elcajongr Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Following are items/expenses I anticipate for the K1 visa interview. Is this list in the ballpark and did I leave out any major items? Single notarized certificate (Chongqing fee) - 340 RMBPolice notarized certificate - 340 Translation and certification of above - 400RT-airfare Chongqing to Guangzhou - - 2000 medical exam/ rush fee/ shots - - 1600 hotel -(possible 5 or 6 days if Mon interview) - 2000 (update-200/night)visa fee - 830fingerprint fee - - 700 (update - no charge)Visa photos - 100 (update - 50)Food, taxi/ misc - 800 (update - for one person) Total fees Approx - 7,100/8.2 = $866(update$750) Total budgeted $1,000 ??? (update - plus ATM card) Link to comment
yuanfen42 Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 airfare Chongqing to Guangzhou - - 2000 it seems over-expensive. I think u can get a deal around 600 RMB. Link to comment
Jim - Portland, USA Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Sounds about right to me. Except for the "fingerprint fee". What's that? My honey had her interview last month and never had to pay a fingerprint fee. They took them (for free) after she stepped into the consulate. Will it just be her at the interview? Then the food bill should be okay. If you will be there (American male appetite), then the food bill should be tripled Link to comment
warpedbored Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Following are items/expenses I anticipate for the K1 visa interview. Is this list in the ballpark and did I leave out any major items? Single notarized certificate (Chongqing fee) - 340 RMBPolice notarized certificate - 340 Translation and certification of above - 400RT-airfare Chongqing to Guangzhou - - 2000 medical exam/ rush fee/ shots - - 1600 hotel -(possible 5 or 6 days if Mon interview) - 2000visa fee - 830fingerprint fee - - 700Visa photos - 100Food, taxi/ misc - 800 Total fees Approx - 7,100/8.2 = $866 Total budgeted $1,000 ???I think all of our certificates combined were about 75 dollarsairfare sounds about right If she is going to be there 5 days before the interview there is no need for rush on the medical exam about 100 dollars should be enough shots were around 50 dollars and you get those after the interview. They prepare the document while you wait. She should be able to get a decent hotel room for around 25 dollars a night unless there is a trade fair going on. There shouldn't be a fingerprint fee. food and taxi seem about right. u 1000 dollars should be sufficient but it wouldn't hurt to send her more just in case. You never know when she may have to fly home to get some obscure document. Link to comment
warpedbored Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Sounds about right to me. Except for the "fingerprint fee". What's that? My honey had her interview last month and never had to pay a fingerprint fee. They took them (for free) after she stepped into the consulate. Will it just be her at the interview? Then the food bill should be okay. If you will be there (American male appetite), then the food bill should be tripled We never had a fingerprint fee either. Not at interview or AOS Link to comment
elcajongr Posted November 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 " We never had a fingerprint fee either. Not at interview or AOS " Perhaps I am confusing the biometric fingerprint scan with the passport facial scan? Is the biometric facial scan passport now required for travel? Link to comment
turtle Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 I never heard of such a fee for fingerprints or biometric scans... Sadly, I've noticed that when budgeting for my China trips, I always tend to underestimate the final cost. This even happens when I factor in substantial contingencies! I dare not mention what the final cost of my last trip to china (interview plus a few days in hong kong, during Canton Fair) ended up being. Well, a lot of that was for wedding pictures, but that's another story.... I have no clue on certifs, but I think the cost varies dramatically from place to place. The rest seems pretty conservative. Will you be going on this trip, or just your fiancee? Link to comment
elcajongr Posted November 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 I never heard of such a fee for fingerprints or biometric scans... Sadly, I've noticed that when budgeting for my China trips, I always tend to underestimate the final cost. This even happens when I factor in substantial contingencies! I dare not mention what the final cost of my last trip to china (interview plus a few days in hong kong, during Canton Fair) ended up being. Well, a lot of that was for wedding pictures, but that's another story.... I have no clue on certifs, but I think the cost varies dramatically from place to place. The rest seems pretty conservative. Will you be going on this trip, or just your fiancee?Somewhere along the way I read about a $85 biometric fee and now I can't find the original source. Based on responses here it looks like I can scratch that fee off the list. I don't anticipate an interview date before April which makes it difficult for me to plan that far ahead because of a lower back problem that could possibly lead to surgery. A scheduled MRI at the end of Nov may present a clearer picture of the future. Link to comment
