US Citizens: Get your Russia Student visa with the TDS San Francisco Office

Please send TDS your current valid and SIGNED passport. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the expiration of the visa you are applying for, and MUST have at least TWO blank pages that are listed as VISA pages. Foreign Embassies cannot issue a visa on a page not labeled as a Visa page. Amendment and Endorsement pages in the back of the passport cannot be used for issuance of a visa.
A visa cannot be stamped on a page even if only one Small Stamp is on the visa page. If you do not have Two blank visa pages in your passport, TDS can assist you in applying for additional pages. If your passport is NOT valid for at least 6 months beyond of the expiration date of your visa, you must renew your passport and then we will secure your visa with the new passport. If travel Document Systems assists you in applying for a New, Renewal or Second Limited passport as part of this order, the passport will need to be returned to you for a signature before your visa application can be processed. Extra FedEx fees will apply in this case.

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

The photo must not be smaller than 1 3/4" x 1 3/4". The photo must have a white or gray background only

Please send a copy of your round trip airline tickets, or itinerary or e-ticket, or letter of confirmation from a travel agent. The itinerary must show the applicant's name, date of arrival and departure from the country, and flight information. The Embassy does not recommend purchasing your ticket prior to a visa being issued.

Effective August 17th 2015: The Russian Government has began a Pilot E-Invitation Program, using the E-Invitation Program means the original invitation will not be required and your invitation will be sent to you via email. TDS recommends requesting your invitation using the E-Invitation method. Below is a sample of the old original invitation (Sample One) and the new E - Invitation (Sample Two).

Original Invitation: Sample One

E - Invitation: Sample Two

Applicant must submit an ORIGINAL official letter of invitation.

Issued through the school or university by the Educational Ministry of the Russian Government.

Or by the company of which you will be employed by the Russian Labor of the Foreign Ministry.

The letter of invitation must bear an official signed seal of the authorized Russian foreign agency/government.

Your visa will be issued according to the dates specified on your letter of invitation.

A HIV test result issued within 3 months of the date of application showing that you have tested negative is required. This may be a copy of either the actual lab results or a written letter (on letter head) from the doctor explaining that you have been tested, letter lab results or letter must include contact information for the lab/doctor.

HIV test must be conducted via a blood sample an oral test will not be accepted, your test result must clearly state the test was conducted by a Blood Sample. Test results must be on letterhead contain the name, address and phone number of the hospital, laboratory or clinic where the test was taken and must be signed by the doctor.

Any minor traveling to Russia must have a letter of consent signed by both of the child's parents or legal guardians. If the minor is traveling with a parent or guardian who is not applying for a visa at the same time a copy of the parent or guardian's Russian visa or certificate of Russian citizenship must be submitted along with the minor's application.

When applying for a visa it is necessary to provide documentation that you no longer possess Russian Citizenship, such as:

Copy of USSR passport with a stamp stating you left for permanent residence abroad, dated prior to February 6th 1992.

Copy of a Visa to Israel issued prior to February 6th 1992.

Copy of a Certificate of Naturalization issued prior to 1996

Document confirming the renunciation of your Russian citizenship.

Copy of the main pages of a passport of a former USSR state, issued after February 1992.

Written statement of explanation in the case that you have no documentation.

In accordance with Russian law, visas can not be issued to Russian citizens with expired passports. We remind you that in accordance to Article 12 of Russian law "On citizenship of the Russian Federation", children born to two parents who are Russian citizens automatically gain Russian citizenship regardless of the place of birth. In this case visas are not issued and they must apply for Russian citizenship or have their information written into the passport of one of their parents or obtain a Russian passport.

If you were born in a state of the former Soviet Republic or Ukraine you must supply a copy of your Soviet or Ukrainian passport along with a letter stating when you immigrated to the US.

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 along with 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 "ILS WASHINGTON", "ILS NEW YORK", ILS SAN FRANCISCO", or "ILS HOUSTON" depending on which Travel Document Systems location will process your visa. If you select the city without "ILS" the application will not be accepted.

 Q. 27. The Russian consulate requires at least one previous employer be listed. If you have NO previous employment history your current employment should be entered for both questions 27. and 40.

If Retired, Question 40 should reflect "Currently Retired". Question 27. must reflect your previous employer.
If Homemaker, Question 40 should reflect "Homemaker" present address and phone number included. The same information should be entered in Question 27.