Applying for a Russian visa can be time consuming and rather expensive for U.S. citizens, but on Sep

Applying for a Russian visa can be time consuming and rather expensive for U.S. citizens, but on September cruise small ship to alaska 9, 2012 it got better for anyone who may be going more than once to Russia in a 3-year period: you can now get a 3-year, multiple entry Russian visa.
That means, for anyone cruise small ship to alaska flying Singapore Airlines via Moscow Domodedovo (DME), you can actually spend some time in Moscow rather than just staying airside. Now, some may still not want to, whether due to irrational fears of the Russian mafia, worries about grappling with the language, or practical concerns about expense (and central Moscow is expensive). But where's you're sense of adventure? It's an amazing, vibrant capital city, where I thoroughly cruise small ship to alaska enjoyed living and working a couple years. So having been through the process, here are my tips for getting the new 3-year multiple entry Russian tourist visa:
Does your passport expire in less than 3.5 years? You can still get a multiple entry visa, but it will just be good for the life of your passport, less 6 months. So, for example, if your passport expires in 2.5 years, your Russian Visa would be valid for 2 years.
cruise small ship to alaska Make sure to save your "Declarant" number and password: these are assigned, so not at all intuitive, and you'll need them to access your saved application. You may even need them at the Invisa Logistic Services office if there's something in your application that needs to be amended
Page 4 is where you'll need to enter your visa support info from the hotel. You'll need to enter both the name of the tourist company (which may differ from the brand name of the hotel) and both the tourist company reference number and the confirmation number. Hence, to fill this section of the online form out, you first need a hotel reservation and to request visa support from the hotel. Or, you could get an invitation from Way to Russia or similar, if you need to apply for a visa before you know where you'll be staying.
Page 6 asks if you have medical insurance valid in Russia, and the document number. To be on the safe side, I did get health insurance specifically valid for Russia, since I didn't want to chance a delay over this, but neither Invisa Logistic Services or the Russian Consulate even asked about my documentation. So if your regular work health insurance covers you while in Russia, you should be fine and not need to get any kind of supplementary health insurance.
Page 8 asks about your parents' names. Don't worry about "patronymic" since only Russians and people in the countries of the former Soviet Union have them. Just as it sounds, it's formed from the father's name, e.g. if you're a man named Alexei and your father was Ivan, your patronymic would be Ivanovich; if you're a woman, it would be Ivanovna.
Page 9 is the most time consuming if you travel a lot, since it asks for ALL the countries you've visited in the last 10 years and the date of visit. Good luck with that! Just do the best you can from memory and your passport. On the lower part of the page, don't forget cruise small ship to alaska to put "United States" and any other countries which have issued you a passport.
Page 14 asks about membership of "professional, civil, and charity institutions" and right underneath (rather disconcertingly lumped together) asks "Do you have any special skills, training or experience related to firearms, explosives or to nuclear matters, biological or chemical substance?" Hopefully you can answer no to that question, and note that while you should of course be truthful, it's not such a plus from the Russian Consulate's perspective to answer yes to even the first question.
Page 18 asks the hotel or other addresses where you plan to stay. As far as I know it's not binding, so if you got invitation support from Way of Russia or similar, just put down a hotel or other address you're considering staying at
Note that if you want to use hotel visa support for your visa application, you MUST have a hotel reservation for the first day you need the visa to start from, i.e. your first day in Russia. If, for example, you're planning to take an overnight train that first night, you should instead opt for a tourist invitation from Way to Russia or similar, because ILS and the Russian Consulate will NOT grant you a visa starting from a date that you don't have a tourist company number and confirmation number for.
On the other hand, because of the 3 year visa, you DON'T have to worry about hotel reservation visa support for subsquent dates during your stay. You can figure those out later, you just must have support cruise small ship to alaska for that first day your visa is valid from.
After you make your hotel reservation, request visa support. My experience with the hotels I requested it from is that it was very fast, and I received it within 24 hours of requesting, but these were also 4-5 star hotels. I wouldn't leave it to the last minute, in case there is any kind of delay.
Also note: by getting visa support from a hotel, you are committing to stay at the hotel. Hotels that provide visa support generally have you agree that, if you end up cancelling the reservation, you'll owe them money for the visa support. So if you don't want to be bound in this way, just go with a normal Russian visa invitation service, as the fee is usually a bit cheaper, although it also tends to take longer.
Note that you *cannot* pay by credit card or personal check; you must pay with cash, bank transfer, money order or cashier check ONLY (payable to the Invisa Logistic Services LLC). While the chart says $210 for an in person application, there is also a $25 additional review fee for 3-year visas, bringing the total to $235.
You should schedule your appointment about a month in advance of when you need the Russian visa. There are ILS offices in Washington DC, New York, San Francisco, Houston and Seattle. See ILS addresses and maps
At the appointment, they'll pull up your submitted online application, review it to ensure it's complete, print it out and affix your passport cruise small ship to alaska photos, and then provide you with an invoice that you take to the cashier and pay with cash or money order. The pickup date and time are on the invoice, and you'll need to bring the invoice with you, so don't lose it.
For most applicants for 3-year visas (and even some single entry visas) there is an interview at the Russian Consulate. In NYC, they tell you to show up at 2pm, but I'd recommend getting there earlier, as when I arrived around that time there was already a line (not just visa applicants though, Russians also). At least in NYC, make sure you dress appropriately for standing outside given the weather. Eventually you'll cruise small ship to alaska be ushered inside, go through a metal detector....and wait some more in a seating area, until pointed to a row of 4 chairs across from 2 Russian Consulate officials. The actual conversation was quite brief in my case. He did ask for a copy of the hotel reservation, which I didn't have in printed form, so he asked me to email it.
Actually picking up my passport, with Russian Visa inside, was mercifully fast, but perhaps too anticlimactic. You almost feel that you should be offered a vodka toast after all this...perhaps some drinks at Mari Vanna are in order!