China Reciprocity Schedule

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Visa Classification	Fee	Number of Applications	Validity Period
A-1	None	Multiple [A]	36 Months [A]
A-2	None	Multiple [A]	36 Months [B]
A-3 [1]	None	Multiple	12 Months
B-1	None	Multiple	12 Months
B-2	None	Multiple	12 Months
B-1/B-2	None	Multiple	12 Months
C-1	None	Two	6 Months [B]
C-1/D	N/A	N/A	N/A
C-2	None	Multiple	6 Months [B]
C-3	None	Multiple [C]	6 Months [B]
D	None	Multiple	24 Months
E-1 [2]	No Treaty	N/A	N/A
E-2 [2]	No Treaty	N/A	N/A
F-1	None	Multiple	12 Months
F-2	None	Multiple	12 Months
G-1	None	Multiple	36 Months [B] [D]
G-2	None	Multiple	36 Months [B]
G-3	None	Multiple	36 Months [B] [C] [D]
G-4	None	Multiple	36 Months [D]
G-5 [1]	None	Multiple	6 Months
H-1B	None	Two	3 Months [3]
H-1C	None	Two	3 Months [3]
H-2A	None	Two	3 Months [3]
H-2B	None	Two	3 Months [3]
H-2R	None	Two	3 Months [3]
H-3	None	Two	3 Months [3]
H-4	None	One	3 Months [3]
I	None	One	3 Months
J-1 [4]	None	Multiple	12 Months
J-2 [4]	None	Multiple	12 Months
K-1	None	One	6 Months
K-2	None	One	6 Months
K-3	None	Multiple	24 Months
K-4	None	Multiple	24 Months
L-1	$120.00 [E]	Multiple [E]	24 Months [3] [E]
L-2	$120.00 [E]	Multiple [E]	24 Months [3] [E]
M-1	None	Multiple	12 Months
M-2	None	Multiple	12 Months
N-8	None	Two	6 Months
N-9	None	Two	6 Months
NATO 1-7	N/A	N/A	N/A
O-1	None	One	3 Months [3]
O-2	None	One	3 Months [3]
O-3	None	One	3 Months [3]
P-1	None	One	3 Months [3]
P-2	None	One	3 Months [3]
P-3	None	One	3 Months [3]
P-4	None	One	3 Months [3]
Q-1 [6]	None	One	3 Months [3]
R-1	None	One	3 Months
R-2	None	One	3 Months
S-5 [7]	None	One	1 Month
S-6 [7]	None	One	1 Month
S-7 [7]	None	One	1 Month
T-1 [9]	N/A	N/A	N/A
T-2	None	One	6 Months
T-3	None	One	6 Months
T-4	None	One	6 Months
T-5	None	One	6 Months
TD [5]	N/A	N/A	N/A
V-1	None	Multiple	120 Months
V-2	None	Multiple	120 Months [8]
V-3	None	Multiple	120 Months [8]

Documents

Most of the documents listed below can be obtained from one of China's Notarial Offices (Gong Zheng Chu). All Chinese documentation to be used abroad is processed through the notary offices and issued in the form of notarial certificates. Notarial offices are located in all major Chinese cities and in rural county seats. These offices are part of the Ministry of Justice structure, but are separate from the people's court system.

Notaries in China do not perform the same functions as their American counterparts. Chinese notaries affix their signatures and office seal to certificates that attest to the probity of claims made by the applicants. By regulation, notaries are empowered to issue certificates only after they conclude that the applicant's claims are true. Notarial certificates of birth, death, marriage, divorce, no criminal record and pre-1981 adoptions are, at best, secondary evidence of the events they purport to document. Although these certificates are secondary evidence, they are used because primary evidence is not standardized, is easily forged, and difficult to evaluate. Notarial certificates are easier to interpret than primary evidence and theoretically represent an expert judgment on the part of the notarial official as to the facts documented.

The certificates can be based upon primary evidence, secondary evidence, testimony of the applicant or other parties, or investigation by the notary. For most notarial certificates of birth or adoption, the primary underlying documentation is the household register (HHR) which appears to be extremely susceptible to fraud and manipulation, especially if the holder of the HHR lives outside of a major metropolitan area. Notarial certificates rarely cite the basis for their issuance.*

Thus a certificate in itself may not be adequate evidence of the facts claimed, and is best used in conjunction with primary and contemporaneous secondary evidence: old land deeds and old family registers; letters or money receipts; family records from countries that have reliable public documents; school and medical records. In relationship cases, especially where the petitioner left China years before, the best evidence of relationship, or lack of it, would be the Hong Kong Certificate of Registered Particulars (for petitioners who lived in Hong Kong), or the petitioner's immigration and/or naturalization file.

