|
Visa Type |
U.S. Passport |
Non-U.S. |
Turnaround |
|
Single Entry: 1 entry |
$140 |
$30 |
4 business days 48 hours 24 hours 4 business days 48 hours 24 hours 4 business days 48 hours 24 hours 4 business days 48 hours 24 hours |
[ Most
U.S. Passports will be issued a Multi-Entry 12 months
Tourist Visa ]
[ ‡ Copy of Green Card needed for Non-U.S.
Passport holders as well as the Supplemental form V2011B]
My Courier
Fee: $35 per Visa
For
Adopting Families*: $35
for 1 Visa,
$70 maximum for 2 or more
Visas for each adopting family
(includes extended family/friends
traveling with you and
also includes
*Heritage Trips)
Include the following
(my address is listed below):
Consulate Visa Fee:
1
money order or cashier check made payable to:
My
Courier Fee: A
money order, cashier or business check made payable to: There's
Always Hope!
Agency Info:
Adoption Agency Name, Contact Name, and Phone Number (Adopting Families
only)
Passports:
A
signed Passport (yes... the
actual
Passport) If you have a
change (name, etc.) noted on the last page of your
passport, you
Visa
Application: A signed Visa Application (for each person,
including children)
The Consulates *NEW* 4 page form (effective 6/30/2011):
"Chinese Consulate in Chicago"
for all Visas
(no personal
or business checks)
Adopting Families may add the
Consulate Visa fees to my
courier fee.
Adopting Families may pay my
courier fee by
personal check and
can also
include
the Consulate Visa fee ... yes this is true...really!
There must be at least 2
blank pages in your passport
as the Visa
is a sticker placed
on 1 blank page
(call me to discuss if you need pages
added to your passport).
Also if your passport is not an American passport, you will need to
send
a copy of your "Green Card"
and send Supplemental Form V2011B. You will be
issued at most a double entry visa and be allowed to stay 30 days
for each entry.
Your
passport needs to have 15 months left on it when you apply for
the visa to get a multi-entry
12 month visa. Call
me if your expiration date is less than 6 months.
Make a copy of the picture page of your
passport for your file.
You may need
this information when making travel arrangements
and I will not have it once your
application has been submitted.
If a passport is for a minor child, the mother or father must print the child's
name and sign their own
name. Then,
in parenthesis by the parent's name, write
the word (mother) or
(father). This is the State Department's instructions.
must
put a note on the outside of your passport, and I will have the Consulate
issues your Visa with the correct information. If not, then the
Consulate will
issue with the info on the picture page... they
do not take the information off
the application.
If you were born in China and are now a United States citizen, you
must also
send me your Chinese Passport if this is your first
trip back to China (this includes
children adopted). The Consulate will clip the corner of the Chinese
passport
to mark it
invalid, and I will return it to you.
For those who cannot prove they have been back to China, by having
an expired
Visa in their current U.S. passport, send me a copy of the expired
Visa from the
expired US passport or send your Chinese Passport.
with
1 passport type
picture
(approx. 2" x 2" glued, taped or stapled to the application
(attach over the rectangle box on the upper right side with the word Photo
in it...
do not trim the picture to fit box).
Some agencies
or
websites
state to send 2
pictures, but the Chicago
Consulate
only
wants
1 photo
(send two and I will return 1 to you).
The Visa photo must be
fairly
recent, passport type photo.
Approx.
without
head covering, against a white background,
showing full face,
not the
type with 3/4 view of face with ear showing.
Do not make a photocopy of
the one in your passport, it will have passport markings on it
(stars, etc.)
and is not acceptable.
If you are going to take your own picture, make sure
the background is a white wall, and you must print it on "photo" type paper,
any other type of paper will be rejected.
Business Visas
must have a letter from your employer
on company letterhead
or an invite letter from China.
The Visa starts the
date the application is
submitted to the Consulate
(not
the entry date you put on the application).
Visa Application forms:
Visa Application V.2011A Visa Application Instructions
Supplemental
Visa Application V.2011B
(Also fill out if applying for Z or X Visas
or you are a non-US Citizen)
Disregard the comment about typing the information, you can
print in
upper and lower case letters, Black
or Blue ink only.
Also it can take a few minutes for the form to load fully for
you to fill it in online or to print out.
*** The Chicago Consulate will only accept this application, they will
not accept
applications from any other Consulate as there are slight
differences ***
For Questions 4.5 or 4.6:
If you answer
"Yes" to either of these two questions,
you need to
provide
additional documentation and it could take several weeks
for the decision to grant a visa or
not, so apply early:
For Question 4.5 you will need to send a copy of the court documents.
For Question 4.6
you will need to send a letter from your doctor stating you
are under
his/her care and what medication you are on.
Call me to discuss if you answer "Yes"
to 4.5 or 4.6 before sending to me.
You will need
Acrobat Reader installed
on your computer to view and print
the
Application form.
Select the printer icon button on the Acrobat Reader
tool bar,
not the printer icon for your PC.
Contact info: Your
Statement of Profession Waiver: If you
check "Staff of Media" or "Religious
Worker"
Prepaid Return Airbill:
Enclose a
prepaid, self-addressed airbill (I have the envelopes)
and
email address, so I can send you status updates.
