I’m gathering documents for a US visa under EB-1/O-1 and I’m stuck on the question about the bank account. How much money should be in it? Does it have to be a US bank account, or will my personal Russian account suffice?
Detailed breakdown of the topic: O-1 visa: petitioner, agent, agent scheme
A Russian bank account is fine — the consulate accepts statements from any bank; the main thing is that it’s clear the money didn’t just appear there yesterday. There’s no fixed sum; they calculate it differently: multiply the number of months you plan to be in the US by your actual expenses (rent + food + transport). When my EB-1A was approved in Kazakhstan they asked me about this — I showed a six-month statement; it showed something like 50–60K, and there were no questions.