Copying visa records costs fortune in Beijing

Unprepared travelers looking to get a visa to the U.S. are being ripped off by unlicensed "printing shops" near the country's embassy in Beijing, with unscrupulous copiers charging up to 400 times more than the normal price for copying one sheet of paper.

These pricy printers were exposed by a Sunday article in the Beijing Morning Post, revealing that copying a single sheet can cost 200 yuan ($29) in one "copy shop" outside the embassy.

These "printing shops" are actually nothing more than cars with a copier inside, according to the report.

The printers approach visa applicants waiting in line to enter and ask them if they need to print or copy application materials, U.S. visa applicants told the Global Times.

Although their services are more basic than in most other copy shops, these "mobile shops" near the U.S. Embassy and other popular travel destinations' visa centers charge sky-high prices.

They usually have no business license, an urban management officer was quoted by the Beijing Morning Post as saying.

The officer added that although they have made special efforts to manage these services, it is hard to stop them because they are able to move around easily.

Copying a single sheet of paper usually costs around 20 yuan in shops near the embassy areas, a U.S. visa applicant surnamed Yang told the Global Times Sunday.

In comparison, it only costs around 0.5 yuan in most ordinary copy shops in Beijing.

Yang said that visa applicants need to make an appointment beforehand, and if the materials required are not ready when their appointment comes, they have to wait for another few days for a new appointment.

"So we would rather pay more money to get all the materials required ready than wait for more days," she said.