Applying for Visa in CHina (Beijing)

[david_dawei]

I'm asking a question for a friend who is trying to find out some information about applying for a visa...

 

Since I have seen in passing some comments about people applying for a visa directly in China, to Beijing , can someone explain what the circumstance is for this type of visa?

 

 

thanks!

 

davidzixuan (for Shenyichina)

[NY-Viking]

I take it you mean applying for a U.S. visa for a Chinese SO, and not a Chinese visa for an American citizen. (I note that you can apply for new Chinese visas in China provided your current visa hasn't expired.) If you're applying for a visa for your Chinese SO, the process is referred to as a "Direct Consular Filing" or DCF on visa chat boards, but this is not an official government term.

 

If you do a search on CFL for DCF, you should find answers to most of your friend's questions.

 

A few things to note:

(1) You can only do a DCF for a spouse - not a fiancee.

(2) You can only apply for DCF if the American citizen has residency in China - that is the "green booklet"; which generally means the American citizen is working in China and has a work (Z) visa.

(3) You must file the application with the U.S. Consulate or Embassy that has jurisdiciton over the area of China in which you live. For example, if you're in Nanjing, you would file in Shanghai, not Guangzhou or Beijing.

 

There is some information on the various Consulates' websites. Check out the information on the Shanghai website: http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/us-citiz...en/mrginfo.html

[david_dawei]

NY-Viking,

 

Yes, U.S. visa for chinese SO... thanks a lot. Now that I see the term (DCF) I recall it in some threads. Thanks for all the info!

[beijingjenny]

Here is the link for the BJ USCIS office, where you would file in BJ. Your friend can make an appt to get info and forms and then later to file the petition.

 

http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/fieldoffi...ing/aboutus.htm

 

I did DCF in Beijing and if you have any more q's after reading through other threads, please let me know.

[david_dawei]

beijingjenny,

 

Thanks ... after I posted, I was looking at various peoples timelines to see if any suggested a filing in China.. and I did caught yours as showing this... so I was holding my breath hoping you'd see this !

 

Since I see that the 'big' condition seems to be the American is resident in China, I think that my friends situation would not allow a DCF filing.

 

But at least this thread provided some good resources on DCF info .

[beijingjenny]

Yeah, otherwise most people here would do it. Good luck to your friend anyway.