Moscow: the O-1 / EB-1 talent-visa interview
US mission, Moscow
The US Embassy in Moscow currently does NOT provide most visa services, so applicants from Russia apply as third-country nationals (TCN) at other posts - most often Warsaw, Almaty, Astana, Belgrade, Yerevan. This is the key reason those posts are discussed so heavily.
Moscow: appointments and visas issued, State Department data
- Issued, Mar 2025 - Feb 2026
- O-1 - 3 (1); B1/B2 - 295 (301); EB-1 - 0 (0); EB-2 - 0 (0); all immigrant - 4 (20). In brackets: the 12 months before (Mar 2024 - Feb 2025).
- Immigrant visas (EB-1, EB-2, family)
- The State Department moved Russia’s visas elsewhere: immigrant to Warsaw (IR-5 also Almaty and Tashkent), nonimmigrant to Warsaw and Astana.
Sources, travel.state.gov: nonimmigrant issuances, immigrant issuances by post (latest published month: Feb 2026), immigrant-visa posts, nonimmigrant-visa posts. All read on Oct 11, 2026; month-by-month tables below.
Prepare for the interviewHow the O-1 and EB-1 consular process works
What the community reports
The community is unanimous: plan the interview in a third country, not Moscow. Which post to choose depends on slot availability and travel convenience. This is member experience; verify policy on travel.state.gov.
This is community-chat experience, not official data. Verify booking availability and post status on travel.state.gov and ustraveldocs.com.
This embassy's official visas page: ru.usembassy.gov/visas/ - interview booking follows your own post's instructions.
Procedures that are the same at every post (CEAC statuses, the passport during the check, officers’ manner): the consulates reference.
Official State Department numbers for this post
Next available interview appointment, by table update
| Table of | B1/B2 | F, M, J | H, L, O, P, Q |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2026* | NA | NA | NA |
| Apr 15, 2026* | NA | NA | NA |
| Mar 27, 2026* | NA | NA | NA |
| Jan 14, 2026* | NA | NA | NA |
| Dec 12, 2025* | NA | NA | NA |
| Nov 20, 2025* | NA | NA | NA |
| Oct 22, 2025* | NA | NA | NA |
| Sep 17, 2025* | NA | NA | NA |
| Aug 18, 2025* | NA | NA | NA |
| May 25, 2025* | NA | NA | NA |
| Apr 25, 2025* | NA | NA | NA |
| Jan 7, 2025* | NA | NA | NA |
| Dec 31, 2024* | NA | NA | NA |
Source: Global Visa Wait Times (travel.state.gov), "next available appointment" as printed at each monthly update; until mid-2025 the table gave calendar days, later months. * - read from a Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) copy of the same page. We re-read the table every month; next check about Oct 20, 2026.
Mar 2025 - Feb 2026: the post issued 1,951 nonimmigrant and 4 immigrant visas.
| Month | Total | B1/B2 | F-1 | J-1 | H-1B | L-1 | O-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | 60 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 103 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | 137 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | 67 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 2025 | 82 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 323 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Aug 2025 | 563 | 26 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 2025 | 97 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2025 | 137 | 26 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2025 | 81 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2025 | 186 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 115 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Month | Total | Family | EB-1 | EB-2 | EB-3 | DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Columns: the main classes; "Total" includes all others (dependants, crew, diplomatic and other classes). Immigrant: Family = IR, CR and F categories, EB-1/2/3 = employment preferences (EB-3 incl. EW), DV = diversity lottery. Each month links to its State Department report (Excel). Sources: Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuance Statistics, Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuance Statistics (travel.state.gov).
FAQ
- Can I do a talent-visa interview in Moscow?
- The US Embassy in Moscow currently does not provide most visa services. Applicants from Russia apply as TCN elsewhere. Always check the current status on travel.state.gov.
- Do posts accept a Moscow-done medical exam (IOM)?
- By 2025 reports - not all of them: Warsaw and Belgrade (and recently Almaty) are most often named as accepting it, while Yerevan and Tashkent required the exam locally. Always check your own post's instructions.
- How do I pay visa fees from Russia?
- Russian-issued cards cannot pay the visa fees - members use foreign cards or help from someone holding one. Plan the payment ahead, before booking the interview.
- How do I get third-country police certificates while in Moscow?
- Members requested them via those countries' consulates in Moscow, but timelines are long - start early: the community had a case where the interview went ahead without the spouse's certificate and the case got a follow-up request.
- Can I have the EB-1 / EB-2 immigrant-visa interview in Moscow?
- No. The State Department moved Russia’s visas elsewhere: immigrant to Warsaw (IR-5 also Almaty and Tashkent), nonimmigrant to Warsaw and Astana. The National Visa Center sets the post and the date; source: the State Department list of immigrant-visa posts, read 2026-10-11.
From community practice
An RFE is not a denial. Members note that a structured response with additional independent evidence often leads to approval.
A strong petition usually meets more than the required minimum of three criteria, with a margin on each - common advice in chats to reduce RFE risk.
What determines the strength of evidence is not the fact itself but its context: scale, selectivity and independent confirmation. This runs through almost every community case review.
Distilled from public community chats - observations, not legal advice.
From community discussions
«There's a 90-day rule. If you entered the US on an O-1 visa, then at the border you declared that you'd stay in the US only for the purpose of the O-1 visa. You need to wait 90 days to show that your original intent was to stay on the O-1 visa, but then plans changed. If you file earlier, then no one will believe that plans changed so quickly.»
Victoria · from public community chats
«90 days isn't a rule, it's a recommendation, and not for you, but for the consul. O-1 is a dual-intent visa from the start, it's immediately assumed that you'll want to stay. Filing a petition for an immigrant visa already says 100% about your desire.»
community member · from public community chats
«O-1 is a talent visa, which includes the understanding that getting it requires a lot of effort. Denials are normal. I get/got rejected by people for whom I did a lot out of friendship.»
community member · from public community chats
Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.
Approval stories
Other interview posts
Reference information, not legal advice. Always verify post status, booking and requirements on travel.state.gov.