For most people reading this, a trip to the United States is a visa project first and a holiday second. The visa takes months and the country is the size of a continent, so the two planning mistakes are starting late and trying to see too much. Everything else about travelling there is straightforward.
The visa
| Passport | What you need | | --- | --- | | Armenia | B1/B2 visitor visa. Interview required. | | Georgia | B1/B2 visitor visa. Interview required. | | Russia | B1/B2 visitor visa, applied for outside Russia. | | EU and Schengen | ESTA under the Visa Waiver Program. | | United Kingdom | ESTA under the Visa Waiver Program. |
The B1/B2 process is: fill in the DS-160 form online, pay the fee, book an interview at the embassy, attend it in person, and leave your passport for printing. The interview is short, usually a few minutes, and the officer is deciding one thing, whether you will come back. Everything you bring is evidence for that: employment, property, family, previous travel to countries that were hard to get into.
Fees. The MRV application fee is 185 dollars and is non-refundable whether or not you are approved. On top of that, a 250 dollar visa integrity fee was legislated for the 2026 fiscal year, payable on issuance. As of early 2026 the State Department had not issued implementation guidance to all posts, so what you actually pay depends on when your case is processed. Budget for 435 dollars and be pleased if it is less.
Waiting times vary enormously by post, from a few weeks to well over a year. Check the State Department's published wait time for your specific embassy before you plan anything, and book the interview before you book flights, not after.
Russian citizens cannot apply inside Russia. Since September 2025 non-immigrant applications are accepted at Warsaw or Astana, which means the visa itself requires an international trip.
One thing not to confuse. A pause on immigrant visa issuance for nationals of several countries, including Armenia, Georgia and Russia, took effect on 21 January 2026. That concerns immigration, meaning green cards, not tourism. B1/B2 visitor visas are a separate category and are not covered by it. A lot of secondhand advice online currently mixes these two up.
For reference, travellers on the Visa Waiver Program use ESTA instead, which rose to 40 dollars in September 2025 and to 40.27 on 1 January 2026. That route is not available on an Armenian, Georgian or Russian passport.
When to go, and how big it is
The United States has no single season because it has every climate. May, June, September and October work almost everywhere. July and August are peak domestic travel: the national parks are full, the south is at 38 degrees and prices are at their highest.
The distances are the thing people underestimate. New York to Los Angeles is six hours by plane, which is further than London to Cairo. Driving across Texas takes a full day. A two week trip comfortably covers one region: the northeast, or California, or the southwest parks. Trying to cover the country in two weeks means seeing airports.
Getting around
Domestic flights are the only sensible way to cover distance. They are frequent and often cheap, and Southwest, Delta, United and American all run dense networks.
Trains are not the answer. Amtrak is slow, expensive and unreliable outside the northeast corridor between Washington, New York and Boston, where it is genuinely good.
Outside a handful of cities you need a car. New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Washington have usable public transport. Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix and most of the country do not, and a visit without a car is close to unworkable.
Renting a car needs a credit card in the driver's name, not a debit card, at most companies. Drivers under 25 pay a young driver surcharge. An international driving permit is not required for most nationalities alongside a valid national licence, but it costs little and prevents arguments.
Uber and Lyft are everywhere and are usually the answer in cities.
What things cost
Two rules explain most of the confusion.
The price on the label is not the price. Sales tax is added at the till, varies by state and city, and runs from zero in a few states to around 10 percent. Nothing is displayed with it included.
Tipping is a wage, not a bonus. Restaurant staff in most states are paid on the assumption that tips make up the difference. 18 to 20 percent on the pre-tax total is the current norm in a sit-down restaurant. Bartenders get a dollar or two a drink, taxi and ride-hail drivers 15 percent, hotel housekeeping a few dollars a night. Not tipping in a restaurant is not a statement about service, it reads as not paying part of the bill.
