US to halt nonimmigrant visa issuance in Russia Wed–Sep 1

MOSCOW, Aug 21 (PRIME) -- The U.S. will suspend issuance of nonimmigrant visas in the whole of Russia from Wednesday and will resume the issuance only in Moscow on September 1 due to staff reduction, the embassy in Moscow said in a statement on Monday.

“Due to the Russian government-imposed cap on U.S. diplomatic personnel in Russia, all nonimmigrant visa operations across Russia will be suspended on August 23. Operations will resume in Moscow on September 1; visa operations at the U.S. consulates will remain suspended indefinitely,” the embassy said.

The U.S. approved extension of the sanctions against Russia in July. The Russian Foreign Ministry retaliated by ordering the U.S. embassy to cut the number of its diplomats to 455 until September 1 to make their number even with one of the Russian diplomats in the U.S.

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