Local conditions often do not permit consular officers to conduct on-site inquiries. However, if there is a reason to doubt the claims in a certificate issued by a Chinese notary, the American consular post in the issuing office's area may verify the information through the notarial office, or, if possible, by field investigation. A copy of the document in question should be submitted to the post, as well as detailed reasons for the suspicion. For suspected relationship fraud, the first step should be a check of the information contained in the INS file or Joint Voluntary Agency (JVA) files for former refugees. Given sufficient reason, notaries do investigate, and in some cases, revoke certificates. Several months should be allowed for a reply.

Individuals residing outside of China may obtain notarial certificates from the notarial office with jurisdiction over the county of previous residence. Chinese relatives or friends may request issuance of certificates on behalf of someone now living abroad. Relatives and friends should have specific written authorization from the interested party before they request certificates. Alternatively, persons in need of notarial documents may contact the PRC Embassy or Consulate nearest to their residence abroad and ask that the request be forwarded to the appropriate notarial office. Obtaining a notarial certificate through a PRC Embassy or Consulate can require considerable time.

Birth Certificates

Available in the form of notarial certificates, which are secondary evidence. Notarial certificates of birth (Chu Sheng Gong Zheng Shu or Chu Sheng Zheng Ming Shu) for persons living in or recently departed from China are generally reliable, but are best used in conjunction with other evidence. They are most often based upon an AHHR, (Household Record) which is easily susceptible to fraud, especially in villages. Notarial birth certificates for persons long departed from China are most likely based merely upon the testimony of interested parties.

While some notarial birth certificates will list stepparents or adoptive parents along with natural parents, this is not always the case. In some cases, the certificates will list only the natural parents, covering up an adoption.

Some applicants will present notarial certificates of relationship (Guan Xi Gong Zheng [or Zheng Ming] Shu) in lieu of notarial birth certificates. These certificates of relationship are unreliable and tend to be based solely upon the testimony of interested parties. Notarial birth certificates should be required. Care should be taken with any certificate that lists step relationships. These relationships are as of the date of issuance of the certificate only. Marriage certificates should also be required.

Adoption Certificate

Certification is available in the form of a Notarial Adoption Certificate (“Shou Yang Gong Zheng” or “Zheng Ming Shu”); however, in accordance with the most recent revisions to China’s adoptions law, a Notarial Adoption Certificate is no longer a requirement in adoption cases that were initiated after April 1, 1999, the effective date of the revisions.  Notarial Adoptions Certificates remain available should any party involved in the adoptions process wish to have one (Adoption Law of the PRC, Chapter II, Article 15). 

Early Adoptions

Prior to January 1981, there were no standardized adoptions laws and regulations in China.  Commonly, adoptions were orally agreed to by the adoptive parent(s) and natural parents and/or surviving family members.  There may or may not be a written record dating from the time of the adoption in these older cases.  Parties to pre-1981 adoptions, however, often secured Notarial Adoptions Certificates at a later point in time that listed the natural parents' names, adoptive parents' names, and the date of the adoption.  These certificates were supposedly issued only after the notary ascertained that an adoption took place conforming to local practice and regulation.  Although notarial offices issued certificates for pre-January 1981 adoptions, these are considered to have been extremely susceptible to fraud, such that contemporaneous evidence of the adoption and co-residence, especially in the form of school records, is required for verification purposes.

Following Enactment of the Adoption Law of China, Effective April 1, 1992

China codified its adoptions laws and regulations in the Current Adoption Law of China on December 29, 1991, which came into force on April 1, 1992.  Under this law, a Notarial Adoption Certificate was required in all adoption cases, and the inability to obtain a Notarial Adoption Certificate was prima facie evidence no adoption ever took place.  Therefore, adoptions taking place after January 1981 and before April 1, 1999 are considered valid only with the issuance of a Notarial Adoptions Certificate.  Additionally, for adoptions cases initiated during this period, the date of issuance of the Notarial Adoptions Certification serves as the effective date of adoption.

Revisions to the Adoption Law of China, Effective April 1, 1999

On November 4, 1998, China amended its adoptions law, effective April 1, 1999.  Under the revised law, Notarial Adoption Certificates are no longer required in the adoptions process, nor are they used to establish the effective date of adoption.  Instead, a Certificate of Registration of Adoption is used, and the effective date of an adoption is the date of registration (Revised Measures for Registration of Adoption of Children by Foreigners, Article 11).  These certificates are issued by the provincial-level Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is responsible for approving all adoptions of parentless or abandoned children who becomes the wards of the Chinese state.  

