Russian Visa Processing Center ILS

Great service ! I had a lot of questions when applying for Russian visa. Called them in and Eduard helped me out a lot. Got my visa and passport back on time as promised. Completely satisfied with the service they provided. Definitely will be apllying with them next time! Thank you!

The experience of getting a Russian visa seems daunting but is not difficult if you follow the steps. It’s finding what those steps are that is the hard part.
== Follow the directions on this website ==
== Then confirm the costs of the visa on this official website ==
== Steps (check against Way To Russia website) ==
(1) Buy your plane or train tickets in and out of Russia. Print out the confirmations.
(2) Pay $ 30 to get an «invite letter» from an online service that provides invite letters. The invite letter will ask you to select from a list of certain hotels in each city, but nothing commits you to actually stay or make reservations at those hotels. It only takes about 5 minutes to get your letter emailed to you. I used this one:
(3) Pay $ 80 to get travel insurance from TravelGuard. Not sure if this is necessary, but I did it. It takes about 5 minutes to get this emailed to you.
(4) Fill out the online visa application on the ILS website, entering the info from the invite letter.
(5) Get two passport photos. The office only asks for one, but the website says bring two. Every Walgreens does two passport photos for $ 13 — not cheap but quick and easy.
(6) Make an appointment on the ILS website. This is not necessary because you can walk in, but I didn’t want to wait so I made the appointment for 9 a.m.
(7) Get a money order for the exact amount. Mine was $ 283 ($ 250 visa plus $ 33 three-​day processing with in-​person pickup). The Chase bank on Market and 2^nd is open at 8 a.m. so you can go before your appointment.
(8) Go to 145 Natoma Street, Suite 2. I got in right at 9 a.m. Not a single other applicant was there. I was done by 9:10.
(9) Pick up your passport 3 or 10 days later. Passport pickup hours are any time after 11 a.m. on the date of your pickup appointment, except 1 – 2 p.m. when everyone is out to lunch.
Easier than it sounds! Zero waiting in line, and if you have your papers in order there should be no problems.

Worse experience,
I suggest avoiding these guys as much as possible. First, I sent complete visa documents for processing through registered mail. After checking my tracking number I noticed that mail man delivered documents to their office for 3 times, however, there wasn’t anyone authorized to accept and sign for return label for 6 business days; they kept refusing the acceptance of documents. Second, I followed all the instruction on their website for visa processing and they sent the paperwork back with a letter that says (wrong type of passport) and no explanation on what is wrong about it. There is only one type of United States Citizen Passport, what can be wrong about it, it’s not expired and valid till 2020. I have a feeling that these guys still apply their soviet era customer service on US Citizens. They just send the paperwork back with no explanation on what is wrong, even when you follow everything exactly as in their website. My suggestion, pay 200 dollars more but go with a reputable Visa agency, unless you really want to experience soviet or even modern russias customer service on your skin.

They NEVER pick up their phone and take 24 hours to respond to an email. This was our first time getting a visa for another country, so we had many questions. We decided to pay more and go with another company that picked up their phones. Every person I got with A. Briggs was patient and kind. Gave me peace of mind knowing their workers are readily available.

Great experience — make an appointment online and if you get there early — they take you right away. Their help line is available and the agents are very helpful. One tricky thing — when you save your data you get a new ID every time to keep your info secure.

Horrendous.
Avoid this place as much as possible. If you have the money and don’t happen to live within driving distance of San Francisco, just do a quick Google search and find a reputable visa company to go on your behalf.
The employees have very little patience and show no empathy or concern if there is a problem with your documents. If you walk in and they’re not helping anyone, you will just sit there and wait for someone to acknowledge your existence. One time I stopped by and one employee was texting and another listening to music. I don’t care what you do at work when there aren’t «customers,» but when someone is waiting for help get of your #*€£¥**## phone. Please :)
The beauty of this new location is that you can’t just walk in if you have an appointment. You have to dial their number on the keypad and maybe they’ll let you in. I arrived at 12:45 and no one answered. I kept dialing and dialing and at 1 they said they have a one hour lunch break. Per their site, their break is 1 — 2 PM not 12:45 am — 2 pm.
I’m exhausted. That’s it.