Rough figures:
- Mid-range hotel: 150 to 250 dollars a night, more in New York and San Francisco
- Resort fee: 25 to 50 dollars a night on top, common in Las Vegas and Florida, not always disclosed in the headline price
- Casual restaurant meal: 20 to 35 dollars a person before tax and tip
- Coffee: 4 to 7 dollars
- Rental car: 50 to 100 dollars a day, plus insurance
- Domestic flight: 100 to 350 dollars one way
- National park entry: 30 to 35 dollars per vehicle, or 80 dollars for the annual pass covering all of them
The annual America the Beautiful pass pays for itself at three parks and is the single best value purchase in American tourism.
Healthcare, which is the real risk
This is the part to take seriously. There is no public healthcare for visitors and costs are unlike anywhere else. An ambulance ride is over a thousand dollars. A broken arm treated in an emergency room runs into five figures. An overnight hospital stay can exceed the cost of your entire trip.
Buy travel insurance with a medical limit of at least a million dollars, and check that it covers what you plan to do. This is not optional advice for the United States in the way it is for Europe.
For minor problems, an urgent care clinic is far cheaper and faster than an emergency room, and pharmacies handle a lot without a doctor.
Etiquette and small differences
Service is friendly, fast and talkative, and this is not insincerity, it is the job. Reciprocating briefly is normal.
Personal space is larger than in most of Europe and the Caucasus, and standing close in a queue is noticed.
Alcohol laws are set by state and are stricter than most visitors expect. The drinking age is 21 everywhere and enforced with ID checks regardless of how old you look. Open containers of alcohol in public are illegal in most places.
Jaywalking is enforced in some cities and ignored in others.
Tap water is safe and free in restaurants everywhere.
Safety
The United States is safe for ordinary tourism, and the risks are concentrated and geographic rather than general. Cities have neighbourhoods that change character within a few blocks, and that pattern is unfamiliar to visitors used to European cities where the centre is uniformly safe. Ask at your hotel which areas to avoid on foot after dark, and take the answer seriously.
Do not leave anything visible in a parked car anywhere, and particularly in San Francisco, where smash-and-grab theft from rental cars is at a level that surprises people.
Petty crime aside, the practical hazards are weather and distance: hurricanes on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts from June to November, wildfire season in the west, and desert driving where running out of fuel or water is a genuine emergency.
Staying connected
Coverage is good in cities and along interstates, and genuinely patchy in the national parks and the rural west, which is worth knowing before you rely on navigation in Utah or Montana. Download offline maps.
Roaming from Armenia, Georgia or Russia is expensive across a two or three week trip. American prepaid SIMs exist but the plans are priced for residents and the shop visit needs an address more often than it should.
An eSIM installed before you fly is working when you land, which matters at a US airport more than most: you land, clear immigration, and immediately need a ride app, a rental car confirmation and a hotel address, all before you have found wifi that works.
Where to go
New York is four days minimum and the one city that works without a car.
The southwest loop, meaning Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce and Monument Valley, is the classic two week drive and probably the best introduction to the country's landscape.
California, San Francisco down Highway 1 to Los Angeles with Yosemite added, is the other classic and needs ten days.
The national parks are the reason to come for many people. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion and Glacier require booking accommodation months ahead, and several now require timed entry reservations in summer.
New Orleans, Chicago and Boston are the cities that reward a visit for their own sake rather than as gateways.
If the United States is part of a longer route, the UAE guide and the Turkey guide cover the two hubs most commonly used to reach it from this region.
Questions people actually ask
How long does the visa take? Anywhere from a few weeks to over a year depending on the embassy. Check the published wait time for your post and book the interview before booking flights.
What does it cost? 185 dollars for the MRV fee, plus a 250 dollar visa integrity fee legislated for FY2026 and payable on issuance. Budget 435 dollars.
I read that visas are paused for Armenians and Georgians. Is that true? For immigrant visas, meaning green cards, from 21 January 2026. Not for B1/B2 tourist visas, which are a different category and unaffected.
Where do Russian citizens apply? Not in Russia. Non-immigrant applications go to Warsaw or Astana.
Do I really have to tip 20 percent? In a sit-down restaurant, yes. It is part of how staff are paid, not a reward.
Do I need a car? Outside New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, almost certainly yes.
What insurance do I need? Medical cover of at least a million dollars. American healthcare costs are the single largest financial risk of the trip.
