Russia threatens retaliation as U.S. Embassy stops non-immigrant visa processing in Moscow

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow is suspending non-immigrant visa processing throughout Russia starting on Wednesday because of Moscow’s requirement to reduce its diplomatic staff to 455 people by September 1, the embassy said on Monday.
“Due to the Russian government-imposed cap on U.S. diplomatic personnel in Russia, all non-immigrant visa operations across Russia will be suspended on Wednesday,” the mission said in a statement.
It said operations would resume in Moscow on September 1, while visa operations at U.S. consulates in other Russian cities “will remain suspended indefinitely.”
The embassy said all scheduled appointments would be cancelled and instructions would be provided to applicants on how to reschedule.
The embassy also said it is preparing for departures and staff cuts by the September 1 that Moscow set last month.
“Planning for departures and staff reductions has already begun in order to meet the Russian government’s Sept. 1 deadline for the reduction of personnel,” the embassy said.
The U.S. embassy added that it will operate at reduced capacity for “as long as our staffing levels are reduced.”
“The staffing changes will also affect the scheduling of a limited number of immigrant visa applications. Affected applicants will be contacted if there is a change to the time and date of their interview,” the diplomatic mission said.
On July 30, Russian’s Foreign Ministry ordered a reduction by September 1 in the number of U.S. diplomatic personnel in Russia.
The ministry said it is ordering the U.S. Embassy to limit the number of embassy and consular employees in the country to 455 in response to approval of the new package of American sanctions.
The White House has said U.S. President Donald Trump would sign those sanctions into law.
The legislation, which also targets Iran and North Korea, seeks to punish Moscow for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and for its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria.
Meanwhile, Russia has vowed to “respond in kind” to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and consulates in the country limiting their visa operations as they prepare for staff cuts by September 1, a senior Russian senator told Sputnik on Monday.
“This is, of course, a demarche. We cannot stay in debt. Everything here is obviously going to be mirrored,” Andrei Klimov, the head of the commission on state sovereignty protection of the Russian Federation Council, said.
Klimov was responding to the U.S. embassy’s announcement earlier in the day that non-immigrant visa processing would be suspended on Wednesday.
The embassy said Moscow’s requirement to cut its staff to 455 diplomats and technical personnel would also affect “the scheduling of a limited number of immigrant visa applications.”
The embassy also said that Russian citizens who had paid a visa fee before the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and consulates throughout the country cancelled visa operations as of Wednesday, will not be able to either get a refund or transfer their applications to another country.
“We cannot refund fees that have been paid. However, the fee is valid for one year from the date of the payment,” the embassy said in a fact sheet accompanying its statement.
“Visa fees are not transferrable outside the country in which the fee was paid.
“If you wish to apply outside Russia, you would need to begin a new application and pay the fee according to that location’s instructions,” the embassy added.