Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China

After having a bad experience at the Los Angeles location before where I had to come twice due to a missing document (that wasn’t listed on the site), I did a lot of prep and read several reviews to determine the mystery documents that they would ask for.
Success! Arrived at 8:50, and was out by about 10. The other reviews didn’t mention this, but a disadvantage of going early is that the agents who apply for customers also go early (most likely earlier than you), and they take a long time because they have many different applications to process. So if I had to come again, I’d try the afternoon.
Passport pickup is quick and easy

I really don’t see why this office gets such negative reviews. The Chinese government likes things done a certain way and, yes, the instructions might be picky – but if you actually read the requirements and follow the rules, you should not have a problem. The place does feel like a DMV, and it can get crowded (go early, if you can) but other than a security guard not having the sunniest disposition (and, hey, this is New York – if you expect sugary smiles, you are in the wrong city!) everyone at the counter was professional. They are not going to hold your hand or be your best friend – they simply want to make sure you have your stuff in order and get you in/​out as fast as possible. If any of this stresses you out, then hire an agency or ask a friend to wait in line for you (both allowed). We had our paper work in order and picked up our visa within a week. The first trip took about 45 minutes, the pick-​up was about 15 – depends on how many people are in front and how many visas they are picking up. But, all in all, not as scary as people make it out to be.

Went for expedited Visa on tuesday and got it today. Things went very smoothe. Just follow the instructions and fill out the entire application and bring all your required stuff organized and it goes very quick. We got there at 8:15 am waited on the line outside and we were done by 9:15. They move very quick and are much more efficient than the motor vehicles dept here in new york. Just follow the instructions and things go great. Very happy experience there

Ok, like everyone else thus far, I didn’t have high expectations about what my experience would be like coming here for a visa. I probably read every review here at least 3x and tried to prepare myself for the worst case scenario (having to return multiple times) but BEHOLD! I am here to tell you that it IS possible to get it right on your FIRST TRY.
Being Chinese myself, I feel like I maybe have a biological edge, with my type A, OCD, precision-​obsessed personality and natural appreciation for following instructions properly. That’s all an elaborate way to say the following: read ALL of the instructions carefully, proof read your application (all FOUR pages of it) and lastly, get ALL your required paperwork printed and ready to surrender to the powers that be.
As of May 2016 here’s what I find are your best keys to success for obtaining a tourist visa for China:
— a completed application TYPED IN ALL CAPS (yes I’m serious) that you can find online. I repeat, TYPE IT IN ALL CAPS. Also, do NOT leave anything blank. If a situation doesn’t apply to you, type NONE or N/​A. This is a must.
— You can probably get photos done for cheaper at CVS but I’m not a gambling woman, so I just used the photo booth on the 2^nd floor. Sure it costs $ 10 but I didn’t want to deal with potentially incorrect formatting (yes, people are turned away for this!)
— If you’re staying with friends/​relatives/​lovers/​drug dealers, have their address and info along with an invitation letter. If you’re staying at a hotel, have your ENTIRE itinerary and booking confirmation printed for review.
— Print your approved and confirmed flight tickets and itinerary. No exceptions for this either.
— Make sure all your crap matches. Signatures, addresses, the whole shebang.
— PHOTOCOPY YOUR PASSPORT. Also obviously bring your actual passport to surrender so they can actually apply your visa, duh!
I showed up at 8:30AM and there was already a healthy queue congregating, but don’t let that discourage you, as things actually move pretty briskly once you’re in and have a service number in hand. All in all I was out the door by 9:45am. Yes, some of the security guards are a little testy (one made me say good morning to her before she would answer my question, but I did so with a beaming smile which seemed to disarm her fairly quickly), but if you apply the «kill em with kindness» attitude, it goes a long way here.
Some common sense things to consider also: use a folder and keep your paperwork together, and bring something to read because cellphone use is banned. I wouldn’t mess around here and risk getting kicked out, so best keep busy with some analog sudoku, son.
All in all, just be organised and have your crap together and you’ll be in and out, but like any stern Chinese tiger mom would say, don’t expect coddling, hand holding or any sort of ACTUAL assistance. It’s a big bad world, learn to be self sufficient!

It is crowded and you’re going to wait. The online instructions are unclear and apparently incomplete but all and all, for me it was an easy in, quick 2.75 hour wait and out with my receipt/​pick up slip.

I don’t know why there are so many negative reviews… If you look at the things in their website and follow the steps, bring what they need to process your documents, you are good. I lost my passport and want a travel document so I can get back to China ASAP. I filled the online form, brought what they required, and Boom! I’m done, and I can pick up my document no later than 2 business days. Yes it is a little crowded, the Falungong is a little annoying, and I do hear some unhappy conversations — - I don’t know what happened to these people, the officer asked them the same question three times and they still don’t answer it. but at least I got lots of help from the officers. It was my fault didn’t explained what I need clearly at the beginning. But she really did a good job organizing and help proceed my documents. As long as you show respect and answer what they ask you, provide what they need, I don’t think there will be any trouble for you.
Ps. They have a photocopy machine and a quick passport photo machine. ($for four photos, and the machine will help you check the photo before print) Don’t trust the FedEx print&mail center few blocks away because the picture they took doesn’t meet the requirement.
Over all, It’s much better than I expected, in some ways, it even better than the US embassy in Shenyang Where I applied my visa.

okay, I barely write reviews here. But I feel the need to help everyone here. The process sux, but as a chinese, I used to go through the same hell when I got my US Visas as a visitor here.
So I just got my daughter’s chinese Visa. I was turned away the first time because I didn’t have a hotel booking even tho I told them I would stay at my relatives’. But then I found this website that a Unilocaler here posted, everything went smoothly with the 2^nd try and I got the visa in 1 hr.
1. GO THERE EARLY IN THE MORNING before 9! if you get there before 9, you can be outta the door in one hour!
2. besides all the obvious documents, make sure you either get an invitation from a chinese friend OR just get a hotel. To make things easier, get a hotel reservation.
To the Unilocalers here posting pics of the place, I don’t think those ppl are trying to cut lines, they were simply asked to go back to the same window after seeing the clerk without getting back on line. Please don’t overreact. Also, I think b/​c guys like you posting pics here, they don’t allow phones inside, which sucks.

i would never go there if i didn’t absolutely have to. how can you expect any kind of service from gov’t agencies. it just sucks, so bad… every time… and they never give you good info on exactly what you need because chances are you will always get rejected on your first try. just terrible every time. worse than going to the dentist.

I gave 4 stars, because I came in with low expectations after all the horrible reviews. I arrived at 9am sharp on a blizzard morning, I guess no one was waiting in line during the snow storm. Went through security right away no problem. The guy (front desk i guess) at the entrance checked my document, he was really nice and pointed out right away that I forgot one document needed to apply for a visa. My fault totally, so I went to get it printed and came back at 9:30. There were 15 people before me in the queue and I was out of there in 30 min. The whole process was business like, I didn’t expect five star luxury service anyways. Got what I needed in a timely manner.

Surprisingly quick and very efficient. Showed up around 8:30am to get in line when dropping off my visa application, I was out by 9:07am with my pick up slip. Came back two days later around 11:30am, got right in (be sure to tell the security guard at the front of the line that you are there to pick up, they let you skip the line), walked right up to the window, paid and walked out with my passport in under 5 minutes. Not nearly as painful of an experience as I predicted.

This is the WORST consulate general of China! Phone number always busy, never be able to go through and talk to anyone. I have been calling from 9am — 2:30pm everyday, ABSOLUTELY NO LUCK TO SPEAK TO ANYONE, the phone line is busy ALL THE TIME. Do not even know why they’re so busy given the fact they never get anything done efficiently and effectively. People who work here are so rude and have shitty attitude toward their own people — Chinese. Wake up, do not pretend that you — staffs, are not Chinese. You are Chinese, snap out of it!!! Please start providing real services for your own people like a decent human being!!!

