U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Byerly, speaking at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, said that Russia and the United States in July 2011 will sign an intergovernmental agreement on visa facilitation for travel to both countries.

According to John Byerly, an agreement, aimed at improving the visa regime, will sign U.S. Secretary of State and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs. The new agreement is supposed to provide for the issuance of multiple entry U.S. visas for three years for business and leisure requirements, without an invitation. Note, that on May 26, 2011 in the negotiations at the summit of G8, the presidents of Russia and the United States commissioned by the authorized agencies of the two countries to start work on simplification of visa regime between Russia and the United States.

Recall, that in order to be able to enter on the territory of the United States, Russian citizens, like citizens of many other countries, must obtain a U.S. visa.

Nonimmigrant U.S. visas of category B (B, B-1,B1/B2) are intended for all citizens, who are going to make a short trip for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work or study. U.S. visa issued by the Embassy or the Consulate General of the United States. U.S. visa allows holders to apply for permission to enter in the U.S..

Note, that the presence of a U.S. visa does not guarantee entry into the country, because U.S. immigration officer at the port of entry directly decide on the possibility of entry visa holder in the United States.

Applicants, who apply for U.S. nonimmigrant visa, must fill out an electronic visa application DS-160 (CEAC) and submit the documents in the Russian office of courier company Pony Express. The interview is also appointed by the company Pony Express. When applying for U.S. non-immigrant visa, the staff of Pony Express only check the applicant's application form (compare their data, verify the correctness of the questionnaire and put the appropriate stamp), as well as a sticker attached to the passport of the applicant and will designate the time for interviewing and taking of biometric data in the Visa Section of the Embassy or the U.S. Consulate General. After that, the Pony Express employees return all documents to the applicant, including its form and passport. These documents an applicant must personally submit in the Visa department of the Embassy or U.S. Consulate General in an interview. However, in Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok, all documents, including forms and a passport, will be directly in the visa service of the Pony Express.

Consular fee for visas B (including B1/B2) is 140 U.S. dollars. The consular fee is paid when submitting documents to Pony Express offices in Moscow or in the offices of the Bank (if the application for a U.S. visa is applied in other regions of Russia) in rubles at the rate, that sets the U.S. Embassy. The consular fee is not refundable in case of visa refusal. Consular fees for visas to category B will be charged in full to each applicant, including children.

After that, appointed date and time of removal of biometric data (fingerprints of the applicant's in embassy or consulate) and date of interview. The interview should take place all applicants aged from 14 to 79 years. But citizens, who had previously received a visa of the same type, provided that the validity of this visa expired less than a year ago, in most cases, the interview is not appointed. Skip to the U.S. Embassy for an interview, is the original invoice, issued on the day of filing in the Pony Express, and the original receipt of payment of consular fee for obtaining a U.S. visa.

If approved, the visa is affixed on the passport and on the same day returned via Pony Express to send to the applicant.

Embassy and U.S. Consulate General issued multiple entry visas in the category (B, B-1, B1/BV2), valid for one year. At the interview you can ask for a U.S. visa for 2 years, but in the case of a positive decision will need to pay another $ 100.

U.S. visa for a period of one year, allows entry into the USA during this period, but the term is defined of the officer of the U.S. immigration service in each case. When entering the U.S. at border control, the passport is stamped for entry into the United States, which indicates the number of days, allowed to stay in U.S..