Obtaining a Visa for The Olympics

There have been numerous articles about the tightening of restrictions for Chinese Visas. I recollect that the visa restrictions will be lifted when the Olympic Games are over. New York Times had an article about the impact the restrictions on the economy, and the BBC had an article about the restrictions as well.

Obtaining a visa for China in the months leading up to the Olympics has proven to be a challenging undertaking. There were a few articles about the tightening of restrictions that came out this Spring. I tried to go to the Chinese Consulate in NYC in February 2008, only to be told that I was not eligible for a visa because I was there to early. I thought since the visa's duration was 6 months, I would be OK with the coverage until late August. That is not what the clerk told me and seeing the line that day and the swiftness by which my number came up, I saw no problem with coming back in April or May to try it again. Unfortunately, the restrictions had tightened. When I went in April, the lines were longer, so long it made the DMV look good.

This time, I didn't have the time to wait, so I came back a second time rejected for my visa. I told my wife about the experience and she decided to take over. I told her to get there early (at 9:00am) and take all the required documentation. Even still at 9:00am the line was long, and she didn't have the patience or the time to wait. After officially striking out to get our Chinese Visas, we decided to go with the recommendation to get a third party handle them for us. I received a recommendation from Rochelle at Peace Frogs about Travel Document Systems. This is one of any number of online Travel Document Services that can provide assistance for a nominal fee if you send them all the documentation. I guess they hand deliver it to the consulates in bulk, make sure everything is in the right order, charge your credit card and send along the visa in the passport. The scary part is that we had to send our passports in the mail to TDS. So I made sure that the packages were tracked and we received delivery confirmation. We received the Chinese Visa in less than a week's time and paid a nominal fee. Considering the time, effort and confusion in the process, I highly suggest using one of these services. TDS helped get it turned around quickly. Here were the requirements:

1. A letter from my manager at my employer indicating that I worked for the company and that I was scheduled to take some time off.

2. A bank statement from my bank indicating that I had $100 for each day I planned to be in China

3. A notarized copy of my Green Card (signed by a lawyer in my hometown)

4. Airline and hotel confirmation

5. Passport photos

6. Visa Fees

7. TDS Fees

8. Visa documentation

Because Kate is a student we had to receive a similar note from her graduate school indicating that she was indeed an full time student there and that she was going to China for tourism purposes.

As you can see the Visa is quite attractive, and we are thrilled to say we are eligible to go to China to see the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.