Visas to the United States

The U.S. Consulate in Chengdu processes Non-immigrant Visas (NIVs) only.  For information on Immigrant Visas, please visit the website of the U.S. Consulate General, Guangzhou, which handles all Immigrant Visa applications in China.

 

WHEN TO APPLY

Interest in travel to America continues to grow, and we expect an extraordinary peak application period this summer.  We look forward to welcoming qualified visitors to our country for tourism, business, study, cultural and other purposes.  As you plan your visit to the United States, we encourage you to plan ahead to allow us enough time to process your visa before your trip.  This summer, we recommend that travelers plan accordingly and begin the visa application process well in advance of their scheduled travel.  Some applications also require additional administrative processing, which can take an additional 6 weeks to complete.  Applying as early as possible will help ensure that we have plenty of time to schedule your appointment, conduct your interview, review your application, and determine whether we can issue a visa.  Thank you for your cooperation, and for your interest in visiting our country.

 

HOW TO APPLY

1. Make an Appointment

To make an NIV interview appointment, call the appointment call center at 4008-872-333.  There is a fee of RMB 54 per 12 minutes to access the call center, and most calls take less than 12 minutes. Methods of payment:

• CITIC Bank:  Applicants may purchase Call Center calling cards directly from CITIC Bank at the time application fees are paid.
• Credit/ Debit Card: Payment can be made by entering the credit/debit card number when logging on to www.usavisainformation.com.cn.

To book an appointment from the United States, please call (86-21) 3881-4611.

You do not need to make an appointment through the Call Center if:

• You want to renew an F, J or H visa that expired less than 12 months ago and was issued in Chengdu, and you are returning to the same school or institution.

Applicants qualifying for this service may bring their applications and supporting documentation to the Consulate Monday, Tuesday and Thursday before 10:00 AM and will be interviewed the same day. Please check here to make sure that we are open before you come in.

 

2. Complete the Application Forms and Pay the Fee

The visa application fee is US$131 (RMB943**) and can be paid at CITIC Bank. Visa application forms may also be picked up at CITIC Bank or can be filled out online:

*If you have trouble accessing the DS-156 through the normal link, please try here or here.

• Please fill out your application forms completely before your interview, providing detailed travel information and complete addresses.

• Each NIV application should include two 2 x 2 inch photos (roughly 50 mm square).  The applicant’s head should be centered in the frame against a white background.

• For Chinese applicants: please hand-write the Standard Telegraphic Codes for your name in boxes 6 and 7 on the DS-156.

**Due to a change of the currency exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and Chinese RMB, the U.S. nonimmigrant visa application fee will be reduced from RMB969 to RMB943, effective Friday, January 11, 2008.

3. Come to the Consulate for Your Interview

During your interview, a Consular Officer will examine your documents, take your fingerprints using an inkless scanner, and ask you a few questions. To qualify for a U.S. visa, you will have to convince the officer (1)that your purpose for traveling to the United States is actually what you have stated and (2)that your situation here in China, whatever it may be, is stable and attractive enough that you will return to it at the end of your visit to the United States. These documents are required:

• Valid Passport: if your passport will expire less than 6 months after your planned arrival in the United States, please have it extended or renewed before the interview.
  
  
• Two DS-156 Application Forms: one in English and one in Chinese, each with a photograph attached.
  
  
• DS-157 Form
  
  
• Original CITIC Bank Receipt for Application Fee: Please note that the fee is not refundable; no refund will be made if the visa is denied or if you choose not to pursue the application.
  

In addition to these required documents, you may also want to bring along documents that show that you have strong economic, social, family and other commitments here in China. These could include documents showing that you own a home or other property, proof of residency (hukou), your marriage certificate, evidence of income, bank statements, proof of employment or business ownership and proof of family relationships. You should be able to show that you have sufficient finances to support yourself during your visit. Also, if you have traveled to the United States or other foreign countries before, please consider bringing along your old passports and perhaps photographs as evidence.

Visa interviews are brief, and officers are required by law to assume that applicants are intending immigrants (and therefore ineligible for non-immigrant visas) unless they can demonstrate otherwise. While the vast majority of applications do get approved, bear in mind that the burden is on you to show that you are qualified.

If your application is approved, in most cases you will be able to pick up your passport and visa the next business day after your interview.  This is, however, by no means guaranteed. Occasionally, technical problems may mean that we will not be able to return passports until two or three business days after your interview. Also, in cases where additional administrative processing is required after the interview, several weeks are sometimes required to approve a visa. Please apply as early as possible. Timely submission of an application does not guarantee that a visa will be issued, but it may ensure that the process for applying for a visa will be completed in time to allow the applicant to travel if he or she does qualify for the visa.

EMERGENCY APPOINTMENTS

Under certain emergency circumstances applicants who cannot wait for a normal visa interview appointment may request an expedited appointment.  Valid reasons may include:

• Emergency medical treatment
  
• Emergency business travel
  
• Family emergencies (such as death)
  
• Other emergencies (such as appearance in a U.S. court)

To request an expedited appointment, make an appointment through the Call Center and then send an email to ConsularChengdu@state.gov or a fax to US Consulate Chengdu at (28) 8554-6229 requesting that your appointment be expedited.

Please include the appointment information you received from the call center, your name as it appears in your passport, your passport number, date of birth, and a telephone number where we can reach you. Please send either an email or a fax - not both. We normally respond to email inquiries within three business days. For faxed requests for expedited appointments, we will respond only if are able to grant the request.