Originally Posted by dvdbuddy

Just want to share my experience with applying for a Russia Visa.

We did our visa application at the ILS office in NYC. It was a pretty painless process except for the 1 hr wait on line inside a hot office.

We got the invitation letter from an online service for $30 per person. The letter came within 2 hrs. Both our names were on the letter. I printed 2 copies and submitted it with our applications.

We filled out the visa application online and it was pretty straight forward like any other visa applications. The 2 key items you need to get right on the application are :
1. Item #10 - Date of arrival and departure.
2. Item #11 - Host organization you intend to visit.

Date of arrival and departure is the dates of your visa validity.
For example: if you're applying for a 3 years visa starting August 1, 2016. The date of arrival and departure should read August 1, 2016 - July 31, 2019. For a 1 year visa it should be August 1, 2016 - July 31, 2017. Some people would confused that as being the actual dates of the days you will be in Russia.

Host Organization you intend to visit is the Organization on your invitation letter. On your invitation letter there should be a Reference # and Confirmation #, these are the items you will enter in for the institution you will visit. My letter came from a travel agency, so we used their name and address plus the reference # and confirmation #.

The cost for submitted it through the ILS USA was $193 for a 3 years Multi entries Visa. $160 + $33 (ILS fees) = $193. You can pay by cash, money order or credit card w/fees.
My total cost was $193+$30=$223 and 2 hrs of my time. Hope this helps.