International (Inter-country) Adoptions in China

Foreigners may, in accordance with the Adoption Law of China, adopt a child (male or female) in the PRC.  As in a domestic adoption, the adoptive relationship shall be established as the date of registration in all adoptions concluded on or after April 1, 1999, the effective date of the revised law.  For adoptions occurring prior to that date, failure to obtain a Notarial Certificate of Adoption remains prima facie evidence a legal adoption never took place.  While a Notarized Adoptions Certificate is no longer required, one may be obtained should any party involved in the adoption relationship wish to have one.  Moreover, it remains true that if a foreign parent or married couple adopts a Chinese orphan, at least one of the adoptive parents must travel to China to complete the adoption, at which time they will receive a Notarial Birth Certificate and a Notarial Abandonment Certificate (Revised Measures for Registration of Adoption of Children by Foreigners, Article 8).  The Notarial Abandonment Certificate should detail under what circumstances the child was either orphaned or abandoned.  Please consult the U.S. Consulate Guangzhou’s Adoption Unit for more on the inter-country adoptions process.

Marriage and Death Certificates

Available in the form of notarial marriage certificates (Jie Hun Gong Zheng [or Zheng Wing] Shu) or death certificates which are generally reliable.

Divorce Certificates

Available. Notarial offices will issue notarial divorce certificates based upon extant records to confirm either a court-decreed or uncontested divorce. In an uncontested divorce, a couple can obtain a divorce certificate from the marriage registration office in the neighborhood where they reside. In a contested divorce, both parties will receive a copy of the formal divorce decree from the court at the time the divorce is approved. If the original decree is lost, the same court will often issue a duplicate, but these various decrees or certificates should not be accepted in lieu of the notarial certificates.

Police Records

Generally available, reliable. Persons should apply for a certificate of no criminal record at the local Public Security Bureau (PSB) (or certain types of employers such as state owned enterprises), then make application to the notary office for a certificate based on the PSB document. Persons without a criminal record will be able to obtain a certificate to that effect. Certificates for individuals with one or more criminal convictions will list all convictions for which records still exist. The certificates purport to reflect all criminal convictions during residence in China. Police records are generally not available for the period prior to 1949. Certificates are available for those in the J-1, Z, and X categories. The GOC does not issue police records for temporary residents of China in L or F visa categories.

Police records also are not available for those who were in China in diplomatic status including those working for international organizations such as the United Nations. Notarial police certificates are based in part upon records from an individual's employer. If an employer refuses to release records, the notarial office is not able to issue a certificate. This is the case for persons sent abroad for education by the Chinese Government who fail to return to China.

According to a 1957 state council ruling that is still in force, the imposition of a re-education through labor (Lao Dong Jiao Yu) term does not result from a criminal conviction. Administrative organs, rather than courts, impose re-education through labor. It is important to distinguish re-education through labor from labor reform (Lao Dong Gai Zao), which is a sentence meted out for criminal offenses.

Prison Records

See Court Record below.

Court Records

Available in most cases. Normally, when someone is tried by a people's court or by an organ of the executive branch of government, some record remains of the case even for a political crime. In some instances, the entire formal court verdict (Pan Jue Shu) is available upon request by the former defendant. In other cases, the court can provide only a synopsis of the charges and the verdict. In all instances, it is necessary to have the applicant request court records. If an applicant is unable to secure court records, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, or the posts in China with jurisdiction over the area where the record is located can contact the appropriate provincial foreign affairs office and request assistance in securing records. It is not advisable for other U.S. officials to contact courts directly. Most court records will also indicate the original sentence, the actual sentence served and any reduction or commutation of the original sentence. Court records are generally not available for the period prior to 1949.

Military Records

Generally not available.

Notarial Work Experience Certificates

Available. Notarial Work Experience Certificates (NWECS) briefly describe an applicant's work experience in the PRC. They should be required of all employment based preference immigrant applicants who claim work experience in China. Employer's letters or sworn statements from persons claiming person’s knowledge should not be accepted in lieu of NWECS. The inability of an applicant to obtain a NWEC should be regarded as prima facie evidence the applicant does not possess the claimed experience.

Passport and Other Travel Documents

There are four types of Chinese passports:

1. Diplomatic Passports: Bright Red. Used for diplomats, and certain other senior government officials, (e.g., provincial governors, ministers, etc.) and the heads of some large state corporations.
2. Service Passports: Green. Used for other government-sponsored travelers who are at, or below, the vice-minister level. Service passports are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
   
3. Public Affairs Passports: Dark brown. Used for other government-sponsored travelers who are at, or below, the vice-minister level. Public Affairs passports are issued by Provincial Foreign Affairs Offices.
   Note: Beijing has seen a variety of government sponsored travelers from trading company officials to Kung Fu experts, traveling on Public Affairs passports. The Provincial Foreign Affairs officers appear to have some latitude in deciding who can travel on a Public Affairs passport.
   
