US Citizens: Get your Russia Official or Diplomatic visa with the TDS Washington DC Office

Please send TDS your current valid and signed passport. It must not expire within 6 months of your departure from Russia and must have at least Two blank visa pages. If your passport expires within 6 months of your departure from Russia, you must renew your passport and then we will secure your visa with the new passport.

Please send 1 recent professional passport-type photograph.
The photograph must have been taken within the last six months.
Digital and non-passport photographs are not acceptable.
Passport Photo Guide - Click Here

Please do not attach the Photo to the visa application, TDS will do this for you.

Official Letter of Support from the US Department of State.

An official letter of invitation from your hosting organization registered with the Russian Ministry of the Interior.
A scan or legible copy of your official letter of invitation is required. Please note that the Embassy reserves the right to request the original invitation at any point of your visa processing time.

Completed Cover Letter form (This form prints in ADOBE PDF format, on TDS letterhead and addressed to the "Embassy of the Russian Federation).

Complete and Sign One Online Application Form.

Please Note: The application must be printed on TWO sheets of paper, the Embassy/Consulate will NOT except applications on a single sheet printed back to back.

The online Russian Application functions only with Internet Explorer Versions 7.0 and above and Mozilla Firefox Versions 3.6 and above. Browsers such as Chrome and Safari are not compatible with the online Russian Application.

As part of the visa application process you will be asked to create a Application ID and answer a Security Question, you MUST save the Application ID and Security Question as you will need it should you need to access your application again online to make any changes or corrections your online visa application.

Please print and send the Application ID and Security Question Answer and your completed and signed Russian visa application to Travel Document Systems.

 Common Errors to Avoid

The very first question on the electronic application site asks “Country (select the country where you will be applying for your visa)”. Be sure that you select “UNITED STATES" from the dropdown menu.

At the end of the online Russian visa application, you will be asked to select the visa issuing office. You MUST select "Russia Visa Center WASHINGTON", "Russia Visa Center NEW YORK", or "Russia Visa Center HOUSTON" depending on which Travel Document Systems location will process your visa.

If you select the city without "Russia Visa Center" the application will not be accepted.

For a guide to completing the Russian Application please Click Here