Chinese Visas in DC

[roothy123]

I thought I'd pass on our experience in getting Chinese visas in DC in case someone is wondering what it's like. We are traveling in early October. We went today (Monday, around 10:45 - maybe not the best day and time) and found a parking space close to the visa section (2201 Wisconsin Ave. - NOT the embassy) for $4 for 2 hours. You cannot, however, park until 9:30, as during rush hour, nobody can park on the street. I was told there's also free parking on Tunlaw. There's also a parking lot near the visa section ($7). The visa section opens at 10, so by the time we got there, it was pretty crowded. We went through the metal detector, and the guard gave us our number. There were 16 numbers ahead of ours. Things started off slowly, as two guys were taking an extremely long time at one of the 3 application windows. However, after a while things started moving more.

 

I had filled out the application form very carefully, and attached good pictures, and had passports with at least 6 months of validity, or whatever they require. I had taken documentation from Viking, but was not asked for it. The clerk looked over the application carefully and after a few minutes gave us a slip of paper and told us to come back Thursday to pay for and pick up the passports/visas. The whole process took about 2 1/2 hours from our home in the northern reaches of Silver Spring and back, with the actual wait inside 50 or 55 minutes. My husband will go back Thursday and pick up the documents.

 

I had planned to ask for multiple entry visas, just in case we found ourselves going back to China within the next 2 years, but forgot about it when I got up to the counter. Oh well, I suppose it's unlikely we'll make it, so it really doesn't matter!

[libby58]

If you can go on a Wednesday morning, the wait is minimal. :D