I was really scared to come here because of some of the reviews people had posted, I can happily report that my experience wasn’t a very bad one at all, in fact it was pleasant. Ok wouldn’t as go as far as to say pleasant, but you get the jist. I firmly believe that as long as you have all the documents you will be in and out. As of 12−7−15 all you need is a
Photocopy of passport
Flight itinerary
Hotel itinerary or voucher
Application for visa (has to be typed, don’t know if in all caps matters or not)
Actual passport to leave behind
I was in at about 850 and out the door by 945, with my yellow receipt in hand. Mind u, by 920ish there was a crazy amount of people coming in and the lobby got pretty full, so plan to come early. All and all not a bad experience as long as you have all the proper documents.

There’s a lot of confusing information out there so wanted to do my part to help out. The bottom line is that you will have a fine/​positive experience as long as you are prepared! I went in to apply for a 10-​year multiple entry tourist visa (US citizen). I had my typed/​filled out visa application (indicating I wanted the 10-​year multiple entry visa), print outs of my flight itineraries (hint: you need this even if you are flying into Hong Kong), hotel confirmations, photocopy of passport, and passport photos (2X2).
As others have said, get there early (8:30/8:45am is probably ideal) and have all your documents ready as they check it at the front before they give you a ticket to get in line. I only had to wait about 15mins before I was called up, they checked my documents, and I was out by 9:25am. They will give you a yellow receipt at the end — KEEP this! I picked up my visa a week later (you do need to present the yellow receipt) with no troubles. All in all a pretty smooth process that was much better than expected. Good luck!

As of right now, the latest form is V.2013 (V.2011 is available online but is not accepted). Make sure you bring that, typed instead of handwritten.
Remember to have photocopies of all your documents before coming here, including passport ID page, last Chinese visa (if you were born in China), permanent resident card (if you are not a US citizen), and travel itineraries or invitation letters. Otherwise you will have to pay to use the photocopier in the corner, which only takes quarters or dollar bills, and if you don’t have those you will have to awkwardly beg other people for quarters.
Also, if you are employed by something that looks even remotely like a media company, make sure you have a letter on company letterhead stating your position and job responsibilities, and that you are not traveling on company business but for leisure/​tourism/​family, and that you are not a journalist. Otherwise you will be turned away when you arrive to pick up your passport, resulting in having to make 4 trips to this … place.
The best time to show up is around 8:30 — 8:45 am. If you come earlier, you will be waiting rather needlessly in line before they open; if you come later, you will face the huge line of people that arrive in the city from elsewhere. Right in the middle minimizes the time you need to spend here, and you can be out in an hour or so.
When you get inside, you will first wait in a line (~10 min) to have a preliminary review of your documents. If you pass this, you will get a number and wait to have a final review of your documents (~30 min if you arrive at the right time). If you pass that, you will get a slip of paper to pick up your passport in 4 days (regular service) or 2 days (express service). However, you can still find that you’re rejected at pickup if it turns out you looked like a journalist without documentation (above).

Two stars is giving them the benefit of the doubt. I’d give zero but at one point someone directed me in a helpful way and after 3 hours of baking in the sun and having to move around articles of clothing and my hair part periodically to avoid being burnt to a crisp, the lady behind the counter who barely spoke seemed mildly pleasant.
The man who was in charge of the line let anyone who seemed confused just walk in ahead of the 200 people who had been waiting for 2 hours already. Seemed like if you A. Had a baby stroller. B. Acted confused OR like you had some special credentials. Or C. Were super old., he would look the other way as you rudely cut everyone else who was being burnt to a crisp.
I didn’t have any issue with the technicals of my application being overly scrutinized but I guess I did come fully prepared which you must do to avoid further physical and mental anguish.
I’d rather eat a turd out of my cat’s litter box than have to go here again for a Visa.

