I went to the embassy just yesterday and I can say that EVERYONE got their visa... even those whose English is at a level where you can barely tell the difference between 'where' and 'when'... I got my visa in Yekaterinburg, just like the other 70 or 80 people who were also traveling from Ufa... It was as easy as pie... you take your passport, grade book, and student ID with you. You leave all your belongings at the base and go to the consul. A small line forms (sometimes a large one) and they call a few people at a time to enter the embassy building. You go in, show your passport, go through the metal detector, and go up to the 4th floor, take off your outerwear, go through the detector again, show your passport, and go to the waiting room. We were only seen by one guy, very kind and cheerful, I wish all consuls were like that... before approaching the consul, they take your fingerprints, and then you wait for the very kind guy to call your first and last name... he does it quite funnily... there was a case where he called a name and the girl didn't even realize it was her))) you go up to the window, say hello, and then the conversation starts. Personally, he asked me: 1) How is my mood. 2) When I finish university. 3) What is my major. 4) Where am I going. 5) What will I be working as. Then he wished me luck, saying 'have a nice summer!' and that's it, voila, you go back to the base with a grin and tell everyone that it's all simple... the others got roughly the same questions... in short, the point is that it's easy... really easy.