New Chinese Visa Application Procedure
The Chinese Embassy in the United States has officially launched the new Chinese Online Visa Application (new COVA). A Chinese visa application requires these steps:
Step 1: Take a visa photo.
Step 2: Fill out the Chinese Online Visa Application (COVA) form, upload photo, passport, and other application documents.
Step 3: Wait for embassy preliminary review results.
After submitting your application, the embassy will review your application and may request additional information on your COVA form or supporting materials from you at any time. You will modify or supply additional information until your application is approved preliminarily.
Step 4: Submit passport.
The embassy does not accept mail submissions. You or an agent must submit the passport to the embassy in person.
Step 5: Pick up passport.
Pick up the passport in person from the Embassy after a number of working days.
China Star Offers Three-Tiered Visa Services:
The Chinese visa application process is complex. China Star offers three different options based on your needs to complete the entire process. You can choose to have us provide a full service, an assistance service or a mailing service:
Service I: Visa Full Service
Our Full Visa Service: This option is designed for applicants who want professional visa experts to manage the entire process. This option is especially recommended if you’re pressed for time, worried about making mistakes, or have a complex background.
Included items:
- Account Registration: We create and manage a dedicated visa application account for you.
- COVA Form Completion: We fill out the online visa form for you and carefully review it.
- Document Upload: We scan all documents and upload them to the embassy.
- Application Review and Submission: Complete all review materials to reduce embassy pre-review time.
- Track Embassy Pre-review: Track embassy pre-review and feedback.
- Passport Submission and Collection: Once your visa pre-review is approved, we will deliver your passport to the Chinese Embassy and retrieve it from the embassy after visa approval.
Advantages: With this package, you will have a professional visa expert guiding you throughout the entire process, greatly simplifying your procedures and shortening the application cycle.
Fee: $150 per applicant (excludes embassy fees).
Sign up Service I: Visa Full Service: https://www.ncvisa.org/signup – select “Visa Full Service”.
Service II: Visa Assistance Service
Our Visa Assistance Service: This option is designed for applicants who want to apply a Chinese visa online with an assistance. This option is especially recommended if you’re pressed for time, worried about making mistakes, .
- You register a COVA account
- You complete initial COVA form
- We review your COVA form and required documents
- You edit COVA form and upload required documents
- You review Embassy approval status
- We collect your passport and documents
- We send your application to the Embassy
- We pick up passport from the Embassy
Advantages: With this package, you will have a professional visa expert guiding you throughout the entire process, greatly simplifying your procedures and shortening the application cycle.
Fee: $120 per applicant (excludes embassy fees).
Sign up Service II: Visa Assistance Service: https://www.ncvisa.org/signup – select “Visa Assistance Service”.
Service III: Mailing Service
Our Mailing Service: With this option, you will DIY – handle all steps yourself, apply for an account, fill out the COVA form, upload documents, wait for preliminary review feedback, and modify or supplement materials. After the consular officer’s preliminary approval, you need to submit your passport to the embassy — the embassy does not accept mailed applications. Our mailing service submits your passport to the embassy and retrieves your passport after visa approval.
Included items:
- Passport Submission and Collection: Submit passport to the embassy and pick up your passport after visa approval.
Not included: You will handle account registration, online form completion, document formatting, and application upload yourself.
Service Fee: $60 per applicant (excludes embassy fees).
Sign up Service III: Mailing Service: https://www.ncvisa.org/signup/ – select “Visa Mailing Service”.
Service IV: Photo Service
We provide daily photography services. China Star provides passport photo and ID photo services for all countries.
Photo service fee: $20 – $35 depending on the type of photo:
- Chinese Visa photo $20
- Chinese or US passport photo $25
- Chinese travel document (旅行证）photo $25
- Other countries’ passport photos $35
If you live outside the Triangle area, you can take photos at home and send us the electronic photos. We will edit and process the photos for you. Photo processing fee: $15.
Go to signup: https://www.ncvisa.org/signup/ and select “Photo Service”.
Email photo@chinastar.us to schedule a photo appointment.
Fee Schedule
1. Visa Service Fee
a. Visa Full Service fee $150
b. Visa Assistance Service fee $120
c. Visa Mailing Service fee $60
2. Photo service fee:
a.Chinese Visa photo $20
b. Chinese or US passport photo $25
c. Chinese travel document (旅行证）photo $25
d. Other countries' passport photos $35
3. Embassy visa fee:
a. U.S. citizen $140
b. Canadian citizen $80
4. Total Visa Fee - US citizen:
a. Full Service: photo, full service fee, embassy visa fee: $310
b. Assistance Service: photo, assistance service fee, embassy visa fee: $280
c. Mailing Service: photo, mailing service fee, embassy visa fee: $220
Subtract $20 above if you do not use our photo service.
5. Mail to home service - ship passport to you:
a. Regular ground FedEx or UPS - $15
b. Express FedEx or UPS - $35
c. Overnight FedEx or UPS - $50
6. Expedited fee (2 weeks) $60
7. Rush fee (10 days) $120
Payment Methods
- Cash or check: Payable to China Star
- Zelle: 919-244-0350, Yanping Kimball
- Venmo: @yanping-Kimball
- PayPal: finance@ChinaStar.us, + 5% fee
华星服务中心 China Star Service Center
Phone: 919-244-0350
Email: visa@ChinaStar.us
营业时间 Business Hours: By appointment only.
Address:412 Selwood Pl, Cary, NC 27519 (Pls. make an appointment first)