Stricter Visa Application Procedure for U.S. Citizens

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May 6 – China has announced new rules for visa applications to the country for U.S. citizens; suspending express and rush services until further notice.

All U.S. visa applications to China, including tourist and business visas, will now take six business days to process as opposed to the previous one day processing. Applicants will also be required to detail which countries and U.S. states they have visited in the past two weeks.

The United States has the second highest number of swine flu cases at 380 after Mexico’s 802 and two deaths from the H1N1 flu have already been confirmed, the first being the death of a Mexican toddler in a Houston hospital and the second, a woman from southern Texas.

China has been accused of overreacting against the threat of swine flu. Just this week, the Mexican government protested against the quarantine measures implemented on Mexican citizens when a Mexican traveler arriving in Hong Kong was tested positive for the flu.

The issue was resolved when a chartered plane sent by the Mexican government was flown to different cities to bring the quarantined Mexicans back home.

On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu was quoted by the AP as saying only that “relevant adjustment (to the visa policy) is non-discriminatory and is not targeted at any country. The adjustment of visa policy will not affect the normal entry of foreigners and exchanges of people.”

This is not the first time China will restrict visa applications to the country. Months prior to the Beijing Olympics last year, China enacted a security clampdown that curtailed tourist and business visitors. Similar restrictions are reportedly also being put in place for the coming 60th anniversary in October.