OK. That may be the case, so I checked the Chinese Consulate in Houston and San Francisco, as well as the Chinese Embassy (in addition to Chicago). All four list multi-entry visa for 6 or 12 month without additional conditions. Note that 6- and 12-month duration are the only ones available for selection in the application form anyway. The explanation (such as at http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/, then select "Chinese Visa" on the left menu, then "Chinese Visa", then "Business (F) Visa" ) does list 24-month multi-entry visa as being available for any individual under certain conditions such as having made an investment in China, or having been to China on "F" visa at least twice before. Maybe that's what John had in mind. While it may indeed be better off working with a visa service if one is not close to a Chinese Consulate, or doesn't have the time, etc., we shouldn't let it come across as harder than it really is. Thanks, Jerry (my own opinions/experience in the US. YMMV.) -- Jerry Huang, AT&T Labs, +1 630 810 7679 (+1 630 719 4389, soon) -----Original Message----- From: Andrew G. Malis [mailto:agmalis@xxxxxxxxx] Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 4:15 PM To: HUANG, ZHIHUI (JERRY), ATTLABS Cc: John C Klensin; Ole Jacobsen; IETF-Discussion list Subject: Re: Visas and Costs There are multiple Chinese consulates in the US, and each one seems to have its own rules regarding visas. So it really pays to work with an experienced visa service. Cheers, Andy On Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 2:38 PM, HUANG, ZHIHUI (JERRY), ATTLABS <jhuang1@xxxxxxx> wrote: > John, > I'm commenting specifically on your recollection of China requiring > people having visited China before it would consider a multi-entry visa. > It doesn't appear to be true - if it was true before. The visa > application form I downloaded from the Chinese Consulate in Chicago > (just now) lists choice of visa types and number of planned entries to > China on page one while the question about whether one has visited China > before is on page two of two pages. I could not find any indication that > the stated condition was implied. > > I applied for and received a one-year multi-entry visa last year not > having visited with a new US passport. > > Thanks, > Jerry (my own opinions, not my employer's.) > -- > Jerry Huang, AT&T Labs, +1 630 810 7679 (+1 630 719 4389, soon) > -----Original Message----- > From: ietf-bounces@xxxxxxxx [mailto:ietf-bounces@xxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of > John C Klensin > Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 12:29 PM > To: Ole Jacobsen > Cc: IETF-Discussion list > Subject: Re: Visas and Costs > > > > --On Monday, September 21, 2009 10:10 -0700 Ole Jacobsen > <ole@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > >> Just a couple of comments regarding cost and visas, speaking >> from personal experience. >>... >> Visa: >> >> If you are a US citizen, the visa fee is $130 here in the US. >> For non-US citizens, the fee is only $30 :-) However, be very >> careful about visa validity. As a Norwegian citizen, I can >> (in San Francisco) only get a visa that is valid for 3 >> months, single entry, but the clock starts on the day it is >> ISSUED, not, as one might expect, when you arrive in China in >> spite of the fact that the form asks when you will be >>... >> Depending on where you are from and where you apply, >> multi-entry visas for a year or even more may be available. >> Express service (1-2 days) may also be available for a fee, >> but in June in San Francisco, this was NOT available and the >> process took a week. All these are things to watch out for >> especially if you travel a lot since of course the consulate >> or embassy will hold your passport while processing the visa >> application. > > Two additional observations may be useful. In the US, someone > must appear in person at the embassy or consulate -- there is no > mail-in service, at least for US citizens. In practice, that > means that if one is in a city with a consulate (or close to > one), one has to use a visa service as an intermediary. Their > fees can easily exceed the visa fees themselves unless one works > for a company that has a special deal with one of them. More > important, they often require far more documentation than the > embassy nominally requires, presumably to be sure that they have > what they need if the embassy (or local consulate) starts asking > questions about the traveler. That additional documentation may > include confirmed flight or hotel reservations, letters of > endorsement or guarantee (in addition to meeting invitations, > etc.). So, especially if one cannot appear in person, one > should get started early or be prepared to pay even higher fees. > > If I remember correctly from the embassy's web site, part of the > documentation requirement for a multiple-entry visa is previous > visits to China and associated visas. I.e., if you haven't had > at least a couple of single-entry visas, there is no point > thinking about a multiple-entry one. > > john > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Ietf mailing list > Ietf@xxxxxxxx > https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf > _______________________________________________ > Ietf mailing list > Ietf@xxxxxxxx > https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf > _______________________________________________ Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf