Job Discussion Forums

mw182006 · Joined: 10 Dec 2012 Posts: 310

Which one did you use parnett?

Bud Powell · Joined: 11 Jul 2013 Posts: 1736

"...This time I used an agency from NYC to do the work for me. The total cost was about $440..."

Whoa. How much was the visa itself? It WAS $140.00 for Americans.

I see that there's now a processing fee and a check writing fee. I don't understand why the total came out to $440.00.

The Travel Documents Systems page has changed considerably since i last used it. If anyone had trouble with it, I apologize.

It shows a $35.00 consular fee. Was that above the cost of the $140.00 visa itself?

If it costs $440.00 just to get a visa, FTs should demand compensation. It has always been offered in an advert, but I've never collected anything. That's a HUGE chunk of change.

I see also that rush service is no longer offered by the consulate, but 24 hour processing is available again.

parnett · Joined: 29 Jun 2012 Posts: 179 Location: China

I forget the name of the agency but will post it when I get my passport back (it's at the police station). There's a sticker with the agency's name on the cover of my passport.
The cost of the Z visa was $130. The remainder of the bill was for Fedex and the fees of the travel agency I went through. Fedex, especially for overnight shipping, is not cheap.
The visa agency was quite good. I had a couple of problems and the manager of the agency was always available and helpful.

haleynicole14 · Joined: 20 Feb 2012 Posts: 178 Location: US

Bud Powell · Joined: 11 Jul 2013 Posts: 1736

TDS:

Z Visa (from U.S.)
http://www.traveldocs.com/index.php?page=china-work-z-jurisdiction

Other visas:

http://www.traveldocs.com/index.php?page=china

I trust these folks more than I trust the Chinese consular websites because they go to the consulates every day. If you ask about something that they've never heard of, they will either call the consulate or ask someone when they make their next run to the consulate, then call you before you go to the trouble of sending them your paperwork.

As a previous respondent said, using a bona fide travel document service will save you headaches and time.

mw182006 · Joined: 10 Dec 2012 Posts: 310

Just wanted to provide an update on my visa process and my brief experience with Visa Express. I called on Thursday to get some basic questions answered about the application itself and other things. The lady that answered at VE made up some excuse about the consulate requiring an in person interview and said they no longer offered service for a Z visa. I called a couple other places and they were unaware of this.

Fortunately during my other calls I found out that the consulate was closed the 1st-3rd for the holiday. This was not posted on the consulate's home page of course, but I probably should've guessed they'd be closed. As I'm flying out on the 9th I couldn't bring myself to trust one of these places and took a quick trip to Houston Thursday night. I showed up 30 minutes before they opened on Friday hoping I could get same-day service. There were already about 10 people standing around, and more than 20 by the time 9am rolled around.

The lady at the consulate took about 5 minutes to go over my application, asked me for docs, and that was it. Then gave me a receipt to come back on the 7th...no such luck requesting rush service! Total cost: $140 upon pickup + a tank of gas (I stayed with a friend who happened to live 10 minutes from the consulate).