How long b/w interview and receiving visa in Moscow?

[yuliya 0]

I wonder how long it usually takes to receive the visa after an interview assuming all documents are in a good shape?

Is it possible to ask to ship the visa to an address (or pick it up) in Moscow than to my local location because I plan to stay in Moscow after the interview?

I thought to buy plane tickets in advance for about a WEEK after the interview (to save money). I think of moving to Moscow about a month before the interview for medical, interview, getting visa and flying to the USA as soon as possible.

[ONA 133]

It should be possible to pick up the visa in Moscow...

It usually takes from 2-3 to 7 days anyway...

You should always remember that buying tickets before the interview might result not in saving money, but in losing money. You never know the interview result - there might be some documents missing, or you can get stuck in AP. I always say that you only should make plans like that in advance if you're ready to spend MORE money, than you originally planned.

[james&olya 1,121]

It should be possible to pick up the visa in Moscow...

It usually takes from 2-3 to 7 days anyway...

You should always remember that buying tickets before the interview might result not in saving money, but in losing money. You never know the interview result - there might be some documents missing, or you can get stuck in AP. I always say that you only should make plans like that in advance if you're ready to spend MORE money, than you originally planned.

It depends on how you look at it. In my case I wanted my fiancee and her kids here ASAP. The significantly lower ticket price by buying well in advance, divided by the risk of not getting the visa as soon as expected, still figured out to be a wise 'gamble' compared to paying a much higher price to get tickets once the visa was in hand. And, in my case at least, it all worked out great! She had the visa only 4 or 5 days after the interview and that was in a city hundreds of miles from Moscow.

[ONA 133]

It depends on how you look at it. In my case I wanted my fiancee and her kids here ASAP. The significantly lower ticket price by buying well in advance, divided by the risk of not getting the visa as soon as expected, still figured out to be a wise 'gamble' compared to paying a much higher price to get tickets once the visa was in hand. And, in my case at least, it all worked out great! She had the visa only 4 or 5 days after the interview and that was in a city hundreds of miles from Moscow.

The delivery itself doesn't take that long - usually 1 day only, even if they have to deliver it to Vladivostok, but it takes them a while to print the visa. I had my interview on July 28, my visa was printed on Aug. 2 and was delivered to me on Aug. 3. As soon as I got the visa, I got my ticket - I flew to the States on Aug. 9 and the ticket cost wasn't that much - it was about $900 - a pretty decent price for the summertime.

[sofya 10]

There is one way you can gamble and walk off relatively fine even if your visa is not done in time. If you can fly to the U.S. using Aeroflot or Transaero, the maximum cancellation or flight change fee you are facing is ONLY 900 rubles or 25 Euros for flights originating in Russia - this is by Russian law. This will work best if you're flying direct Moscow to some final destination in the States, like DC or NY or Miami or Chicago, just look it up. This will not work on connecting flights, unless there is an airline partnership agreement. In this case you'll have to buy all connecting segments through a Russian carrier and not separately.

So, you essentially can by a ticket now for a good price and exchange it/cancel it up to 24 hours in advance for full refund minus 900 rubles. When you are trying to save $200-400 on a one-way ticket through an advance purchase, a risk cost of 900 rubles ($30) is so worth it.

One caveat: to cancel/exchange ticket you have to physically go to the airline office. But if you are in Moscow during that time, it won't be difficult for you.

On another note, I bought my Aeroflot ticket 3 weeks in advance for a decent price, but when I got my visa (4 days before departure date) the tickets were still available for the same price. So I didn't really win anything, just saved myself some worrying time.