lele Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Following are items/expenses I anticipate for the K1 visa interview. Is this list in the ballpark and did I leave out any major items? Single notarized certificate (Chongqing fee) - 340 RMBPolice notarized certificate - 340 Translation and certification of above - 400RT-airfare Chongqing to Guangzhou - - 2000 medical exam/ rush fee/ shots - - 1600 hotel -(possible 5 or 6 days if Mon interview) - 2000visa fee - 830fingerprint fee - - 700Visa photos - 100Food, taxi/ misc - 800 Total fees Approx - 7,100/8.2 = $866 Total budgeted $1,000 ???Wow ... documents are expensive in ChongQing! In my dear's home city she has gotten all of her documents, including translations, for a whopping 310Yuan. She will also take the train instead to go, since from her city, a one way ticket is about 1600, versus a sleeper train car which is about 600. I think that your airfare sounds reasonable however, but this could be another way to save. I am not sure, but the hotel fee seems REALLY high. I was able in every city in China that I have been in, including Beijing and Shanghai get a really nice place (at least for the two of us) and never had to pay more than 105 Yuan a night (and that was only in Beijing/Shanghai). I think that you can definitely save some cash here. Often times, if you bargain hard, especially for that many nights in a row, you can get a discount. You can easily save more than 120USD here alone. Fingerprint fee?!?!?! I hope not! I have not accounted for this one... Photos can be gotten at any local shop for under 35 Yuan, just make sure it is not a Kodak shop. There are many private people who will do it for not too much. Good Luck!!! Link to comment
frank1538 Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 You forgot to add the cost of a bottle of "white lightening" for celebrating afterwards. Link to comment
Bryan_Qunying Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 RT-airfare Chongqing to Guangzhou - - 2000 My wife only paid 1800RMB for both her and her daughter from Chongqing to Guangzhou. (RT Fare) Link to comment
redling Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 it depends on when . if u get not busy time for interview . and your wife book the tickets here one week before , probably she can get like 50% discount , but if it is busy time , like new year , spring festival , no discount , and sometimes it is hard to book the tickets too . Link to comment
sylinchinastill Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 I would over-budget rather than under- and try not to have to use ATMs in China if possible- in my experience I have had terrible luck with them- eating my cards- etc.- Link to comment
Bryan_Qunying Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 I'm surprised you have had bad luck with ATM's! That is all my wife and I use to get her money when she needs it. The only issue I have with the ATM's in China is that the ones my wife use will only allow her to get 4000RMB per day limit. So I set up a second account and sent her a card. The $1.50 per use ATM Fee is allot cheaper than any other method I have seen. As far as "Over - Budgeting" goes. That is a good idea. I did the same for my wifes plan tickets. That way she has enough money for any of those last minute expenses! Link to comment
lele Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 I'm surprised you have had bad luck with ATM's! That is all my wife and I use to get her money when she needs it. The only issue I have with the ATM's in China is that the ones my wife use will only allow her to get 4000RMB per day limit. So I set up a second account and sent her a card. The $1.50 per use ATM Fee is allot cheaper than any other method I have seen. As far as "Over - Budgeting" goes. That is a good idea. I did the same for my wifes plan tickets. That way she has enough money for any of those last minute expenses!This is the best method for small sums of money. However, I found a better method (at least in terms of money) if you are dealing with sending roughly 800$US or more. The Bank of China (ZhongGuo YinHong) in New York city, will wire money directly to someone's bank account. The cost os 10$US. They will wire up to 3000$US at a time. Although this costs $10, the rate is far cheaper than 1.5% for large sums. Furthermore, the money is then exchanged at the bank-to-bank rate of exchange of 8.28:1, as compared with the individual user bank exchange rate of about 8.2149:1. When these savings are combined, this is by far the best option. The only problem is that it takes roughly 3 weeks to get the money transfered. GL to all! Link to comment
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