2009年 5月 14日

亲爱的网友：

欢迎光临新开的美国使馆签证博客! 我们想和您分享两点很重要的信息——提早申请签证，还有就是，如果您是一个频繁的旅行者，请确保签证有效。

夏季是我们最忙碌的季节。如果您正在计划赴美旅行，我们鼓励您提早申请，以便在您的旅行之前给我们留出足够多的时间审理您的签证申请。由于签证预约可能需要等待，而且签证审理时间可以从一天到几个月不等，因此我们鼓励所有的旅行者一旦决定赴美旅行就马上申请签证。

大部分的签证几天之内就可以处理好，但是小部分的签证申请需要额外的行政审理。学生签证的行政审理目前需要大约6到8周。其他类型签证的行政审理目前需要大约11到12周。审理所需时间是变化的。我们鼓励您在申请之前仔细浏览我们的网站。这些网页提供了很多有用的信息：http://chinese.usembassy-china.org.cn/niv_howtoapply.html 和http://chinese.usembassy-china.org.cn/nivnotice.html。

几年来赴美旅行的中国公民数量稳步增长。2008年美国驻中国大使馆及各领事馆共签发了创记录的462,962个非移民签证，比2007年增加了12.5%。在所有签发的签证中，大多数（70%）是商务旅游（B1/B2）签证。我们还签发了77,909个学生签证，比2007年增加了46%。5个签证申请人中有4个可以得到签证。我们相信，让人们了解美国最好的方式是让大家亲自来美国看看，所以我们很高兴访美的中国公民数量持续增长。

如果您频繁的赴美旅行，那么确保您的签证有效就很重要了。大部分的签证在一年之内可以多次使用。尽早拿到签证及保持签证有效会避免很多不必要的延误。我们想让您知道，频繁旅行者可以通过中信银行的免面谈代传递服务简便续签。申请时不需要邀请信。使用此项服务可以不用亲自来使馆面谈。要求和提示请见我们网站: http://chinese.usembassy-china.org.cn/niv_renewal.html。

我们致力于使签证程序尽可能的清晰简单。申请签证无需使用中介。申请所需的所有表格和信息都可在我们的网站http://chinese.usembassy-china.org.cn/niv_info2.html上免费获得。

我们希望通过我们的博客为您及时提供最新的信息也感谢您有兴趣访问我们的国家！

        您忠实的，

唐雷慧娴

总领事

    公使衔参赞（领事事务）

美国驻华大使馆

May 14, 2009

Dear Netizens,

Welcome to the new U.S. Embassy Visa Blog! We want to share with you two very important messages – apply for your visa early and if you are a frequent traveler, keep a valid visa.

Summer is our busiest season.  As you plan for your trips to the United States, we encourage you to plan ahead to allow us enough time to process your visa before your trip.  Since there may be a wait for a visa appointment and visa processing can take anywhere from one day to several months, we encourage all travelers to apply for a visa as soon as they decide to visit the United States. 

Most visas can be processed within a couple of days, but a small percentage of visa applications require additional administrative processing.  Administrative processing for students currently takes about 6-8 weeks.  Administrative processing for other types of visas currently takes about 12-16 weeks.  Processing times can change.  We encourage you to check our website carefully before applying.  These pages contain useful information - http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/niv_howtoapply.html and http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/nivnotice.html.

The volume of Chinese traveling to the United States has been growing steadily for years.  In 2008, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China issued a record number of 462,962 non-immigrant visas, 12.5% more than in 2007.  Of the total visas issued, the vast majority (70%) were business and tourism (B1/B2) visas.  We also issued 77,909 student visas, 46% more than in 2007.  Four out of five visa applicants who applied were issued visas.  We believe that the best way for people to understand America is to come see America, so we are very pleased that the number of Chinese travelers visiting the U.S. continues to grow. 

If you travel to the United States frequently, it is important to keep your visa valid.  Most visas can be used multiple times for one year.  Obtaining your visa early and keeping your visa valid will prevent unnecessary delays.  We want to let you know that frequent travelers can renew their visas easily by using the CITIC Bank Drop-off Visa Renewal Service.  An invitation letter is not required to apply.  Using this service can eliminate the need to come to the Embassy in person.  Eligibility requirements and instructions are on our website at http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/niv_renewal.html

We strive to make the visa application process as clear and easy as possible.  There is no need to hire a visa consultant to apply for a visa.  All of the forms and information needed to apply are available for free on our website at http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/niv_info.html

We look forward to keeping you updated through our blog and thank you for your interest in visiting our country.

Sincerely,

Linda Donahue

Consul General

Embassy of the United States of America