Which Visa Should I Apply For and HOW?
 

Hello All,

I'm not a frequent international traveller and this is my first time to Asia. I am planning on doing LAX-YVR-PEK on 8 July - 14 July however I have not yet secured a visa for entry into China. How should I go about doing this? Is there enough time to get my visa processed? Have there been any recent changes to visa restrictions? I am travelling with a group for business however am not part of the actual company so should I apply for the tourist visa or the business visa?

I am a US citizen with a passport good for at least 2 more years.

Also slightly OT...will I need a visa for entry into Canada?

I think a simple tourist visa would suit you best. If the consulate is convenient to you, you can go there in person. Along with your passport and application, bring a plane ticket receipt and a hotel reservation.

For the former, I actually bought a fully refundable AC ticket the first time around. But, for the second, I simply called my favorite Gateway office and made a booking (which I did not purchase); they send a really nice itin receipt.

As for the hotel, ctrip is pretty nice because their rates are good (not that it matters) and they hold reservations without credit card guarantees.

Finally, if you don't want to make a second trip to the consulate, bring a SASE that's large enough to accommodate your passport (FedEx works fine).

If your plan is to visit China once only in 12 months then
you could easily get a one year L (tourist) visa with two
entries for $130.00 . Should take 5 days for normal service. Need to provide a receipt of plane ticket
and hotel reservation.

If you plan on multiple visits to China you could go for more
documentation and get an F (business) visa or L (tourist) mutiple entry
visa for 1 year, maybe more, but probably need a lot of
documentation.

$130 is base cost..a visa service can do it for you for
$17.50 and up..for their services. A friend of mine had
the visa service mail back his passport with a SASE and .42 stamp,
he got it... that's wonderful.

I applied last week for my tourist visa-with plane receipt and hotel receipts-and received it back today. DH received a tourist visa good for 6 months, I received one for 12 months. both sent together , same info, same stuff!!! You figure. But we only need it for one trip in July so no problem!!! FWIW I used the CIBT visa company. Good luck!

So if one goes through a visa service company, I wouldn't have to trek up to the consulate in LA - its about a 2 hour drive for me.

Yes, that's true. But, back when I was based in Newport Beach, I found that I was near the consulate 2-3 days per week any way, so it wasn't that hard to fit in to my schedule.

China Visa
 

I'm also in the L.A. area but don't have time to go to the consulate, stand in line, etc. I'm curious whether you used a visa service and whether it worked out well. Any information would be appreciated.

I can get either a tourist or a business visa because I am travelling with a business group and we were all given the necessary local Chinese papers for the business visa. I am inclined to get the tourist visa because I don't plan to conduct business and it seems like it will be less of a hassle. Does anyone know of any advantage to getting a business visa?