Guess what guys! I came back again to this godforsaken hell hole. If you make it pass the uncivilized, uncultured, unmannered Chinese people, you end up dealing with uncivilized, unmannered, unprofessional employees who are literally incompetent. (And I speak fluent Chinese too!) Of course not EVERYONE there is like that and I hate generalizing, but given this is my fourth time there and each experience has been worse than the last and I always leave thinking terrible thoughts each time invoking feelings of hatred and aggression, I’d say something is wrong.

Foreign devils beware, this is literally a miniature version of China. The font on the signs, the lack of line etiquette, and even the slightly moldy/​lack of proper ventilation smell, it’s amazingly all the same.
+1 star for authenticity.
Like most bureaucratic processes in China, it’s so inefficient and disorganized that you have to laugh it off to not go crazy. After reading some of these reviews here I don’t know how I managed to get my application for a visa through in one try.
Do your research, be nice to the people, and I hear there’s a backroom in a chinese restaurant nearby that has computers and printers where you can redo your applications (just ask).
Despite having gone through the process relatively successfully, I have to say: just go through a visa service, save yourself from that inevitable frustration related hair loss.
And shout out to America for freedom of speech, cause all this rightful bitchin and moanin would not fly on China’s version of Unilocal

Unorganized. Slow… expect to at least spend 3 – 5 hours in line if you’re going to get your visa. Dress accordingly because you will be waiting outdoors with no roof over your head in rain, snow or sun. Picking up your visa should also expect at least a 2 hours wait.
But the good thing is… Once you’re inside the building, you can expect to get everything set within an hour.
Get all of your documents ready. If you’re unsure, bring everything. If not, you will have to wait in that line every single time you go back.
Good luck!

I’d rather lose a toe than come back here. The most inefficient, poorly run visa office of all the other countries I’ve ever been to.
I had been waiting an hour on line, freezing my toes off, and a throng of maybe 20 Chinese people darted past the line and crowded at the front. The guard let them through and another Chinese woman waiting on the line discerned what was happening and started screaming, «HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY ARE FAMILY? You didn’t check IDs!» Meanwhile the group quietly push their way through the line, there are maybe 5 kids, a newborn baby with a couple, a mix of older folks– even the most oblivious person could tell these people were not family. The guards just looked up with a clueless expression and didn’t do anything about it.
3.5 hours later when I finally get to the window, I was rejected because my invitation letter did not have a typed last name in the signature section even though there was an actual signature and I didn’t have my inviters resident permit.
Tip– doublecheck your requirements, go early and bring a book. On my second time back, I arrived at 8:40 about 20 minutes before opening and there was no standing wait outside. They let me into the seating area so I was able to wait indoors and avoid the dreaded wait in the wind tunnel and freezing cold. Got out within an hour. You know you have to wait, might as well get there when it opens for the shortest wait time.

China Quality Service.
Be prepared to RE-​wait because the info online is either outdated or lacking in info.
This is my second time and I waited 4 hours.
The first time. I got my number-​line ticket, but was informed I printed the old visa application (duh, why is it still online). I got another number-​line ticket again. What a wait!
Second time. I forgot to bring my visa pick-​up ticket. You’d think you can only show ID and yourself. No, you will have to photocopy your ID and get a new 2^nd number line ticket. After more than two hours, you are asked to fill a form to declare you lost your pick-​up visa ticket and will be asked to get your 3^rd number-​line ticket. Now I’m waiting another hour.
Lesson: make sure you have all your documents. One misstep and you will wait HOURS. No wonder local Chinese like to cut lines, sneak up on lines etc… If it’s like this in the US China embassy. I have a feeling, it will be inefficient in China too.
Oh well, I’d have to bear the China quality. I hope it gets more straightforward and efficient for customers.