4. Private Passport: Red. (The current red passports first appeared in 1992. Earlier versions, some of which are still in use, are brown.) Both types are used for Chinese traveling for unofficial purposes. The main difference between service and public affairs passports on the one hand and private passports on the other is that a Chinese traveling on a service or public affairs passport must be sponsored officially by the government, (though that does not mean the government is necessarily paying for the trip). Most applications for travel by holders of diplomatic service, and public affairs passports come to the U.S. under cover of a note from the sponsoring Chinese organization.

Special Clearance and Issuance Procedures - Official Travel

• VISAS HORSE Name Check Requests: A “Visas Horse" request must be submitted immediately following the issuance of an A, C-3, or G visa.
• VISAS BEAR Security Advisory Opinion Requests: The cases of official and diplomatic visa applicants who otherwise require security advisory opinions, such as DPT-00 CLASS entries; possible ineligibility under INA 212(a)(3), must be submitted by means of a "Visas Bear" request.

Special Clearance and Issuance Procedures - Nonofficial Travel

• "VISAS EAGLE" Name Check Requests: “Visas Eagle" requests must be submitted for the following persons:
  
  • K nonimmigrant visa applicants.
  • Immigrant visa applicants.
  Note: Visas Eagle requests must include both the Department and NVC Portsmouth as action addresses. Posts may not process a case to conclusion that is subject to Visas Eagle clearance until a reply is received.
• Visas Merlin and Visas Merlin 92 Security Advisory Opinion Requests: Visas Merlin requests must be submitted for applicants for refugee status. Visas Merlin 92 requests must be submitted for applicants for following-to-join asylee status.
• VISAS MANTIS Security Advisory Opinion Requests: Visas Mantis is strongly recommended for applicants with a background or purpose of trip that is listed in the TAL. Please see 9 FAM Appendix G 502.1-7.

Visa Issuing Posts

Beijing (Embassy) -- NIV except K

Mailing Address:
PSC 461 Box 50,
FPO AP 96521-0002

Street Address:
3 Xiu Shui Bei Jie,
Chaoyang District,
Beijing, China 100600

Tel: (86-10) 6532-3431, 6532-3831
after hours - (86-10) 6532-1910

Fax: (86-10) 6532-4153

AmCitBeijing@state.gov

Chengdu (Consulate General)-- NIV except K

Mailing Address:
PSC 461, Box 85,
FPO AP 96521-0002

Street Address:
Number 4, Lingshiguan Road,
Chengdu, Sichuan, PRC 610041

Tel: (28) 8558-3992, 8558-9642

Fax: (28) 88-3520

Guangzhou (Consulate General) -- All categories

Mailing Address:
PSC 461, Box 100,
FPO AP 96521-0002

Street Address:
Number 1 Shamian South Street,
Guangzhou, PRC 510133

Tel: (86-20) 8121-8000
(after hours) (86-)139-0229-3169

Fax: (86-20) 8121-9001

Shanghai (Consulate General)-- NIV except K

Mailing Address:
PSC 461, Box 200,
FPO AP 96521

Street Address:
1469 Huai Hai Zhong Lu
Shanghai, PRC 200031

Tel: (86-21) 6433-6880
(after hours) (86-21) 6433-3936

Fax: (86-21) 6471-1493, 6433-4122, 6471-1148

Shenyang (Consulate General) -- NIV except K

Mailing Address:
PSC 461, Box 45,
FPO AP 96521-0002

Street Address:
No. 52, 14 Wei Road
Heping District
Shenyang, Liaoning, PRC 110003

Tel: (86-24) 2322-1198, 2322-0368

Fax: (86-24) 2322-2374

Visa Services

IV
Guangzhou	All IV applications for China (PRC). All K NIV applicatinos for China.
NIV
Beijing	All of China except for areas serviced by Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang.
Chengdu	Chongqing Municipality Sichuan Province, Tibet Autonomous Region, and Yunnan Province.
Guangzhou	Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the provinces of Fujian, Guangdon, and Hainan.
Shanghai	Shanghai Municipality and the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang.
Shenyang	Provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang.

The embassy/consular districts include the following provinces/regions of China:

Embassy/Consular District	Provinces/Regions
Beijing	Beijing Tianjin Shandong Shanxi Inner Mongolia Ningxia Shaanxi Qinghai Xinjiang Hebei Henan Hebei Hunan Jiangxi
Chengdu	Guizhou Sichuan Xizang (Tibet) Yunnan Municipality of Chongqing
Guangzhou	Guangdong Guangxi Hainan Fujian
Shanghai	Shanghai Anhui Jiangsu Zhejiang
Shenyang	Liaoning Heilongjian Jilin

Country Specific Footnotes

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