(RUSSIA) From January 28, 2026, Canada stopped accepting passports and other physical documents inside Russia for visa stamping, and from January 14, 2026, the United States 🇺🇸 put an indefinite pause on immigrant visa processing for Russian nationals. These changes keep parts of the application journey alive, but they add travel, waiting, and uncertainty at the point where many applicants expect a final answer.
For many people, the practical shift is simple: you can still prepare and submit applications online, and you can still attend biometrics in Russia at Visa Application Centres, but passport-handling for Canada now happens outside Russia, and U.S. immigrant visa issuance is frozen for affected cases even when a petition step is complete.
Canada: what changed inside Russia, and what the VACs still do
Canada’s move is operational, not a full stop on applying. As of January 28, 2026, Canada ceased acceptance of passports and physical documents at its Visa Application Centres in Russia, while keeping the VAC network open for limited functions.
The six VACs named in reporting—Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, and Rostov-on-Don—remain open, but they no longer complete the final stage tied to a visa counterfoil (the sticker placed in a passport). A Canadian government spokesperson described the change as part of a “government-wide exercise to modernize government operations and reduce overall costs,” according to The Moscow Times (Feb 3, 2026).
What still works in Russia
- Online application submission and document upload through Canada’s online systems.
- Biometrics collection at VACs in Russia, meaning fingerprints and a photo.
- Basic VAC support functions tied to appointments and intake steps that don’t involve keeping your passport.
What no longer works in Russia
Passport submission for visa counterfoil printing.
Any end-stage physical document acceptance tied to final issuance no longer occurs in Russia.
Canada process map: the new “third-country” passport submission step
Expect the Canadian journey to break into three parts: online filing, biometrics in Russia, and then a separate trip for the passport step once you receive an approval request.
Step 1: File online (day 1 through submission)
You complete the application online, upload your supporting documents, and pay the required fees through Canada’s system. Most applicants do this without visiting any office.
Step 2: Give biometrics in Russia (after you receive the biometrics request)
After you receive instructions, you book and attend a biometrics appointment at a VAC in Russia. This stage still runs inside Russia even after the January 28, 2026 change.
Step 3: Wait for a decision and a passport request (timeline varies by case)
If your application is approved and Canada needs a counterfoil, you receive a request to submit your passport. This is where the new barrier begins.
Step 4: Travel to a third-country VAC for passport-handling (short trip, but high stakes)
You must travel outside Russia to submit your passport at a VAC in a third country. Reporting has pointed to nearby routing concepts, often through neighboring states such as Armenia, Georgia, or Kazakhstan, but availability can shift with appointment capacity.
A reliable starting point for locating VACs and checking where services are offered is Canada’s official directory: IRCC: Find a Visa Application Centre.
Step 5: Collect your passport and return (plan buffers)
Once the counterfoil is placed, you collect your passport and travel back. Build in time for rescheduling, local holidays, and extra document checks.
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, this “split processing” model often shifts risk onto applicants, because a single missing page, wrong photo format, or tight flight schedule can force a second trip.
United States: the pause targets immigrant visas, not every case type
The U.S. measures are broader and more politically framed. On January 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of State announced an indefinite pause on immigrant visa processing affecting 75 countries, including Russia, as reported by The Guardian.
The quoted rationale was direct: the State Department said it would “pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people.”
Separate from consular processing, an internal USCIS posture also changed. A USCIS policy memorandum dated January 1, 2026, titled “Hold and Review of USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from Additional High-Risk Countries,” directed staff to: “Place a hold on all pending benefit applications for aliens listed in Presidential Proclamation 10998. pending a comprehensive review, regardless of entry date.”
The memo ties to Presidential Proclamation 10998, effective January 1, 2026, which restricted entry and visa issuance for nationals of countries described as having “deficient screening and vetting information.”
How the U.S. journey now plays out for families and petition-based cases
Many Russian nationals reach the U.S. immigration finish line through an overseas immigrant visa interview, after a petition is approved. The pause interrupts the final stretch.
- A U.S. petitioner files a family-based petition.
- The case moves toward a consular interview abroad.
- A visa is issued, allowing entry as an immigrant.
Under the January 14, 2026 pause, step 3 is the choke point for immigrant visas tied to Russia, and families feel it most sharply when a spouse or child waits abroad. The source reporting also notes that non-immigrant visas still process, but with “extreme vetting,” which changes the tone of interviews and review depth.
Reading the official language: “pause,” “hold,” “restricted issuance,” and “entry restrictions”
Words matter because each one points to a different gatekeeper.
- Pause points to consular processing and issuance slowing or stopping, even when a case is otherwise ready.
- Hold points to an internal instruction to stop adjudication on pending filings while extra review happens.
- Restricted issuance and entry restrictions point to proclamation-driven limits that can block visa printing, admission at the border, or both.
Canada’s change blocks passport-handling in Russia but keeps the system moving through third-country logistics. The U.S. change blocks immigrant visa issuance itself, paired with a broader security and public charge framing.
Why governments tightened procedures in early 2026
Both shifts arrived during a tense diplomatic period and in the run-up to a high-profile travel season. Canada and the U.S. are co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and Canada’s immigration department has warned that “events such as FIFA tournaments are not an avenue to seek asylum,” according to The Globe and Mail.
Operationally, large events push governments toward tighter intake controls, more screening, and sharper triage about who can enter and who must wait. In parallel, sanctions and strained diplomacy increase pressure on cross-border document flows, including where passports are physically carried and stored.
In the U.S. narrative, “public charge” concerns sit beside national security concerns, shaping how officials describe risk and why review standards become tougher.
What applicants feel on the ground: cost, time, and document security
For Canada applicants in Russia, the added travel step is not paperwork. It is time off work, transport, lodging, and careful handling of an irreplaceable document.
A passport submission trip also forces planning around safe storage, border crossings, and the stress of being without your passport while it is processed.
For U.S. immigrant visa families, the heaviest impact is separation. The pause applies to spouses and children of U.S. citizens residing in Russia who planned to reunite through immigrant visas, and it turns a defined process into an open-ended wait.
For Russians already in the United States 🇺🇸 with pending USCIS benefits, the “hold and review” approach described in the January 1, 2026 memorandum can translate into longer queues and stalled life plans, including work, study, and family stability, while a case sits for extra review.
