US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that on March 29, 2019, the agency will permanently close its field office in Moscow, Russia, due to a significant decrease in workload. February 28, 2019 is the last day the office will be open to the public and accepting applications. The USCIS field office in Athens, Greece, will assume jurisdiction over immigration matters in the Russian Federation, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

The US Embassy in Moscow will assume responsibility for certain limited services that have been provided by USCIS to individuals residing in Russia, and the USCIS Refugee Affairs Division will assume primary responsibility for adjudicating the region’s refugee cases presented for interview. On its website, USCIS has filing instructions for individuals who live in the above-listed countries who are filing certain forms beginning March 1, 2019, including Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative; Form I-131A, Application for Travel Document (Carrier Documentation); Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status; and others.