A cover letter from your company or from yourself if you are traveling individually, with information about the traveler, destinations, terms and purpose of visit.
6.	If you apply by mail, you should enclose a completely-addressed stamped return envelope or prepaid waybill, bearing your postal account number and showing yourself as both the shipper and recipient regardless of delivery address.  We do not accept waybills marked "bill sender", "bill third party", "bill credit card", or "C.O.D".  If you fail to follow the above mentioned requirements, your visa application will not be processed.  If the papers are not acceptable for any reason or some documents are missing, we will return them by regular mail.  When forwarding documents to us, please specify "Attention: Visa Section".We do not acceptdocuments forinternational delivery.  If you apply personally or through a travel agency or visa service, you or your representative should get a pick-up slip from the visa officer. You should present this slip to pick up your visa, when it is ready, or refer to the number of the slip to find out the status of the application.  Please note we do not accept visa documents delivered to the consulate by courier services
7.	A Postal Money Order or a cashier's check payable to the Russian Embassy, for visa processing. Please note that we do not accept cash or any other checks or personal money orders. Charge for bounced checks is $20.00.  The visa processing fees are: $70.00 for not less than two-week processing $80.00 for not less than one-week processing $110.00 for not less than three working days processing $150.00 for next business day processing. $300 for same day processing Fees for Multiple Entry Visas are: $200.00 for not less than three business days processing  $350 for next business day processing $450.00 for same day processing. Additional charge for double-entry visas is $50.00. Please note, that drop-off day is not counted as a business day. Next-day and Same-day processing is available only if our volume of work permits. If you apply for a visa valid for more than three months, you must submit HIV Test (AIDS) Certificate. If you apply by mail please allow one more day for processing. Visa processing starts only after we have collected all necessary documents. Visa Processing Fees are Not Refundable

Please follow a specific pattern when submitting your papers. The copy of the passport page should be trimmed to the size of the original and stapled to the upper left-hand corner of application form. Two pictures should be stapled to the copy of the passport page and one to the marked space in the upper right-hand corner of the application form.

Paperwork submitted in a different manner will not be accepted.

After you receive your visa please check it for mistakes (passport number, date of birth, term of validity) and, if necessary, return it to the Consulate for corrections. The Consulate will not be responsible for any mistakes in the visas, which were not brought to its attention prior to departure from the USA. If you wish to extend your visa, you should get a new invitation from the same organization that issued the previous invitation and submit it with the visa to the Consulate. We charge $40 for visa extension and correction of each mistake which we are not responsible for.

Processing time, requirements and fees are subject to change without notice.

If you need more information please call us at (202) 939-8913, 8918 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. till 12:30 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. till 6 p.m. Visa section is open for visitors Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. till 12:30 p.m. only.   Visa documents are accepted until 12:15 p.m. only

Additional assistance with Russian visas can be provided through the Washington, DC-based visa agency Travel Document Systems, Inc.at 1-800-874-5100 (in Washington, DC 202-638-3800).