Russians Skip Traveling to America Because of Visa Delays

Before matters started getting worse between Russia and the United States, Russians could get the US travel visa within a week. But now, Russians have to wait for a minimum of eight months, making them restless. It is too long to wait for a travel visa forcing Russians to give up on their dream of traveling to the United States. Mohamed Torky, executive chef, Holiday Inn, North Moscow, said that he is waiting for a miracle to happen.

He hopes that maybe tomorrow the United States and Russia feel they want to be friends and the embassy will be staffed again and he’ll get his visa. Torky has planned a trip to the United States in July 2018 because he wants to visit Las Vegas and eat steak in Texas. It was his dream to ride a Ford Mustang on American highways, but because of the tension between Moscow and Washington, he will have to settle for a trip to Egypt or Georgia. Torky is furious because Putin or Trump doesn’t suffer, but people like him do.

In March 2018, Russia closed the US consulate in St Petersburg, firing 60 US diplomats. The US Embassy in Moscow is open, and the earliest appointment is 250 days away. Last month, 150 Russian diplomats were expelled from Russian Embassy in Great Britain after Sergei Skripal, a former double agent, and his daughter was poisoned at his residence in Salisbury, England.

Sergei Lavrov, foreign affairs minister of Russia, said that the tension between the United States and Russia it as worse as the Cold War. Kremlin accused that the United States denied visa appointments off Aeroflot crew members, Russia’s flagship carrier and only airline with direct flights to the United States. However, US State Department denied the claims that unhelpful and simply false.