Passport renewal

[mikepellicore]

Hello Ken, the Houston consulate will be in Tampa 2/28/09 I think you can drive up there and take care of everything in one day. Here is a link from Cathy. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=35309

http://houston.china-consulate.org/chn/qzhz/t534282.htm

Mike & Yizhen

Edited February 17, 2009 by mikepellicore (see edit history)

[egolessvegan]

Hello Ken, the Houston consulate will be in Tampa 2/28/09 I think you can drive up there and take care of everything in one day. Here is a link from Cathy. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=35309

http://houston.china-consulate.org/chn/qzhz/t534282.htm

Mike & Yizhen

 

Thanks Mike.

That seems like a good possibility.

Do Florida residents go thru the Houston consulate?

We were told that some locals had gone up to NYC recently for the passport renewel?

 

Ken

[yuehan123]

...Do Florida residents go thru the Houston consulate? We were told that some locals had gone up to NYC recently for the passport renewel? Ken

Florida residents are supposed to go to Houston (or Tampa on the 28th).

 

I've heard this 'somebody said' also regarding never mind the rules, renew where you want. But, I don't recall any real person telling me one-on-one, or even here on CFL, "Yes, we renewed our passport RECENTLY at the place of our choosing, not the 'assigned' consulate."

 

My wife and I will be near a consulate which is not our assigned consulate in a few days. 5 minutes ago we called the Embassy in D.C. and were told "you must have an emergency to use any consulate outside your assigned area." Emergency, as in 'yes, we will renew your passport,' has not been satisfactorily explained to us.

[egolessvegan]

It looks like my family and I will have to find a way to get to Tampa on February 28th. There does not seem to be any way around this. We are about 190 miles away. It would be nice if the Houston Consulate was coming somewhere in south Florida.

 

What exact documents are needed for this process??

 

Do they accept personal checks as payment??

 

Any other need to know information??

 

Thanks,

Ken

[egolessvegan]

It looks like my family and I will have to find a way to get to Tampa on February 28th. There does not seem to be any way around this. We are about 190 miles away. It would be nice if the Houston Consulate was coming somewhere in south Florida.

 

What exact documents are needed for this process??

 

Do they accept personal checks as payment??

 

Any other need to know information??

 

Thanks,

Ken

 

Do we need an appointment?????

[egolessvegan]

It looks like my family and I will have to find a way to get to Tampa on February 28th. There does not seem to be any way around this. We are about 190 miles away. It would be nice if the Houston Consulate was coming somewhere in south Florida.

 

What exact documents are needed for this process??

 

Do they accept personal checks as payment??

 

Any other need to know information??

 

Thanks,

Ken

 

Do we need an appointment?????

 

 

It is really unbelieveable that you cannot get anyone to answer the phone at the Houston Consulate. On a few occasions I have gotten someone and they disconnect you or redirect to a dead end.

 

The website is a complete waste of time also.

 

Ken

[yuehan123]

Lee answered the 'what documents' back in post #4 of this thread.

 

And, no. No appointment is needed.

 

"Accept credit card (VISA, MasterCard), cash the check (Money Order, Cashier's check), company check, cash. Please make checks payable to: Chinese Embassy"

 

Short answer: no personal checks.

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles. We got all our info from the web site(s) and, then, by calling D.C. Grant you, D.C. is not Houston.

[LeeFisher3]

Lee answered the 'what documents' back in post #4 of this thread.

 

And, no. No appointment is needed.

 

"Accept credit card (VISA, MasterCard), cash the check (Money Order, Cashier's check), company check, cash. Please make checks payable to: Chinese Embassy"

 

Short answer: no personal checks.

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles. We got all our info from the web site(s) and, then, by calling D.C. Grant you, D.C. is not Houston.

When the consulate comes to our area they will not accept personal checks or credit cards. The sponsoring organization will accept cash from you and write a check to the consulate for you.

 

I'd be sure to take enough cash or a money order in the correct amount for what you need done.

[georgeandli]

Has anyone gone and tried the hardship line of " It's half the distance" and been denied? I know it's a leap of faith, but maybe you might get a real live human instead of a cog.

[yuehan123]

I'd be sure to take enough cash or a money order in the correct amount for what you need done.

Lee, thank you. That's a big deal. I didn't catch it. The link that Cathy gave for the upcoming Houston Consulate trip to Tampa is all in Chinese..... We knew that.

 

What wasn't known by wife is that personal checks, money orders and cashiers check are not identical when translated from the Consulate's website original Chinese Phrase of "cash check"

 

The Tampa location info sheet for the visit on Feb 28 is also all Chinese, except for Money Order and "Chinese Consulate General in Houston." My wife tells me the translation is simple "Only accepts Money Order"

 

Has anyone gone and tried the hardship line of " It's half the distance" and been denied? I know it's a leap of faith, but maybe you might get a real live human instead of a cog.

We will answer this question in about ten days.

[egolessvegan]

Thanks to all who responded.

 

Ken

[georgeandli]

Okay what happened, egolessvegan? Li and I go tomorrow and was checking to make sure I remembered every thing from the thread. Any advice?

[yuehan123]

My wife renewed her PRC passport, live, in-person (as required) at the D.C. Embassy Visa location on Feb. 24. Yeah, Houston is our assigned consulate.

 

She received the "new" Passport today, good for ten years. The old passport has had the corners cut off here and there and a prominent, red "Canceled" stamp.

[warpedbored]

It must be renewed in person at a Chinese consulate. My wife and I did this 2 years ago. I think the consulate website says you should go to the consulate with jurisdiction over where you live but others have reported going to another consulate with no problems.

 

After Jan 1 2007 you can't mail them direct to the consulate nor can you use a visa service unless she is over 65 or under 12. Also you can no longer extend the passport. You must get a new one. Fee is $55 + $15 to add the married name. The H-2 form is no longer used, you must use the H-1 form.

[Randy W]

It must be renewed in person at a Chinese consulate. My wife and I did this 2 years ago. I think the consulate website says you should go to the consulate with jurisdiction over where you live but others have reported going to another consulate with no problems.

 

After Jan 1 2007 you can't mail them direct to the consulate nor can you use a visa service unless she is over 65 or under 12. Also you can no longer extend the passport. You must get a new one. Fee is $55 + $15 to add the married name. The H-2 form is no longer used, you must use the H-1 form.

 

 

At the Houston consulate last week, they would not accept the H-1 form http://www.visarite.com/images/Chinese_Passport/China_H1.pdf

 

They had a two page form we had to fill out, and then come back a month later to pick up the passport.