Email from AmCitBeijing[at]state[dot]gov

[Kyle]

American Citizen Bulletin

June 2011

JULY 4 HOLIDAY CLOSING

American Citizens Services will be closed on Monday, July 4, in

commemoration of Independence Day.

 

NEED TO VERIFY YOUR NEW PASSPORT NUMBER FOR A BANK OR REAL ESTATE

OFFICE?

 

When you receive a new passport, the number in that new passport is

different from the number of your previous passport. This differs from

Chinese passports, in which the passport number remains unchanged. As

a result, U.S. citizens at times experience difficulties with their

banks when they present the new passport.

 

To address this problem, the Embassy now offers a new document that

states your previous passport number has been replaced by your current

passport number. A notarial fee of $50, or the RMB equivalent, applies

to this service. Make a notarial appointment for this service on our

website and, if possible, bring your old passport with you to the

appointment.

 

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECEIVE A NEW PASSPORT? CAN THAT BE EXPEDITED?

Because of the security features of U.S. passports, full validity U.S.

passports are all printed in the United States. U.S. embassies and

consulates cannot print U.S. passports. As a result, it takes a minimum

of ten days to receive a new passport when applying overseas.

 

When you apply at the Embassy for a new passport, we electronically send

your passport application to a Passport Center in the United States.

The Passport Center prints the book and sends it by FedEx to the

Embassy. Upon receipt of your passport, we email you to let you know it

is ready for pickup. The process is as streamlined as possible and

cannot be expedited further.

 

If you do have an emergency and cannot wait ten days for a new passport,

the Embassy can issue you a temporary, limited-validity passport. This

limited validity passport is much thinner than the full-validity

passport, and does not contain the important security features of the

larger book. It is only valid for the length of your emergency trip.

 

CHANGES AFFECTING THE CHINESE VISA APPLICATION PROCESS

On January 1, the Chinese embassies and consulates in the United States

and elsewhere in the world started using a new visa application form;

the old version can be used until June 30. Note that the form changes

only apply to applications for entry visas issued at Chinese embassies

and consulates. The forms used at the PSB Entry/Exit Bureau in China

for the extension or renewal of visas will not change.

 

Applicants must print the double-sided form after downloading. Fill in

the form clearly and completely according to the instructions. Visit

the Chinese Embassy in the United States' website

<http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/ywzn/lsyw/vpna/> for more information

regarding the updated forms.

 

SUMMER TRAVEL TO TIBET

American Citizens Services has received reports that foreign citizens

are not receiving approval to travel to the Tibet Autonomous Region this

summer. Although the Embassy has not received any official

confirmation of this policy, if you are planning to travel to Tibet, we

recommend you check with the permit issuing travel agents about any

possible restrictions.

 

JUNE (and other) WEDDINGS

Marriages in China are administered by the Marriage Registration Office

of the Civil Affairs Bureau (Minzheng Ju) of each province. The

appropriate Civil Affairs Office will be the one in the jurisdiction in

which the Chinese citizen is registered (the location of their hukou),

and persons planning to marry should visit or call that office for

specific information.

 

The Civil Affairs Office will ascertain that both parties are of minimum

marriageability age (generally 22 for men and 20 for women, although a

higher minimum may be established by the local Civil Affairs Office) and

that both parties are single and otherwise free to marry. Persons who

have been married previously will be asked to submit original or

certified copies of final divorce or annulment decrees, or of death

certificates, if widowed. The U.S. citizen partner to a marriage in

China will generally be asked to submit the following:

 

* A valid U.S. passport with valid Chinese visa (If both parties

are foreigners, one side should present a Chinese residence permit);

 

* An "affidavit of marriageability" in which the U.S. citizen

swears or affirms before a Consul that he or she is legally eligible to

marry. (You can make an appointment on the Embassy website to schedule

this affidavit. Some marriage registration offices may require a

Chinese translation of the affidavit.);

 

* If a previous marriage ended in divorce or death, a photocopy of

the divorce decree or death certificate;

 

* Three photos (5 x 3.8 cm) of the marrying couple, taken

together; and

 

* A registration fee (currently RMB 9 for two certificates).

 

Inquiries on what the Chinese partner must submit to the marriage office

should be directed to the local marriage registration office (Hunyin

Dengji Chu). Normally, marriage certificate are issued by the Marriage

Registration Office of the Bureau of Civil Affairs on the same day.

American diplomatic and consular officers do not have the authority to

perform marriages of American citizens. Marriages that are legal in

China are also legal in the United States. It is not necessary to

re-marry or otherwise register your Chinese marriage in the United

States to make it valid.

APPLYING FOR AN IMMIGRANT VISA TO THE UNITED STATES FOR YOUR CHINESE

SPOUSE

 

A U.S. citizen who marries a Chinese citizen may file an immigrant visa

petition on behalf of his or her non-U.S. citizen spouse. Citizens

living in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan provinces should file

their immigrant relative petitions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration

Services (USCIS) office at the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou; all

others should file with the USCIS office at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Please be aware only couples intending to reside in the United States

long term should file. For more information about the process, go to

www.uscis.gov <http://www.uscis.gov> .

 

 

 

 

This email is UNCLASSIFIED.

[dnoblett]

$50 for a chop. They must have learned that from the Chinese.

 

 

Yep why not pay for something at the consulate that you can usually get done for FREE at most banks in the states.

 

The fee for Notary seems to be the same at other consulates around the globe

[Kyle]

I agree, the notary fee is excessive.

[Beachey]

$50 for a chop. They must have learned that from the Chinese.

 

 

The $50 is standard at embassies and consulates worldwide for notary services. It is what I paid for certificate of marriageability. It states on the website that these fees are supposed to cover the US government's actual costs. It doesn't strike me as excessive.

 

Banks in the US generally only do this as a service for their customers. Most banks won't do it for anyone who walks in off the street.

 

Including the Immigrant section in Guangzhou, I have been very happy with the services the Embassy and Consulates provide me as a US citizen in China.