1. Select Visa Type

2. Select Office/State

3a. Check Requirements

3b. Fill & Print Application

4. Fill Online Order Form


REQUIREMENTS FOR U.S. CITIZENS TO OBTAIN A CHINESE JOURNALIST "J-1" VISA




Passport

Please send TDS your current valid and signed passport, plus one photocopy of the vital information page. It must not expire within 6 months and must have at least one blank visa page. For Multiple entry requests, at least two blank visa pages are required. If you do not have any blank visa pages in your passport, TDS can assist you in applying for additional pages. If your passport expires within 6 months, you must renew your passport and then we will secure your visa with the new passport.

 

Photo

Please send 1 recent professional passport-type photograph.
Passport Photo Guide - Click Here





Letter of Invitation

(1). Approval letter from the related Chinese News authorities.





 

TDS Service Fee

TypePriceProcessing Time
Regular $80.00 4 Business Days
Express $150.00 24 Hour Processing

Consular Fees

TypeEntryPriceValidityProcessing Time
Regular Single $145.00 3 months 4 Business Days
Express Single $175.00 3 months 24 Hour Processing
Note: Effective February 1st 2012 the Embassy of China in Washington DC will no longer offer Rush/Sameday processing.

Note: All consular fees above include a $5 check writing fee.



Application Form




Please Send One Completed and Signed Application

Note: Application form MUST be typed, hand written applications will NOT be accepted. All questions MUST be answered, do not leave any question blank, type N/A if need be.
Note: All applicants must sign the application form even if the form is completed by another person, except that a parent or legal guardian may sign on behalf of an applicant under the age of 18.

 






TDS Order Form




You must complete the Online Order Form.

The order form gives TDS your name, address, shipping information and payment method. Multiple applicants can be entered using one order form. You only need to complete one TDS order form per request. Please print two copies of the confirmation page. Include one copy with the documents you ship to TDS and keep one copy for your records.

While completing the online order form in this step, you will be asked how you want to pay TDS fees. You may pay our fees online with a credit card or enclose a personal or business check or money order.




Shipping Address

Please forward the completed requirements detailed above to:

TRAVEL DOCUMENT SYSTEMS, INC.,
925 Fifteenth Street N.W. Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20005

Urgent applications should be shipped to TDS using only the FedEx Company.
Please use FedEx Priority Overnight. Do NOT ship "First Overnight." This will delay the delivery of your package.

 

FedEx Fees

FedEx Return Shipping
Continental USA Only Price
Next Business Day - up to 3 passports $27.00
Next Business Day - 4 or more passports $30.00
Saturday Delivery $41.00
Alaska, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, USVI Price
Next Day Letter (No Saturday Delivery) $39.00
International Price
Call for a quote. Call.

 

Former Chinese Citizens

First time applicants whose former nationality was Chinese, shall write down his/her Chinese name in the application form and submit his/her original Chinese passport and a photocopy of the information page of the passport; if the name in the new passport is different from that in the old one, an official document for name change should be provided; applicant who was formerly Chinese and has acquired a new US passport, if there is a Chinese visa in the old passport, he/she shall submit his old US passport or the photocopy of the Chinese visa.

Documentations for a child with Chinese descent born in US
A child with Chinese descent born in US applying visa for the first time should provide the original and a photocopy of either parent's foreign passport or green card and Certificate of Birth besides other regular materials.

A child with Chinese descent born in US applying for a visa who has had a Chinese visa before could provide a photocopy of the former visa instead of either parent's foreign passport or green card or Certificate of Birth.

 

Additional Helpful Information

If the visa application form is not filled out completely, correctly and legibly, this can cause a delay in processing or refusal of the requested visa.

2. The (J-1) visa is valid for one entry, three months. The holder of a (J-1) visa shall go through residential formalities in the local public security department within thirty days of entry into China.


3. Visa Officers may require some other relevant documents.

4. Any person suffering from a mental disorder, leprosy, AIDS, venereal diseases, contagious tuberculosis or other such infectious diseases shall not be permitted to enter China.

Please Note - Chinese visas use the yy/mm/dd format.


If Applications require 24 hour processing please send to TDS using only FedEx Overnight Priority Service



Register with U.S. Embassy

Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)

By connecting on the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, State Department will be able to assist you better in the case of an emergency, such as if you lose your passport or it is stolen while you are abroad.