The United States has informed the Government of the Russian Federation that operations at the U.S. Consulate General in Yekaterinburg will remain open instead of being suspended, as had been previously announced in December 2020. However, the consulate will cease offering visa and American Citizen Services because of the severe limitations on the number of Russian visas for U.S. diplomatic personnel. This decision was made following a lengthy review of the safety and security of the U.S. diplomatic mission and our personnel in the Russian Federation.
We value our deep connection with the people of the Urals and Western Siberia. People-to-people ties are the bedrock of our diplomacy, and we will continue to work toward bringing our citizens even closer. Thank you especially to all of our participants in our online programs during the pandemic. We gain so much from listening to your perspective.
Our diplomatic relations with Russia date back more than two hundred years, and we are proud of the twenty seven years we have worked together with the people of the Urals and Western Siberia from our consulate here in Yekaterinburg. We will continue representing the United States in Russia as we implement President Biden’s foreign policy agenda, which includes advocacy for U.S. business interests, strengthening global health security, and advocating for universal human rights.
As we implement this change, we understand that there will be concern among U.S. citizens, as well as visa applicants from Russia and other countries, about consular services. Effective April 1, Embassy Moscow’s consular district will be expanded to include all of Russia. The embassy will provide services to U.S. citizens in the Russian Federation. The embassy will also provide visa services as efficiently and expeditiously as possible, given staffing constraints.
We look forward to the day when the Russian government provides sufficient diplomatic visas for U.S. Consulate General Yekaterinburg to resume full operations.
Further information is available on our website, which we will continue to update as new information becomes available.
