New Visa Fee:   On June 9, 2010, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced China was increasing the visa fee for U.S. citizens and permanent residents to $140.  The fee increase is effective immediately.

This increase is in response to a similar increase by the U.S. State Department on the fee that Chinese citizens must pay for a U.S. visa.   

To obtain a business visa, all applicants need to submit a letter of invitation from the Chinese company, private organization, or government agency that is sponsoring the visit.     

Note:  I have been authorized by the Houston Consulate to submit visa applications from residents of all 50 states.

Which Chinese Government Agencies Provide Invitations?

In the unlikely event that the Consulate requires a particular applicant to provide an invitation letter from an authorized government agency, it should be similar in nature to the example shown on the link below.

It is impossible for us to provide a list of the Chinese government agencies authorized to issue this type of invitation.  The names of the agencies differ from one province or city to another.  

Please ask your business or educational contacts in China to make the necessary inquiries in their own city or province and to arrange for the invitation to be issued for you.

What Does the Invitation Look Like?

The following example is an invitation used by an American who needed to make repeated visits to a business partner in Shanghai.  The first page is a copy of the Chinese original (the name and identifying information about the company and person making the original application have been removed).  The second page is an English translation of the Chinese original.

The invitation is in Adobe Acrobat^© format.  You may open or download the sample invitation by selecting the following link:

    Sample Invitation for Business Visa  

You will need Adobe Acrobat^© Reader to open the sample invitation.  Click on the Adobe graphic below to download a free copy of Acrobat reader.

Translation of the sample invitation was provided by Adele Chen Hall. Adele was born in China and Chinese is her native language.  Adele and her husband are the parents of a daughter from China.

Click here to return to the visa page.

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