martinp13

Submitted my China visa paperwork through an experienced friend in Houston, but it was rejected and required an "interview". I went the Houston Consulate for it, and after talking to three people there, it was revealed I needed to fill out 2 additional pages (work details plus all foreign travel in the last three years) and have an interview, then it would take two months to get my visa since they would have to send it all to China for review. There's only a month before my trip, so I think my only option is TWOV.

I asked at the Consulate the reason for the extra scrutiny but they wouldn't elaborate. The passport is relatively new: Iraq visa (work trip last year), stamps in and out of Dubai going to and coming from Iraq, stamps for Heathrow and Mexico.

My flights are good (DFW-PVG-NRT, 2+ days in Shanghai). I have a hotel in Shanghai. Not worried about the routing or the basic requirements of TWOV.

So, my questions:
Will I be able to get TWOV at PVG (will they have the same "reservations" with my passport)?
What happens if I can't get in? Can I buy an "immediate" ticket to NRT and continue my trip without exiting PVG?
Any suggestions?

Many thanks!

moondog

This recent visa rejection trend is certainly disturbing, but my gut tells me that your rejection will not impact visa free transit.

889

As you describe it, it doesn't sound like your visa application was rejected. Apparently you withdrew the application because the extra processing would take too long.

This is a very important distinction, since you need to declare any previous visa rejections if you apply again for a Chinese visa.

martinp13

Very true. It was indeed a withdrawal by me, due to the time constraints. I was just *feeling* rejected, since all of my friends in the same pile of passports got their visas.

jiejie

What @889 said about the distinction is extremely important. In the future, you want to be able to honestly answer the application question about previous rejections as "No" and it appears that you can. Essentially, your application wasn't rejected, just not accepted due to additional information required. In other words, your application was never actually processed. This is a good thing.

I don't think you'll have an issue with doing TWOV as long as your flights meet the timing and routing limitations.

onuhistorian0116

If you don’t mind me asking, what type of visa where you applying for?

worldiswide

interested as well as to why it would take 2 months to process

martinp13

Absolutely... it was the standard 10-year visa, I guess. I didn't check to see what the other folks in my group got.

It was going to take 2 months (estimated) because they were going to have to send everything (application, extra filled out pages, interview results) to China for approval.