I have decided to use VisaHQ to get my Russian visa.
But, I'm confused.
I just went on their site to apply, and it seems that I still have to get my own letter of invitation. VisaHQ does not provide it.
Excuse me, but I thought the whole point of paying for a visa service agency is to avoid the hassle and stress of getting your own documents? Getting my own letter of invitation is a royal pain in the neck, because I will be in 3 hotels in 2 cities in Russia. None of these hotels want to give me a letter of invitation beyond the few days I will be staying with each of them. Which means that I would need 3 letters of invitation, and that's just to barely cover the 10 days I will be in Russia, let alone a 30-day visa.
Not only that, but these hotels all want to charge me for a night's stay (in addition to the visa letter fee), even though I already booked with them and paid for my stay. Even when I email them proof that I will be staying with them, they simply don't answer me. The bureaucracy is unbearable, it makes you want to pull your freaking hair out.
Also, I need a visa for at least 15 days, so that if there are any problems with my return flight back to New York, I won't be stranded. I simply don't feel comfortable having a visa for just the 9 days I will be in Russia. I need some wiggle room, because I have a job to return to.
Can anyone clarify this for me, and give me some workable suggestions?
For the life of me, I cannot understand how travelers in Russia can routinely tour a dozen cities. How the Hell did they deal the bureaucracy??? It's a nightmare for just 2 cities, never mind 12.


*I will be in Moscow and St. Petersburg from May 6 to May 15, 2013.