Embassy of Russian Federation — Local services in Washington

While they are horrible at picking up the phone, I found the actual application process to be on par with most other embassies that I had to deal with (namely, American, French, German). I have applied for 3 passports and 3 visas at this Embassy. Visa process was completely painless: you can get an appointment reasonably fast, there was literally no line when we got there at our appointed time, the entire application took only a few minutes, the turnaround time is just a couple of days, if I remember correctly, and everyone was polite and efficient. I see no reason at all to go through a third party if you can make it there yourself - it's really neither a big hassle nor a complicated process. Passport process is more cumbersome, since appointments have to be made as far as 3 months ahead of time, and the processing takes also up to 3 months, so I recommend starting the process a full half year before the travel date. There are usually also more applicants, and, therefore, more of a wait, even when you have a set time for your appointment. But still, if your paperwork is done well, it's quick and painless once you get to the window, although not quite as friendly as the visa...

Dear Russian Embassy in USA,

We (Myself and my two sons, one is a lawyer and one is a student in law school) were in Russia, June 14-June 24 and watched 4 world cup games (3 in St. Petersburgh and one in Moscow). While the services within FIFA events were excellent, the services elsewhere were horrible. We were very disappointed in Russian poor customer service every where else, in Hotels, in Restaurants, in train stations, in other transportation methods (taxi, metro, bus,…etc.). why are Russian so rude and aggressive?. And why organize world cup when your people can not speak any language except Russian?. Why all signs are only in Russian?. How do you think tourist will manage when nobody speaks English and all signs are in the strange Russian alphabet and on top of that people are rude and unfriendly and not willing to help. Also why the police is so rude and unhelpful?. Why close roads with no prior announcement and change routes to stadium in last minutes and tourists end up have to walk a long time, sometimes in tortious rain, to reach stadiums…..

My sons and I were looking for a care-free soccer vacation and we were happy to spend generously but were quite disappointed...

Too lengthy and too inconvenient of a process to get a Visa as a person living permanently in United States but still considered to be a Russian Citizen. You have to submit heaps of documents which are not easy to obtain and cost money, effort, and time to obtain, then you have to show up in person to file and to receive your passport. You also have to register for a the waiting list to do business with the embassy beforehand. Good luck making all that happen when you live in Michigan and embassy is in Washington DC and you work for a living and can't just take days off when being on a tight deadline with your travel plans. Doing bussiness via Power of Attorney is not provided. The whole process takes probably close to a year in best case - verify citizenship - 1 month, apply for passport - 3 month, If you want a Visa, you need to denounce your Russian citizenship and then apply for a visa. There are no rush options, an no other way to do it. ...