For Russians, what does the closure of a Seattle consulate mean?

Sasha Senderovich was not going to pick up his Russian passport on Monday. He had been ready for several months, but the guy kept forgetting to pick him up, he wrote The seattle time.

Фото: Depositphotos

He then heard that the Trump administration was closing the Russian consulate in Seattle until 2 in April. A guy with dual Russian-American citizenship decided that he had better go to the consulate.

“We'll see what happens,” he said as he boarded a bus near the University of Washington, where he teaches Russian literature. He was not sure that the consulate would still be open.

Senderovich is not the only one who hurried to get to the consulate. Andrei Fomichev, a software engineer at Microsoft, said that many on the East Side are going to go to the consulate.

At the end of April, only three Russian consulates will be opened across the country: in Houston, New York and Washington, DC. Last year, the Trump administration closed the only consulate on the West Coast in San Francisco.

The closure of the consulate fell on the territory where a large number of Russians live. According to the census, Washington is the fourth largest city where Russian migrants live - 26 thousand people. About 40% live in King County.

About 90,000 Russians live in California, many live in areas of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento.

Fomichev said that even with a consulate in Seattle, it was difficult to get services. To update your passport, you had to first make an appointment to bring in the documents. According to him, online slots were quickly filled, and people had to get up at 6 in the morning to fill them up.

And this record was kept for several months ahead. Then you had to wait a few months before the passport was ready, and then you had to pick it up personally.

“Now this procedure becomes even more difficult. People are upset,” Fomichev said.

He hopes that the remaining consulates will introduce an online procedure so that people do not have to travel several thousand miles to get a consular service.

In California, Mark Farhad Yusupov, chairman of the Russian Consultative Council, says people will start contacting private companies that specialize in assisting in obtaining passports and visas.

In this case, the person may need only one trip to the consulate.

Vadim Pechersky, the executive director of one of these private companies in West Hollywood, says that closing a consulate in Seattle will be especially unpleasant for large families who now have to go to Houston or the East Coast.

Pechersky also said that the question of a couple who need emergency help from the consulate is now resolving to arrange a trip to Russia, since their relative has a heart attack. Pechersky was going to hand over their documents to the consulate in Seattle on Monday, but now it cannot be done.

Recall that on March 26, the United States authorities decided to send Russian diplomats from the country of 60, as well as close Russian consulate in Seattle. Such a decision on the consulate was taken due to its territorial proximity to the military base of submarines, as well as to the corporation’s factory. Boeing in Seattle (WA). Another reason is that the United States decided to expel diplomats in coordination with NATO allies and partners in response to Russia's use of military-type chemical weapons in the UK.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Russia closes the US Consulate General in St. Petersburg: where to get a visa now

The results of the vote on the closure of the US Consulate in Russia

Russian consulate in Seattle asks Russians to urgently pick up documents

Western countries can go to improve relations with Moscow after admitting guilt

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.