U.S. embassy changes visa rule for Chinese

Policy 'part of global strategic shift'

The U.S. has shortened the expiration period of the old visa from within 48 months to within 12 months for Chinese citizens to apply for a new visa without interview, which experts said might be linked to Trump's determination to restrain illegal immigration.

A highlighted note published on the website of the U.S. embassy in China shows that if Chinese citizens previously received a U.S. visa that expired within the last 12 months and they are returning to the country for the same purpose of travel, they may be able to obtain a visa without coming to the consulate for an interview.

Previously, the required expiration period was within 48 months.

An agent providing visa services told the Global Times that the change would make it harder for Chinese citizens to apply for a visa, adding, however, that it will have little influence on people who hold a 10-year travel visa.

In November, the U.S. required Chinese citizens with 10-year B1, B2 or B1/B2 visas to update their biographical and other information from their visa application through the Electronic Visa Update System before traveling to the U.S.. This update must be done every two years, or upon getting a new passport or B1, B2, or B1/B2 visa, whichever occurs first.

"The change in the rule might be related to Trump's attitude to immigration and it will have a negative effect on people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and the U.S.," Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

Li said that it may not be a China-specific policy but part of a global strategic shift, showing Trump's determination to prevent illegal immigration.

According to the website of the U.S. embassy in Poland, Polish citizens also need to apply for the new visa within 12 months of the expiration of the old visa.

Trump issued an executive order on January 27, barring travelers from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days and all refugees from entering the country for 120 days.

A task force of China experts offered their recommendations to the new Trump administration on the China-U.S. relationship, the country's most crucial bilateral relationship, in a report issued by the Asia Society, People's Daily reported.

The Task Force on U.S.-China Policy, which includes former U.S. government officials, scholars, and think tank researchers, generated the report and a set of recommendations to assist the new administration in formulating a China strategy that will protect and further U.S. national interests.