I
send a Status email after I have submitted your Visa Application and after
I have sent your passport with Visa back to you.
There will
be no contact from me if I do not have your
email address.
I
cannot confirm delivery of your package to me (not enough
hours in a day!),
so please make
note of the tracking number so you can verify delivery
(either online or
call the
shipper).
Even though the tracking info states your package was
left at my front door
or on my porch, it is placed in a
safe location known to the delivery
drivers.
in item # 1.13 - OR your "Occupation" or "Employer Name"
has anything to do with
media, journalist, writer, editor, religion, etc., you will need to fill out the
"Statement
of Profession"
Waiver (email me and I
will send you the
form).
By
signing this waiver you are
stating that
this trip to China does not
involve your
company, job or profession and
that
you will not
perform any action
that is
inconsistent with a Tourist Visa. AND
your visa is only valid for
30 days...
meaning
you have 30 days to enter China from the date
the application is submitted
to the
Consulate, and then you can only stay a maximum of 30 days
once in China.
of a trackable
shipping service:
UPS,
FedEx or USPS-Express Mail
(for USPS-Express Mail, No metered postage, only Stamps that add up
to $18.30), for
the return of your passports.
[ Please Print Clearly and Press Hard on the
return airbill/mailing label]
Fill in where you want
your passports
returned to. In the FROM section
put
your name and address (or leave blank),
not my info (if possible).
Then
if there are any
issues with
your account
number or credit card number for
payment, the
shipper will bill you
and not me!
If you will not be home when delivery occurs
and you
want the shipper to
leave your package, make sure
you sign the Waiver of Signature or Release
of Signature on the airbill.
UPS
and FedEx drop boxes
have supplies (airbills & envelopes).
If you do
not have a UPS or FedEx account
number, you can put your credit card number
on the airbill for
payment. Also UPS Stores and FedEx-Kinko's can assist you
with the shipment,
but beware... some UPS Stores are independently owned and
charge way to much $$$.
* * * IMPORTANT
* * *
When sending me your applications,
do not request the delivery service
obtain a signature,
as I am at the Consulate when delivery occur, and Zoey the
cat cannot sign (no paw prints accepted).
If you are sending me your documents via
"USPS Express Mail",
through
the
U.S. Post
Office, make sure you check the box
AND
sign the
Waiver
of
Signature (pink area
on the airbill). If not, and I am not available
at delivery time, it could be several days before I
can get it from the Post Office.
If you are sending
me your applications via FedEx, UPS or DHL, mark:
"No Signature Required".
Your package
is placed in a safe location, even though the tracking info
may state "left at front door". It seems to be the only notation
the delivery
companies have when a package is left, but not actually given to the recipient.
Express Mail from the
USPS Post Office is not necessarily next
day delivery,
to me or back to
you...
it
could be 2 days,
depending on your zipcode. Also
Priority Mail is not
trackable, you can purchase delivery confirmation, but it
is not trackable.
Note: Your return package will
not be in the shippers tracking system
until sometime after 7 p.m. If I could not send back on the pickup
date I will call to let you know.
And for added insurance, just put a little tape over the sealed area of
the envelope...
with cold or hot weather,
sometimes the seal does not stay completely sealed
(now if you cover the entire
top of the package including the pull tabs, I might
charge you a retrieval fee!)
Notes! 1.
receiving them.
There's Always Hope! is
closed (but I am working!) on
Wednesday and Friday, but
calls and deliveries are
accepted (Saturday
deliveries are also accepted).
2. Email 'Me' The Tracking Number:
Email me at
info@theres-always-hope.com
with the
package tracking number, to let me know your applications
have been
sent. This
is very
important to ensure no package has gone astray
and also so
I can plan my workday.
3. Send
Email: Email me when you have received your passports back.
I do track
them and close out your file when I see that they have been delivered,
but this
will let me know that you actually have them. It also gives you
the opportunity
to say how wonderful, fabulous, and great I am!
(just checking to see how many read this far!)
More
4.
Vacation Notice: If I am on vacation or will be closed, there will be a
There's
Always Hope!
Return
to:
China Info Page
Notes! notice located at
the top of every web page well in advance... so check
the website before sending your
applications.
I understand if you need to call and verify that I will be
available and to
hear a live
voice, but be forewarned... I might go on and on and on about
my
fantastic husband, kids and cat!
5.
Turnaround time: Give
enough turnaround time for the Visa process.
There have
been a few times that the delivery service did not deliver
the applications to me or back to you, on their scheduled delivery date.
6.
4 Business
Day Turnaround Schedule:
Applications submitted Monday: pickup is the following
Monday
Applications submitted Tuesday: pickup is the following
Monday
Applications submitted Thursday: pickup is the following
Thursday
If there is a holiday or closing within the
4 business days, add an
extra day for each day
the Consulate is closed.
7. Once your Visa application has been submitted to the Consulate,
the turnaround
cannot be changed.
8. BUSINESS
VISAS (type 'F'): Business Visas
must have a letter from your employer
on company letterhead or an invite from China.
If you will be using
another courier service or walking in your application yourself,
the
process will be different.
c/o Denise Hope
23408 South Kathey Drive
Channahon, IL 60410
(815)
690-7035
email: info@theres-always-hope.com
9/11/2001
Jeff Mladenik † China A-Parent