A U.S. Embassy security officer, left, and Russian policeman check the ID of an unidentified visitor.
Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov
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U.S. Visas to Rise in Price
The United States hikes visa charges by 30 percent starting from January 1, 2008. The price will go up from $100 to $131 for students, tourists and businessmen. But the increase won’t extend to immigration visas and to visas for the EU citizens.
The U.S. Department of States blamed the rise in visa charges on inflation and higher security costs. Indeed, the mandatory dactyloscopy for each applicant has materially stepped up costs of consular services.
In Russia, the new biometrical standard was introduced in early November. Nowadays, to get a visa for the U.S. trip, a Russian will have to scan finger marks. But despite new complications in getting the visas, people in the U.S. diplomatic missions in Russia don’t doubt the growth in their number.
In 2006, the U.S. embassy in Moscow and consulates in St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg and Vladivostok granted 126,000 non-immigration visas to the Russians, and the number is expected to reach 145,000 this year.
www.kommersant.com
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